Gustavo Cuéllar

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cuéllar and the second or maternal family name is Gallegos.

Gustavo Leonardo Cuéllar Gallegos (born 14 October 1992) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Grêmio and the Colombia national team.^[2]

Gustavo Cuéllar

Cuéllar with Colombia in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Gustavo Leonardo Cuéllar Gallegos[1]
Date of birth	(1992-10-14) 14 October 1992 (age 32)[1]
Place of birth	Barranquilla, Colombia
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Grêmio
Number	6
Youth career
2008–2009	Deportivo Cali
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2016	Deportivo Cali	118	(2)
2014–2016	→ Junior (loan)	49	(0)
2016–2019	Flamengo	113	(0)
2019–2023	Al-Hilal	98	(0)
2023–2025	Al-Shabab	38	(0)
2025–	Grêmio	0	(0)
International career‡
2009	Colombia U17	7	(2)
2011	Colombia U20	5	(0)
2015–2022	Colombia	24	(1)
Medal record Representing  Colombia Men's football Copa América 2021
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:41, 25 March 2022 (UTC)

Career

Deportivo Cali

Cuéllar began playing for the Deportivo Cali youth setup and made his professional debut in 2009. He scored his first professional goal in the first match of the 2013 Categoría Primera A season Apertura tournament against Once Caldas. It was the winning goal of a 2-1 victory. Cuéllar formed a key part of the 2013 squad that finished runners-up in 2013 Torneo Finalización, losing in the finals to Atlético Nacional.

Junior (loan)

Cuéllar was loaned to Atlético Junior from mid-2014 to mid-2016. Junior were eliminated in the round-robin stage of the 2014 Torneo Finalización. With the arrival of Alexis Mendoza as manager in 2015 Cuéllar established himself as one of the team's best players, participating in nearly 50 matches.

Flamengo

On January 20, 2016 Deportivo Cali confirmed that Cuéllar would be transferred to Brazilian giants Flamengo. The transfer fee was reported to be close to R$8 million for 70% of his economic rights.^[3]

In his first season with the Brazilian club he could not establish himself as a regular starter. Cuéllar played 16 Brazilian Série A matches, only four as a starter, and managed to play a total 33 matches throughout the season.

During the beginning of the 2017 Brazilian Série A season rumors in the Brazilian media linked Cuéllar with Vitória on a possible loan.^[4] Despite the interest from other clubs, Cuéllar started to receive more chances in the first team, including playing as a starter. Flamengo won the 2017 Campeonato Carioca with 6 appearances by Cuéllar. On June 28, 2017 in a Copa do Brasil match against Santos at Ilha do Urubu, Cuéllar scored his first goal for Flamengo in a 2-0 victory.^[5]

Only after Flamengo signed compatriot Reinaldo Rueda^[6] as head coach did Cuéllar manage to take a starting position in the midfield. He played a total of 51 matches in the season scoring two goals, including 25 Brazilian Série A matches.

On June 8, 2018 Cuéllar extended his contract with Flamengo until June 2022, this new contract raised his release clause from €50m to €70m.^[7][8]

Cuéllar continued to be a star player for Flamengo in central midfield, helping to capture the 2019 Campeonato Carioca. He continued to be a transfer target for some European clubs.^[9] In August 2019, Cuéllar was suspended from club activities indefinitely for refusing to travel with the team for the following league match, citing family matters.^[10] He was reintegrated into the squad ahead of Flamengo's Copa Libertadores quarter-final match against Internacional, which would be his final match for the club.^[11]

Al-Hilal

O August 30, 2019, Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal announced the signing of Cuéllar from Flamengo.^[12] The fee was reported to be €7.5m.^[13]

Al-Shabab

On 4 July 2023, Cuéllar joined Al-Shabab on a three-year deal.^[14]

International career

Gustavo played for Colombia U17 in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, he appeared in all seven matches and scored two goals, both against Gambia in a 2–2 draw,^[15] as the team finished the tournament in fourth place.

He also represented Colombia U20 in the 2011 South American U-20 Championship, he had five appearances and the team finished the tournament in the sixth place.

On September 8, 2015 Gustavo debuted for Colombia as a starter in a 1–1 draw against Peru in Harrison, United States.

In May 2018 he was named in Colombia's preliminary 35 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.^[16] However, he did not make the final cut to 23.^[17]

On May 30, 2019, Cuéllar was named by manager Carlos Queiroz to the 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil.^[18] He made one appearance in the group stage, appearing in the starting lineup and scoring the winning goal against Paraguay.^[19]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 16 March 2025

Club	Season	League			State league[a]		National cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Deportivo Cali	2009	Primera A	1	0	—				—		—		1	0
	2010		12	0	—				—		—		12	0
	2011		20	0	—		6	0	1[c]	0	—		27	0
	2012		37	0	—		4	0	—		—		41	0
	2013		38	2	—		3	0	—		—		41	2
	2014		10	0	—		2	0	5[d]	0	—		17	0
	Total		118	2	—		15	0	6	0	—		139	2
Junior (loan)	2014	Primera A	15	0	—		10	0	—		—		25	0
	2015		34	0	—		9	0	4[c]	0	—		47	0
	Total		49	0	—		19	0	4	0	—		72	0
Flamengo	2016	Série A	16	0	8	0	4	0	3[c]	0	2[e]	0	33	0
	2017		25	0	6	0	7	1	11[f]	1	2[e]	0	51	2
	2018		28	0	11	0	6	0	6[d]	0	—		51	0
	2019		9	0	10	0	3	0	10[d]	0	—		32	0
	Total		78	0	35	0	20	1	30	1	4	0	167	2
Al-Hilal	2019–20	Saudi Pro League	26	0	—		5	0	—		3[g]	0	34	0
	2020–21		25	0	—		1	0	—		1[h]	0	27	0
	2021–22		23	0	—		3	0	4[i]	0	3[g]	0	33	0
	2022–23		24	0	—		2	0	—		3[j]	0	29	0
	Total		98	0	—		11	0	4	0	10	0	123	0
Al Shabab	2023–24	Saudi Pro League	30	0	—		2	0	—		4[k]	1	36	1
	2024–25		8	0	—		0	0	—		—		8	0
	Total		38	0	—		2	0	—		4	1	44	1
Grêmio	2025	Série A	0	0	7	0	1	0	0	0	—		8	0
Career total			381	2	42	0	68	1	44	1	18	1	553	5

1. Includes Campeonato Carioca, Campeonato Gaúcho
2. Includes Copa Colombia, Copa do Brasil, King's Cup
3. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
4. Appearances in Copa Libertadores
5. Appearances in Primeira Liga
6. Two appearances in Copa Libertadores, nine appearances and one goal in Copa Sudamericana
7. Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
8. Appearance in Saudi Super Cup
9. Appearances in AFC Champions League
10. One appearance in Saudi Super Cup, two appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
11. Appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup

International

As of match played 24 March 2022^[20]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Colombia	2015	1	0
	2016	1	0
	2017	1	0
	2018	1	0
	2019	3	1
	2021	14	0
	2022	2	0
Total		23	1

Colombia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Cuéllar goal.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	23 June 2019	Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil	Paraguay	1–0	1–0	2019 Copa América

Honours

Deportivo Cali

• Copa Colombia: 2010

Junior

• Copa Colombia: 2015

Flamengo

• Campeonato Carioca: 2017, 2019

Al-Hilal

• AFC Champions League: 2019^[21] 2021^[22]
• Saudi Pro League: 2019–20,^[23] 2020–21, 2021–22
• King Cup: 2019–20^[24]
• Saudi Super Cup: 2021

Individual

• Campeonato Carioca Team of the Year: 2019