Pablo Aguilar (footballer, born 1987)

For other people named Pablo Aguilar, see Pablo Aguilar (disambiguation).

Pablo César Aguilar Benítez (born 2 April 1987) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back who plays for Sportivo Luqueño.

Pablo Aguilar

Aguilar with América in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Pablo César Aguilar Benítez[1]
Date of birth	(1987-04-02) 2 April 1987 (age 38)
Place of birth	Luque, Paraguay
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Sportivo Luqueño
Number	23
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2007	Sportivo Luqueño	82	(8)
2008–2009	Colón	34	(3)
2009–2010	San Luis	31	(2)
2010–2011	→ Arsenal de Sarandí (loan)	32	(2)
2011–2012	→ Sportivo Luqueño (loan)	18	(0)
2012–2013	→ Tijuana (loan)	32	(6)
2013	Tijuana	17	(1)
2014–2017	América	135	(15)
2018	Tijuana	20	(0)
2018–2022	Cruz Azul	122	(11)
2022	Libertad	6	(0)
2023–	Sportivo Luqueño	59	(4)
International career
2007–2016	Paraguay	28	(4)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 6 December 2023

From March to July 2017, Aguilar served a ten-match suspension after head-butting a referee.

Club career

Early career

Aguilar won the Paraguayan Primera División title with his first club, Sportivo Luqueño, in 2007. He then transferred to Argentine Primera División side Colón de Santa Fe, where he played for one year. Subsequently, Aguilar played for San Luis of the Mexican Primera División, before joining Argentine Primera's side Arsenal de Sarandí.^[2]

Tijuana

In 2012, Aguilar was sent on loan to Club Tijuana. He started in 20 matches for the club during the Apertura tournament, which Tijuana won, defeating Toluca in the final, even scoring one of the goals himself.

América

On 18 December 2013, it was announced that Aguilar was transferred to Club América, with the announcement being made on the club's Twitter account. On 8 March 2017, during the Copa MX round-of-16 match against Tijuana, Aguilar headbutted referee Fernando Hernández. Despite initially being given a ten-game suspension, a strike by the referee's association protesting the punishments of Aguilar and Enrique Triverio of Toluca^[3] ultimately led to a revised year-long ban for Aguilar from any official football activity.^[4][5] On 31 March, it was reported that both Aguilar and Triverio would appeal their bans to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.^[6]

Cruz Azul

In the summer of 2018, Aguilar officially became a player for Cruz Azul. On 21 July 2018, Aguilar debuted in a 3–0 victory against Puebla and played the 90 minutes.

International career

As of 3 June 2015, Aguilar has played in 22 games with the Paraguay national team, scoring four times. He scored his first goal on 17 October 2012 in the 1–0 victory against Peru.

International goals

Scores and results list Paraguay's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	17 October 2012	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción	Peru	1–0	1–0	2014 World Cup qualifier
2.	15 November 2012	Estadio Feliciano Cáceres, Luque	Guatemala	2–0	3–1	Friendly
3.				3–1
4.	6 February 2013	Estadio Dr. Nicolás Léoz, Asunción	El Salvador	1–0	3–0	Friendly

Personal life

In 2015, Aguilar became a naturalized Mexican citizen.^[7]

Honours

Sportivo Luqueño

• Primera División: Apertura 2007

Tijuana

• Liga MX: Apertura 2012

América

• Liga MX: Apertura 2014
• CONCACAF Champions League: 2014–15, 2015–16

Cruz Azul

• Liga MX: Guardianes 2021
• Copa MX: Apertura 2018
• Campeón de Campeones: 2021
• Supercopa MX: 2019
• Leagues Cup: 2019

Individual

• Liga MX Defender of the Year: 2018–19
• Liga MX Best XI: Guardianes 2021
• Liga MX All-Star: 2021^[8]

See also

• Players and Records in Paraguayan Football