Paulo Díaz

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

Paulo César Díaz Huincales (Latin American Spanish: [ˈpawlo ˈði.as] born 25 August 1994), known as Paulo Díaz, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Argentine Primera División club River Plate and the Chile national team.^[3]

Paulo Díaz

Díaz with Chile at the 2017 Confederations Cup
Personal information
Full name	Paulo César Díaz Huincales
Date of birth	(1994-08-25) 25 August 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Santa Cruz, Chile
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s)	Centre-back, full-back
Team information
Current team	River Plate
Number	17
Youth career
2003–2006	Cobreloa[2]
2008–2009	Audax Italiano[2]
2010–2013	Palestino[2]
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2015	Palestino	47	(6)
2015	Colo-Colo	1	(0)
2016–2018	San Lorenzo	47	(5)
2018–2019	Al-Ahli	24	(0)
2019–	River Plate	140	(8)
International career‡
2015–	Chile	50	(1)
Medal record Representing  Chile Runner-up FIFA Confederations Cup 2017
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:15, 13 July 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:06, 25 March 2025 (UTC)

International career

He got his first call up to the senior Chile squad for a friendly against the United States in January 2015 and made his international debut in the match.^[4]

Personal life

He is the son of former defender Ítalo Díaz,^[5] who played for the Chile national team in 2001. His younger brother, Nicolás, is a Chilean international footballer too.^[6]

Díaz Huincales is of Mapuche descent.^[7]

Díaz naturalized Argentine by residence in 2024.^[8]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 13 July 2025^[9]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Palestino	2013	Chilean Primera División	3	0	3	0	–		–		6	0
	2013–14	Chilean Primera División	16	0	0	0	–		–		16	0
	2014–15	Chilean Primera División	28	6	10	1	7[b]	0	–		45	7
	Total		47	6	13	1	7	0	–		67	7
Colo-Colo	2015–16	Chilean Primera División	2	0	4	0	–		–		6	0
San Lorenzo	2016	Argentine Primera División	7	0	4	1	5[b]	0	–		16	1
	2016–17	Argentine Primera División	19	3	1	0	8[b]	1	–		28	4
	2017–18	Argentine Primera División	21	2	1	1	3[c]	0	–		25	3
	Total		47	5	6	2	16	1	–		69	8
Al-Ahli	2018–19	Saudi Pro League	24	0	1	0	6[d]	0	4[e]	2	35	2
River Plate	2019–20	Argentine Primera División	10	0	1	0	2[b]	0	1[f]	0	14	0
	2020–21	Argentine Primera División	5	0	3	0	9[b]	2	1	0	18	2
	2021	Argentine Primera División	28	1	0	0	7[b]	1	1[g]	0	36	2
	2022	Argentine Primera División	24	1	2	0	7[b]	0	–		33	1
	2023	Argentine Primera División	27	2	2	0	7[b]	0	1[h]	0	37	2
	2024	Argentine Primera División	34	3	1	0	11[b]	0	1[f]	0	47	3
	2025	Argentine Primera División	12	1	0	0	3[b]	1	1[i]	0	16	2
	Total		140	8	9	0	46	4	6	0	201	12
Career total			260	19	33	3	75	5	10	2	378	29

1. Includes Copa Chile, Copa Argentina and King's Cup
2. Appearances in Copa Libertadores
3. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
4. Appearances in AFC Champions League
5. Appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup
6. Appearance in Supercopa Argentina
7. Appearance in Trofeo de Campeones de la Liga Profesional
8. Appearance in Supercopa Internacional
9. Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup

International

As of match played 25 March 2025

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Chile	2015	1	0
	2017	8	0
	2018	7	0
	2019	7	0
	2020	4	0
	2021	4	0
	2022	8	0
	2023	5	1
	2024	8	0
	2025	2	0
Total		51	1

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	27 March 2023	Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago, Chile	Paraguay	2–2	3–2	Friendly

Honours

Colo-Colo

• Chilean Primera División: 2015 Apertura

River Plate

• Argentine Primera División: 2021, 2023
• Copa Argentina: 2018–19
• Supercopa Argentina: 2019, 2023
• Trofeo de Campeones de la Liga Profesional: 2021, 2023