Uruguayan footballer, Juan Izquierdo has D! ED aged 27, days after collapsing during a game in Brazil, according to his Uruguayan club and South American soccer's governing body.
The club, Nacional, posted a statement on social media saying that Izquierdo's death was 'felt in our hearts in deep pain and impact' and that 'all Nacional mourn his irreparable loss.'
South American football's governing body also paid tribute, just days after he collapsed on the field and was taken to hospital before the team announced he was in a 'stable condition'.
Izquierdo was taken to Hospital Albert Einstein after collapsing during a Copa Libertadores football match at Sao Paulo's Morembe Stadium last Thursday.
The hospital said in a statement late Tuesday that Izquierdo suffered a 'cardiorespiratory arrest linked to his cardiac arrhythmia.
In a statement Monday, doctors at the hospital said Izquierdo was suffering from increased intracranial pressure. He was on ventilator since Sunday and under neurocritical care since Monday.
Uruguayan media reported that Izquierdo's parents and national executives were at a hospital in Sao Paulo.
Izquierdo was married and had two children.
Uruguay's first and second division leagues were postponed over the weekend due to concerns over Izquierdo's health. Sao Paulo players wore shirts in support of the Uruguayan footballer ahead of the Brazilian league side's 2-1 win over Vitoria on Sunday.
Izquierdo's professional career began in 2018 with local club Cerro. The following year he joined Perol before moving to Montevideo Wanderers.
Izquierdo was signed by Nacional in 2022, played one match, and was then transferred to local club Liverpool.
The defender was one of Liverpool's best players in a campaign that saw the team win the Uruguayan league title in 2023, the club's first in more than a century.
Izquierdo returned to Nacional before his sudden death that year.