Hernán Pérez (footballer)


Hernán Arsenio Pérez González is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays for Qatari club Al Ahli SC and the Paraguay national team as a right winger.

Club career

Early years

Pérez was born in Fernando de la Mora, Asunción. After playing for two other youth clubs he finished his formation with Tacuary, where he made his top division debuts in 2007.
Subsequently, Pérez was signed by fellow league side Club Libertad, appearing rarely for them due to a serious right knee injury.

Villarreal

On 30 July 2009, Villarreal CF from Spain bought Pérez, who signed a five-year contract. He spent two full seasons with the reserves in Segunda División, starting in several of the matches he featured in.
Pérez was definitely promoted to the Valencians' first team for the 2011–12 campaign. He made his competitive debut on 27 September in the UEFA Champions League game against S.S.C. Napoli, coming on as a substitute for Jonathan de Guzmán in the dying minutes of a 0–2 group stage away loss. Again from the bench, on 1 October, he made his first La Liga appearance: from a corner kick, in the 84th minute, he equalised it 2–2 for the hosts against Real Zaragoza.
Pérez contributed with 16 appearances and two goals in 2012–13, as the Yellow Submarine finished second and returned to the top level one year after relegating.
Pérez joined Greek club Olympiacos F.C. on 31 January 2014. He made his Superleague debut five days later in a 2–0 home victory over Panionios FC, and scored his first goal on 8 February in a 5–0 routing at Veria FC.
On 30 January 2015, Pérez returned to Spain's second level after being loaned to Real Valladolid until the end of the season.

Espanyol

On 3 July 2015, Pérez signed a four-year deal with RCD Espanyol in the top division after his contract with Villarreal expired. He quickly became a starter for the Sergio-led side and, on 21 November, took his season to tally to four after scoring a brace to help down Málaga CF 2–0 at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat.
On 12 January 2018, Pérez was loaned to fellow league club Deportivo Alavés for six months.

Al-Ahli

On 23 July 2019, Pérez cut ties with Espanyol and agreed to a three-year contract at Al Ahli SC of the Qatar Stars League.

International career

Pérez was one of the best players for the Paraguayan under-20 team at the 2009 South American Championship, helping the nation finish in second place by scoring five goals in seven matches and ultimately being considered one of the best players in the tournament held in Venezuela.
He made his debut for the full side the following year at the age of 21, playing the last 20 minutes of the 1–1 friendly draw to South Africa, and was selected to the 2011 Copa América in Argentina.

Honours

Olympiacos