# Gastón Ramírez
**Gastón Ramírez** (Gastón Exequiel Ramírez Pereyra, born 1990 in Fray Bentos, Uruguay) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and central midfielder, currently for Boston River in the [Uruguayan Primera División](https://www.edgepedia.org/uruguayan-primera-division)[1](https://www.transfermarkt.mx/gaston-ramirez/profil/spieler/123742) • [2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872). Left-footed and 1.83 m tall, he built his reputation at Peñarol and Bologna before a club-record transfer to [Southampton](https://www.edgepedia.org/southampton) in 2012, and he later played for Hull City, Middlesbrough, Sampdoria, Monza, Virtus Entella, San Lorenzo, and Miramar Misiones[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872). With Uruguay he won 43 caps between 2010 and 2018[3](https://www.sampdoria.it/player/201920-gaston-ramirez/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / born | Gastón Exequiel Ramírez Pereyra, 1990, Fray Bentos, Uruguay; 1.83 m, left-footed[1](https://www.transfermarkt.mx/gaston-ramirez/profil/spieler/123742) |
| Position | Attacking midfielder / central midfielder[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872) |
| Club-record move | Bologna to Southampton, permanent transfer completed 31 August 2012, reported fee €15.2M (reported in the British press as £11.8m)[4](https://transfernews.com/transfer/94f22cb6-3ea7-4b45-a77e-865ff39acabf/) • [5](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/southampton-close-in-on-ps11-8m-gaston-ramirez-8056873.html) |
| Longest club spell | Sampdoria, August 2017 to June 2021: 121 appearances, 16 goals[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872) |
| Uruguay | 43 senior caps, 0 goals, 2010–2018[3](https://www.sampdoria.it/player/201920-gaston-ramirez/) • [2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872) |
| Honors | China Cup 2018 with Uruguay; Liga AUF Uruguaya 2009/10 and 2024 with Peñarol[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872) |
| Current club | CA Boston River, signed 2 January 2026, contract to 31 December 2026[1](https://www.transfermarkt.mx/gaston-ramirez/profil/spieler/123742) |
## Peñarol and Bologna
Ramírez came through at Peñarol, joining the first team in January 2009 and playing 23 matches with 6 goals in the 2009/10 Primera División season, in which the club won the Uruguayan league title[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872). He was part of the Peñarol fourth-division championship squad of 2008 in his youth years[6](https://1891.uy/jugadores/596/gaston-ramirez).
He signed for Bologna in August 2010, with transfer databases recording a fee of €3.36M on 24 August 2010[7](https://www.aiscore.com/player-gaston-ramirez/69759iyz5vaok23). He made his [Serie A](https://www.edgepedia.org/serie-a) debut on 26 September 2010 in a 1-1 draw at Catania[3](https://www.sampdoria.it/player/201920-gaston-ramirez/). Over two Serie A seasons he scored 12 goals, 7 in 2010/11 and 8 in 2011/12, from 60 appearances in all competitions across his Bologna stay[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872) • [8](https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/gaston-ramirez/).
## Southampton
**Record signing.** In the summer of 2012, Southampton, newly promoted to the Premier League, agreed a fee reported at £11.8 million with Bologna, almost double the club-record £6 million paid for [Jay Rodriguez](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-rodriguez) earlier that summer[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/southampton-close-in-on-ps11-8m-gaston-ramirez-8056873.html). The deal was completed on 31 August 2012 as a permanent transfer, with the reported fee recorded as €15.2M in transfer databases[4](https://transfernews.com/transfer/94f22cb6-3ea7-4b45-a77e-865ff39acabf/). He was Southampton's fifth signing of that window, following Rodriguez, Steven Davis, Nathaniel Clyne, and Paul Gazzaniga[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/southampton-close-in-on-ps11-8m-gaston-ramirez-8056873.html).
He stayed at Southampton from August 2012 to September 2014, playing 50 matches and scoring 8 goals[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872). In 2012/13, his first Premier League season, he made 26 league appearances and scored 5 goals[3](https://www.sampdoria.it/player/201920-gaston-ramirez/). His arrival also had an off-field effect at the club: Fran Alonso, a Spanish coach who spoke no English at the time, was brought in as a translator for Ramírez and then remained at Southampton, joining the technical staffs of [Mauricio Pochettino](https://www.edgepedia.org/mauricio-pochettino) and later [Ronald Koeman](https://www.edgepedia.org/ronald-koeman)[9](https://cadenaser.com/galicia/2024/11/25/el-todo-o-nada-de-fran-alonso-radio-coruna/).
## Loans and Middlesbrough
After two full Southampton seasons, Ramírez spent 2014/15 on loan at Hull City in the Premier League, making 22 league appearances and scoring once[3](https://www.sampdoria.it/player/201920-gaston-ramirez/). In January 2016 he went on loan to [Middlesbrough](https://www.edgepedia.org/middlesbrough) of the Football League Championship, where he scored 7 goals in 18 matches during the second half of the promotion-winning 2015/16 season[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872) • [3](https://www.sampdoria.it/player/201920-gaston-ramirez/). He then joined Middlesbrough permanently on a free transfer in July 2016, as the club entered the Premier League, and made 26 Premier League appearances with 2 goals in 2016/17[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872) • [3](https://www.sampdoria.it/player/201920-gaston-ramirez/).
Across his spells at Southampton, Hull City, and Middlesbrough he accumulated 94 Premier League appearances, a total that placed him among the most experienced Uruguayan players in the competition's history[10](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/pellizco-millonario-del-girona-por-santi-bueno-f202604-n/).
## Sampdoria and later career
In August 2017 Ramírez returned to Italy with [Sampdoria](https://www.edgepedia.org/sampdoria), where he spent four seasons, the longest posting of his career: 121 appearances and 16 goals between 2017 and 2021, including 37 Serie A matches with 3 goals in 2017/18 and 27 matches with 4 goals in 2018/19[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872) • [3](https://www.sampdoria.it/player/201920-gaston-ramirez/).
His later career moved through short spells: Monza in [Serie B](https://www.edgepedia.org/serie-b) (December 2021 to June 2022, 6 matches, 1 goal), Virtus Entella (October 2022 to June 2023, 25 matches, 2 goals), San Lorenzo in Argentina (August 2023 to January 2024, 10 matches), a return to Peñarol for 2024 (37 matches, 4 goals, and a second Liga AUF title), Miramar Misiones (February to December 2025, 20 matches, 3 goals), and finally Boston River, signed on 2 January 2026[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872) • [1](https://www.transfermarkt.mx/gaston-ramirez/profil/spieler/123742).
## Uruguay
Ramírez's senior international debut is recorded by Sampdoria's club database as 8 October 2010, in a 7-1 win over Indonesia[3](https://www.sampdoria.it/player/201920-gaston-ramirez/); the Uruguayan federation's own player page instead lists his debut as 11 July 2012 in a friendly against Chile, which Uruguay won 6-4[11](https://www.auf.org.uy/10-gast-oacute-n-ram-iacute-rez/). Both sources agree he finished with 43 senior caps and no goals[3](https://www.sampdoria.it/player/201920-gaston-ramirez/) • [2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872).
At the London 2012 Olympic tournament he scored the goal that turned Uruguay's opening match: a direct free kick in the 42nd minute that equalized against the [United Arab Emirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-arab-emirates), setting up a 2-1 win under coach Óscar Washington Tabárez[12](https://as.com/masdeporte/2012/07/26/juegosolimpicos/1343326399_147307.html). He also appeared at the 2014 World Cup, where he supplied what MLS's career summary describes as a crucial assist[8](https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/gaston-ramirez/), and he was part of the squad that won the inaugural China Cup in 2018[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872).
## Style and recognition
MLS's player profile describes him as a left-footed playmaker who operates as an attacking midfielder[8](https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/gaston-ramirez/). FotMob records his market value peaking at €9.4M on 31 December 2016, during his Middlesbrough period, and his transfer value in 2026 at around €198,000[2](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872).
## References
1. [Gastón Ramírez player profile, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.mx/gaston-ramirez/profil/spieler/123742)
2. [Gastón Ramírez, stats, career and market value, FotMob](https://www.fotmob.com/players/190872)
3. [Gastón Ramírez 2019/20, U.C. Sampdoria official player page](https://www.sampdoria.it/player/201920-gaston-ramirez/)
4. [Gastón Ramírez Pereyra Transfer to Southampton, TransferNews](https://transfernews.com/transfer/94f22cb6-3ea7-4b45-a77e-865ff39acabf/)
5. [Southampton close in on £11.8m Gaston Ramirez, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/southampton-close-in-on-ps11-8m-gaston-ramirez-8056873.html)
6. [Perfil de Gastón Ramírez, 1891](https://1891.uy/jugadores/596/gaston-ramirez)
7. [Gastón Ramírez stats and transfer history, AiScore](https://www.aiscore.com/player-gaston-ramirez/69759iyz5vaok23)
8. [Gastón Ramírez, MLSsoccer.com](https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/gaston-ramirez/)
9. [El todo o nada de Fran Alonso, Cadena SER](https://cadenaser.com/galicia/2024/11/25/el-todo-o-nada-de-fran-alonso-radio-coruna/)
10. [Pellizco millonario del Girona por Santi Bueno, AS.com](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/pellizco-millonario-del-girona-por-santi-bueno-f202604-n/)
11. [10 - GASTÓN RAMÍREZ, Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol](https://www.auf.org.uy/10-gast-oacute-n-ram-iacute-rez/)
12. [Uruguay remonta ante Emiratos Árabes, AS.com](https://as.com/masdeporte/2012/07/26/juegosolimpicos/1343326399_147307.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of South America › Uruguayan men's footballers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license