Charting the key moments in Santi Bueno's career which made him the player he is today.
First trophy
11th February 2017 | U20 South American Championship
Coming through at boyhood club Penarol, who he joined at the age of 10, Bueno progressed into the first-team squad just six years later to make his unofficial senior debut in a South American friendly tournament, as he played the second half of a 1-1 draw with Paraguayan outfit Club Libertad. During this time he was also regular with Uruguay’s under-17s and was part of his country’s under-20 team which reached the semi-finals of the U20 World Cup as well as earning the first trophy of his career in the U20 South American Championships, as he helped Uruguay to wins over Peru and Bolivia.
Signing for Barcelona
7th March 2017 | Barcelona 2-1 Porto
Bueno’s performances at youth level for Penarol, as well as for Uruguay’s under-20s, alerted clubs from across Europe to sign the defender, but it was Barcelona who managed to bring the youngster across from Uruguay in January 2017. Bueno was part of the B-team squad for Barca, and although he never played a senior match for the Spanish giants, he featured in the 2016/17 UEFA Youth League, coming off the bench in place of Alex Collado in the club’s 2-1 win over Porto in the quarter-finals, to make his first outing in a defence also consisting of Marc Cucurella.
Senior debut
28th January 2018 | CF Peralada 1-0 Elche CF
After a year with Barcelona, the club wanted to get Bueno senior game time, so loaned the defender to third tier Spanish outfit CF Peralada in January 2018, who were acting as Girona’s B-team at the time. Bueno was a regular in his debut season at senior level, playing the entire 90 minutes of all but four games, and those quartet of matches were games he only missed due to injury. His debut came just a few weeks later at centre-back as Peralada claimed a 1-0 win over third placed Elche, moving from 17th place when he first joined to finish ninth thanks to Bueno’s displays.
La Liga debut
14th August 2022 | Valencia 1-0 Girona
Bueno signed permanently for Girona in August 2019, joining the second tier Spanish side on a five-year deal. The Uruguayan took a while to make a name for himself with the club, making just two appearances in the 2019/20, but in the next two years, he was a key part of the Girona team which secured promotion into La Liga. He would step out to make his Spanish top flight debut at the start of the 2022/23 season, and although he wasn’t able to secure his team a win on the road against Valencia, he turned out 34 times in La Liga before securing a move to Wolves in summer 2023.
International captaincy
13th October 2025 | Uzbekistan 1-2 Uruguay
During his spell with Girona, Bueno was given his first senior international cap in a 1-1 friendly draw against Japan in Tokyo, adding to the 25 he earned at under-17 level, 27 at under-21 and five for the under-23s. Over the course of the next few years, Bueno was selected in almost every senior Uruguay national team squad, and earned another seven appearances for his country. But his most recent was also the most iconic of them all as the Wolves defender walked out wearing the captain’s armband for the first time as Uruguay claimed victory over Uzbekistan. A proud moment for Bueno.
This article originally featured in Wolves' official 2025/26 matchday programme. Last season's programmes are still available to purchase online through retailers Curtis Sports.
