River Plate Born in
Buenos Aires, Saviola made his debut for
River Plate at the age of 16, and went on to be a prolific goalscorer for the club. He helped River to the 1999
Apertura and 2000
Clausura championships, and earned the 1999
South American Footballer of the Year award. Still only 18, he gained a reputation as a phenomenal prospect, and was even regarded as a potential
heir to
Diego Maradona, in particular after he broke the latter's 1978 record by becoming the youngest player to win the Golden Boot award.
Barcelona In 2001, aged 19, Saviola moved abroad to play for
Barcelona in a
£15 million transfer. in 2007 Saviola's
second year at the
Camp Nou did not start well, as he only scored two goals in the first half of the season.
Radomir Antić became the new coach after
Louis van Gaal was fired, and he went on to net eleven goals in the latter half of the campaign;
Frank Rijkaard was subsequently appointed as new manager for
2003–04, and the player scored 14 times in the league alone, but was deemed surplus at the club as was longtime attacking partner
Patrick Kluivert. playing in 18 league games, six as a starter, and netting five goals. He benefited greatly from injuries to teammates, most notably to
Samuel Eto'o, and added five in as many matches in
that season's
Copa del Rey, notably a
hat-trick against
Alavés (3–2 win at home, 5–2 aggregate).
Real Madrid On 10 July 2007, Real Madrid signed Saviola after his Barcelona contract expired, on a three-year deal. Although on a financially lucrative contract, he endured a difficult time at Real, being mainly restricted to cup matches and sporadic appearances (mainly as a substitute) in the league and the
UEFA Champions League. The arrival of
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar limited Saviola's opportunities even more, and he finished his Real Madrid spell with five goals in 28 overall appearances.
Benfica On 26 June 2009,
Benfica and Real Madrid agreed on a
€5 million deal that would see Saviola play in
Portugal for the next three years, with an option for one more; a €30 million clause was added. On 16 July, he scored two goals to send his team into the
Guadiana Trophy finals after defeating
Athletic Bilbao. Saviola netted twice on 22 October 2009, guiding his side to a 5–0 victory over
Everton for the
UEFA Europa League (he would also score in their 2–0 win in
Liverpool in the second match), adding another brace four days later in a 6–1 routing of
C.D. Nacional for the
Primeira Liga. On 6 December 2009, Saviola scored through a chip shot against
Académica de Coimbra in a 4–0 home win. On 20 December, he netted the game's only goal as Benfica defeated rivals
Porto at home; during the victorious campaign, he formed a deadly attacking partnership with Paraguayan
Óscar Cardozo, with the pair combining for more than 50 goals overall. On 3 January 2010, shortly before receiving the
SJPF Player of the Month award, Saviola scored another
winning goal against Nacional, now for the
Taça da Liga, again being the game's only scorer in an away defeat of
Rio Ave, netting in the 48th minute. He scored his 19th goal overall in a 3–1 home triumph against
Paços de Ferreira on 7 March, and the
Lisbon club was eventually
crowned league champions Málaga In the last hours of the
2012–13 summer
transfer window, Saviola agreed on a move to
Málaga. He played 45 minutes in his first appearance, a 1–0 win at
Real Zaragoza on 1 September. On 15 September 2012, Saviola scored once and provided one
assist in a 3−1 home win against
Levante. He continued with his streak the following game, Málaga's first-ever in the
Champions League group stage, netting in a 3–0 home win over
Zenit Saint Petersburg.
Olympiacos On 25 July 2013, Saviola signed a two-year contract with Greek champions
Olympiacos. He scored his first goal in the
Super League on 25 August,
coming on at
half-time and helping his team come from behind to win 2–1 at home to
Atromitos On 10 December, he netted a brace – and also missed a
penalty – in a 3–1 success over
Anderlecht also at the
Karaiskakis Stadium in
the group stage's last round, which helped the
Piraeus team finish second and qualify at the expense of former side Benfica.
Verona On 2 September 2014, Saviola joined
Serie A club
Hellas Verona. He made his official debut on 22 September, starting in a 2–2 home draw against
Genoa, and scored his first goal on 2 December, netting the only in a
home win over
Perugia for the
Coppa Italia. His sole goal of the league season came on 25 January 2015, the only one in a home victory over
Atalanta.
Return to River On 30 June 2015, River Plate announced that Saviola had returned to the club. He left in January of the following year, after failing to find the net in his second spell, and subsequently retired from professional football at the age of 34.
Retirement, coaching and futsal career Shortly after retiring, Saviola settled in
Andorra with his family and joined FC Ordino as an assistant coach in the
Primera Divisió. In February 2018 he signed for local futsal side
Encamp. In April 2018 he won the Andorran futsal league with Encamp. ==International career==