Vélez Born in
Buenos Aires, Otamendi made his
Primera División debut for
Velez Sarsfield on 10 May 2008, in a 2–1 home win against
Rosario Central for the
Clausura tournament. During manager
Hugo Tocalli's spell he was only fifth-choice stopper, behind
Waldo Ponce,
Fernando Tobio,
Marco Torsiglieri and
Mariano Uglessich. However, his role in the first team changed during
Ricardo Gareca's first season as head coach, the
2009 Clausura: he replaced Ponce for the third game after the Chilean was injured while playing for
his national team, Otamendi scored his first professional goal during the
2009 Apertura, in a 3–1 victory over
Arsenal de Sarandí. During that season he also made his debut in an international club competition,
appearing in the
Copa Sudamericana; in recognition of his performances throughout the year he was chosen for the
South American Team of the Year, in a traditional continent-wide journalists' poll conducted by the newspaper
El País.
Porto On 23 August 2010, Otamendi was transferred to Portuguese side
Porto on a €4 million fee, signing a five-year contract. Vélez also retained 50% of his registration rights, with the player having a pre-set price of another €4 million to be met by Porto prior to September 2011. He netted in his first match, a 2–0 home victory over
Olhanense, finishing
his first season with 15 appearances and five goals (notably both in a 2–0 away win against
Braga) as the
northerners won the
Primeira Liga championship. On 6 September 2011, Porto exercised the rights to sign the remainder of Otamendi's playing rights. He played 30 official games during
the season to help the club to another two major titles, notably the back-to-back domestic league.
Valencia On 5 February 2014, Otamendi was sold to
Valencia in
La Liga for €12 million, on a five-year contract starting on 1 July. He was immediately loaned to
Atlético Mineiro in
Brazil, and played 19 times for the team from
Belo Horizonte, scoring once to open a 4–1 win at city rivals
América Mineiro on 23 March in the first leg of the semi-finals of the
state championship. Otamendi made his debut in the
Spanish top level on 23 August 2014, starting in a 1–1 away draw against
Sevilla. He scored his first goal for his new club on 4 October, helping to a 3–1 home success over
Atlético Madrid. On 4 January 2015, Otamendi headed Valencia's winner in a 2–1 home win over
Real Madrid, ending their opponents' club record 22-match winning streak as a result. After helping
Los Che qualify for the
UEFA Champions League for the first time in four years, becoming the first club stopper to score six goals in the league in the process, he was the only player from his team to be named in the La Liga Team of the Year.
Manchester City Late into the 2015 pre-season, Otamendi refused to train or play with Valencia to avoid thwarting his chances of signing with another club. On 20 August, he joined
Manchester City on a five-year deal for a fee of £32 million. He made his debut on 15 September, coming on as a 75th-minute
substitute for
Vincent Kompany in a 1–2 home loss against
Juventus for the
Champions League group phase; his
Premier League debut came four days later, in a 1–2 defeat to
West Ham United at the
City of Manchester Stadium. On 31 October 2015, Otamendi scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 home win over
Norwich City. He played the full 120 minutes as they
won the
Football League Cup on 28 February 2016, defeating
Liverpool on a
penalty shootout in
the final. On 1 November 2017, Otamendi netted his first
UEFA Champions League goal in a 4–2 away win over
Napoli. A month later, on 10 December, he scored the winning goal in the
Manchester derby at
Old Trafford, helping City stretch their lead at the top of the
Premier League to 11 points. City would go on to lift the
Premier League title that season with a
record-breaking 100 points, this was Otamendi's first league title in England. On 18 April 2018, Otamendi was named in the
PFA Team of the Year alongside
Manchester City teammates
Kyle Walker,
David Silva,
Kevin De Bruyne and
Sergio Agüero. In the
2018–19 season, Otamendi helped Manchester City become the first English side to win a
domestic men's treble, consisting of the
League Cup,
Premier League title and
FA Cup. In his final season at Manchester City, Otamendi made 39 appearances in total. He also helped his side retain the
League Cup for the third season in a row in March 2020, his final trophy with City.
Benfica On 29 September 2020, Otamendi moved to former club Porto's rivals
Benfica, signing a three-year contract for a €15 million fee, with Benfica defender
Rúben Dias moving to Manchester City for a larger fee as part of the deal. He made his league debut in a 3–2 win against
Farense on 4 October. On 8 February 2021, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 victory over
Famalicão. As captain, he steered the team to the
2022–23 Primeira Liga triumph. On 4 January 2025, he made his 200th appearance for the club in a 2–1 defeat against
Braga. He reached his
100th Champions League appearance on 28 January 2026, featuring in a 4–2 victory against Real Madrid. ==International career==