Archive July 5, 2025

‘Left-back wanted’ was the message in ABC Color, Paraguay’s most-read newspaper.

Coach Manolo Jimenez had been left without much of a choice as he prepared his Cerro Porteno side to face Sportivo Ameliano in Paraguay’s top flight in early August.

Having lost both senior left-backs through injury, Jimenez was left with a dilemma – play right-back Victor Cabanas in the position or hand 17-year-old novice Diego Leon his senior debut.

Only a few months earlier, Leon was an unknown featuring for Cerro’s Under-17 team.

But Jimenez opted to go with the teenager against Ameliano and his boldness was rewarded as the youngster secured a 1-0 win with a powerful header.

He scored again a week later and impressed so much that he was named player of the month by the coaches’ association.

That dream has now taken Leon to the ‘Theatre of the Dreams’, after the deal – which was agreed in January – was completed by Manchester United.

And, while his first-team breakthrough may not be immediate, there are plenty who believe he can make a huge impact at Old Trafford.

“He’s a left-back like no other in the world, the kind that’s rare to find,” said Cerro president Juan Jose Zapag.

There seems little doubt about Leon’s potential.

Lightning quick and fearless with the ball at his feet, he caused such an impact with Cerro’s first team that Jimenez had to ask European sides to leave him alone, with Arsenal and Manchester City also approaching him.

Ultimately, he was convinced by United’s long-term vision and their determination to secure him.

The full-back will now follow in the footsteps of Diego Gavilan, the first Paraguayan to play in the Premier League. Like Leon, he was a Cerro product and left the team for Newcastle United in 2000.

“Things have happened very quickly for him,” Gavilan, who coached the club’s senior and youth teams, told BBC Sport.

“But at 17, there’s still plenty for Leon to learn, improve, and refine. It’s going to be a massive change for him, moving to a different country, a different continent.

“Going from a country he’s used to, with its own ways of life, language and culture, to adapting to the English way of thinking about football. A lot of things, right?

Leon has one immediate plan – and it does not involve a football pitch.

“The first thing he wants to do is build a house for our parents,” revealed his eldest brother Hernan.

He did not have it easy growing up in a humble family as the youngest of nine siblings in Juan Emilio O’Leary, a small city close to the borders with Brazil and Argentina.

But not even that stopped him from pursuing his dream and packing his things for Cerro Porteno’s academy in Paraguay’s capital city Asuncion at the age of 12.

“I followed him during his time in the youth ranks at Cerro, back when I worked there as the coach for the Under-19s, Under-20s, Under-23s and later the first team,” Gavilan recalled.

“He’s a kid from the countryside with tremendous potential and great physical power.

“He always stood out in every level he played at and perhaps more importantly he’s someone who can also play in various roles. “

Leon spent his formative years as a left winger, so his attacking prowess is perhaps no surprise.

“He plays as a left-back, but he really enjoys getting forward, overlapping from his position to join the attack,” said Hernan Acuna, Cerro’s head of scouting.

“He initially joined the club as a winger, but due to necessity he was used as a left-back.

“His attacking quality, being able to join offensive moves, does sometimes mean he neglects his defensive duties a little.

The defender was picked for most of Cerro Porteno’s league games this year but played a very limited role in the side’s progression to August’s Copa Libertadores knockouts – an indication Manchester United are signing potential rather than a finished product.

Leon has benefited from working with Jimenez, a coach who had previously helped nurture talents such as Sergio Ramos, Jesus Navas and Jose Antonio Reyes at Sevilla.

“He was a player in development, but I saw his strength and quality, so I took the chance on him. Physically, he’s a powerhouse,” Jimenez, who now works at Apoel Nicosia in Cyprus, told Madrid newspaper Marca.

Leon has already admitted his role model for the position is former Real Madrid defender Marcelo.

“Diego has natural talent, but a long journey ahead, too. Hopefully, one day we can say he’s had a career similar to Marcelo’s – or perhaps one like [Patrice] Evra’s at United,” added Jimenez.

Leon’s progress will be watched closely both by United fans and by followers of South American football.

“His transfer is quite a unique case because usually players who leave the club are transferred to South American teams before eventually making their way to Europe,” Acuna said.

“In the past, many teams, particularly from Spain, used to sign players directly from Cerro. Nowadays, we have this situation with Leon, who is signed directly by a Premier League club, just like what happened with Gavilan.