Marcelo Allende

Marcelo Allende
Personal information
Full name Marcelo Iván Allende Bravo
Date of birth (1999-04-07) 7 April 1999 (age 27)
Place of birth Pudahuel, Santiago, Chile
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Position Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
Mamelodi Sundowns
Number 11
Youth career
–2016 Cobreloa
2016 → Arsenal (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Deportes Santa Cruz 34 (5)
2017–2018 Necaxa 12 (0)
2017 → Deportes Santa Cruz (loan) 12 (2)
2019 Magallanes 11 (0)
2020–2022 Montevideo City Torque 77 (15)
2022– Mamelodi Sundowns 74 (7)
International career‡
2015–2017 Chile U17 4 (2)
2016–2019 Chile U20 11 (1)
2021 Chile 1 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Chile
South American Games
Gold medal – first place2018 Cochabamba
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 3 January 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 25 July 2022

Marcelo Iván Allende Bravo (born 7 April 1999) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier Soccer League side Mamelodi Sundowns. Allende captained Chile at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, being the team's top goalscorer in the tournament and was considered to be one of the top youth prospects in Chilean football.

Club career

Allende started his youth career at Cobreloa. After Chile's participation in the U-17 World Cup, he caught the interest of Colo-Colo and Universidad de Chile for his signature, although neither move materialized.

In 2016, the player transferred to Deportes Santa Cruz of the Segunda División de Chile in order to gain more playing time, making his debut against Naval. In his second season at the team, he scored his first senior goal against Melipilla, and became a regular starter, finishing the campaign with four goals.

Allende had a two-month trial with English club Arsenal, featuring for their under-19 team at the Durban International Cup. The team won the competition, and the player was invited to further trials with the club. In April 2017, following a third trial, the English tabloid press reported that Arsenal had offered Allende a professional contract.

Necaxa

With this being so on 7 September 2017 Allende signed up with Mexican side Necaxa, with the intention of rejoining the club in 2018 while remaining on loan with Santa Cruz.

Mamelodi Sundowns

On 24 August 2022, Allende was announced as new player of South African club Mamelodi Sundowns in what was a record transfer fee of R51 million (€3 million) for a player in the South African Premiership and made his debut in the same day scoring a goal versus Stellebosch. He ended his maiden season with 19 appearances for the club scoring 2 goals and providing 2 assists to help them to the 2022–23 league title with his second goal being a much needed winner against Amazulu.

During the 2023–24 season, he continued to feature prominently in Sundowns’ possession‑based system under Rulani Mokwena. He recorded 2 goals and 3 assists in 18 league matches.

Allende enjoyed one of his productive creative campaigns in 2024–25, registering 2 goals and 4 assists in 24 league appearances as Sundowns secured another domestic title.He also featured in the African Football League, helping the club win the title.

In the 2025–26 season, Allende added 4 goals and 1 assist in 21 league matches, while continuing to play across multiple midfield and wide positions under Miguel Cardoso. His versatility, press resistance, and passing range made him a consistent starter as Sundowns won their second Champions League title.

International career

On 15 June 2015, Allende made his debut for Chile U-17 in a friendly defeat against Paraguay. He was later selected on the list of players that would take part in the tournament, held on home soil. He was a starter on Chile's four matches at the U-17 World Cup, netting against Nigeria and the United States.

On 16 October 2016, Allende made his debut for the Chile U-20 in a friendly win against Paraguay U-20 adding another cap against Ecuador U-20, but was ultimately left out of the final squad for the 2017 South American Youth Football Championship. He scored his first goal for the U20's on 10 August 2017, in a friendly win against Japan.

At under-20 level, Allende represented Chile in both the 2018 South American Games, winning the gold medal, and the 2019 South American Championship.

Allende made his debut for Chile national team on 11 December 2021 in a 1–0 win over El Salvador.

Statistics

Club Div. Season League Cups
National
(1)
Tournaments
International
(2)
Total
Matches Goals Matches Goals Matches Goals Matches Goals
Deportes Santa Cruz
Chile
2.ª 2015–1690----90
2016–17224----224
Total club3140000314
Total in career3140000314

Honours

Arsenal

Necaxa

Mamelodi Sundowns

Chile U20

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 "Arsenal hand trial to Chilean teenage starlet dubbed 'the next Alexis Sanchez'". Mirror.co.uk. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Meet Marcelo Allende, the genius of Chile U-17's who is already in the sights of Colo Colo and U de Chile". Emol.com (in Spanish). October 18, 2015. Archived from the original on August 11, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "The new guard". latercera.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Arsenal keen on Chile wonderkid: Teenager has spoken to Alexis Sanchez". Express.co.uk. October 11, 2016. Archived from the original on August 11, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Marcelo Allende, or that confidence beyond its years". Conmebol.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  6. ↑ Fernández, José Tomas (April 7, 2021). ""Un fenómeno": Allende recuerda sus días en el Arsenal de Alexis y Wenger" (in Spanish). AS Chile. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Marcelo Allende of Arsenal". Durban U19.co.za. Archived from the original on October 20, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Arsenal trials for Chile U17 captain Marcelo Allende". Tribal Football.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Arsenal offer permanent deal to Chilean youngster Marcelo Allende following successful trial". Mirror.co.uk. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Arsenal make contract offer to Chilean trialist Marcelo Allende". Metro.co.uk. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Marcelo Allende joins Mexican club Necaxa". T13.cl (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Marcelo Allende debuta a lo grande en el Mamelodi Sundowns de Sudáfrica". www.24horas.cl (in Spanish). 24 Horas. August 24, 2022. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  13. ↑ Fleming, Rob (July 21, 2022). "Vodacom Soccer | News | Sundowns pay record breaking fee for Allende - report". Vodacom Soccer. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
  14. ↑ Presse, AFP-Agence France. "Chilean Allende Grabs Winner For South African Leaders Sundowns". barrons. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
  15. ↑ Sibembe, Yanga (November 14, 2023). "African Football League bounty bolsters Sundowns' already seemingly unreachable dominant domestic dynasty". Daily Maverick. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
  16. ↑ Msomi, Smiso (August 31, 2026). "Miguel Cardoso 'very surprised' Allende remains underrated in South African football". IOL. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Marcelo Allende urges Mamelodi Sundowns to empty tank in Rabat | soccer". SABC. May 21, 2026. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Chile U-17 lose on their debut in the U-18 "Copa Mitad del Mundo"". Futbol Joven Chile.cl (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  19. ↑ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015 – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  20. ↑ "La Roja U-20 defeat Paraguay". ANFP.cl (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Chilean U20 National football team defeat Ecuador 3-0 in Talca". ANFP.cl (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  22. ↑ "List of players selected for the 2017 Ecuador U-20 South American Youth Championship. Country: Chile" (PDF). CONMEBOL.com (in Spanish).
  23. ↑ "A renewed La Roja U-20 team debuts with a victory against Japan". Prensafutbol.cl (in Spanish).
  24. ↑ Bravo, Nicolás (September 28, 2022). "El presente de los jugadores de La Roja que lograron la medalla de oro en los Juegos Suramericanos 2018". www.encancha.cl (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  25. ↑ "El Salvador vs. Chile". Soccerway.com. January 29, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Durban U19 2016 Tournament: Arsenal F.C. win Durban U19 2016". Durban 19.co.za. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2017.