Buendia was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, around 400 kilometres from the capital Buenos Aires. He took his first steps in football with local club Cadetes de San Martin and was only 12 years old when he left home to join the academy at Real Madrid, where a certain Xabi Alonso was playing in the senior team. His time with Los Blancos was only brief, though, as Buendia soon moved to the outskirts of the city with Getafe.
The right-footer made his debut for the Madrid club’s second team in the third tier at the age of 17 in March 2014. Within a year he’d got his first taste of senior football in the cup before his La Liga debut on 1 February 2015. Getafe were relegated that season, while injuries restricted the midfielder to just 12 appearances in the following 2016/17 campaign in the second division.
In 2017/18, Buendia was sent on loan to second division outfit Cultural Leonesa and went on to score six goals and provide 12 assists in 40 league appearances. Although his team couldn’t avoid relegation, his displays caught the eye and earned him the Player of the Year award in Spain’s second division and the title of Player of the Season by Leonesa fans.
Buendia left Spain in 2018 to begin a new chapter in England. He was Daniel Farke’s first signing as Norwich City boss in the EFL Championship and went on to have a direct hand in 20 goals across 38 league outings as the Canaries topped the table to secure promotion back to the Premier League.
Although the following campaign in the top flight ended in relegation, the Argentine featured in 36 out of 38 games, scoring once and providing six assists. He stayed with Norwich after they went down and once again led them back to the big time as champions, being named Championship Player of the Season after contributing 15 goals and 16 assists in 39 games.
Buendia went on to join Aston Villa for the 2021/22 season – partially under Steven Gerrard – and made 35 Premier League appearances (a direct hand in 10 goals) in his first year. His performances for his club earned a call-up for the national team and a senior debut for Argentina in a 1-0 win over Colombia in World Cup qualifying in February 2022. Buendia holds both Spanish and Argentinian citizenship and had previously represented the former at U19 level in 2014 and the latter with the U20s in 2015.
The midfielder would play every league game in 2022/23, contributing seven goals, but then missed the next year due to a cruciate ligament injury.
The new Leverkusen man has already been in UEFA Champions League action this season, starting four of Villa’s first seven games of the league phase as they compete alongside the Werkself for a place in the last 16.
Buendia will be at the BayArena on Wednesday evening to watch his new team in action for the first time as they conclude the league phase against Sparta Prague.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended Abdoulaye Faye’s contract by a further year to 30 June 2031. During the 2026/27 season, the talented defender will play for Celta Vigo on loan without an option to buy. The 21-year-old Senegalese is set to feature in La Liga and the UEFA Europa League with last season’s sixth-placed side in Spain.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme on day one (Sunday 2 August) includes a media round with managing director sport Simon Rolfes, free time for the team after the friendly against Rot-Weiss Essen and before an intensive week of training begins, as well as a coffee get-together where CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes met around 100 fans in the afternoon.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed Kerim Alajbegovic’s transfer to Italian record champions Juventus. The club brought the 18-year-old attacking player back to Leverkusen this summer via a buy-back option, following a season at Red Bull Salzburg. Until his move to Austria, the Bosnia international had been playing for Bayer 04’s Under-19s.
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A warm welcome to the Weimarer Land, Bayer 04! The Werkself moved into their accommodation for this year’s training camp on Saturday evening. In Blankenhain, Thuringia, head coach Carles Martínez’s team have a programme of gruelling training sessions – several of which will be open to fans – and team-building activities lined up for the next six days. We’ll be following the Werkself up close and providing you with exclusive insights, quotes, photos and videos from the training camp.
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With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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