Antonio Sanabria Profile, Stats and Career

Antonio Sanabria is a 30-year-old Paraguayan centre-forward playing for Cremonese in Italy's Serie A. Known as Tony Sanabria, he is one of the most experienced forwards in Paraguay's 2026 FIFA World Cup squad — a striker who developed through FC Barcelona's academy, played for Roma, Real Betis, and spent four seasons at Torino before joining Cremonese. He has 47 caps and 7 international goals for Paraguay. This profile covers his age, Spanish upbringing, career in Italian football, and World Cup record.

Born in San Lorenzo, Paraguay, Sanabria moved to Spain as a child in 2007 and joined Barcelona's La Masia academy in 2009 aged 13. He progressed through Barça B, Roma (Italy), Sporting Gijón (loan), and Real Betis before Torino signed him in 2021. His 85 goals across all competitions and his career across five different European clubs make him one of the most extensively travelled Paraguayan forwards in history. Cremonese signed him in August 2025.

Early Life and Background

Antonio Sanabria was born on 4 March 1996 in San Lorenzo, Paraguay. He began his footballing journey at Cerro Porteño's youth academy in 2004, but his career changed direction entirely when his family relocated to Spain in 2007. He joined a local club from Sitges — La Blanca Subur CF — before FC Barcelona identified him and brought him into La Masia, the club's legendary academy, in 2009 at age 13.

Growing up in La Masia shaped his entire footballing identity. The technical and tactical standards of Barcelona's development system — the passing philosophy, positional intelligence, and technical finesse — are deeply embedded in his game. He progressed through Barça B and earned a senior Roma contract in 2014.

From La Masia to Serie A and international football

Roma signed him in 2014 and he spent two seasons there, including a loan to Sporting Gijón in La Liga (2015–16) where he scored 10 goals in 33 appearances. Real Betis then signed him in 2016 for five seasons — his longest club stay — where he made over 130 appearances. Torino acquired him in 2021 for four seasons in the Serie A before Cremonese brought him to the newly promoted club in August 2025.

His Serie A career at Torino (2021–25) was the most consistent period of his professional life — 4 seasons, regular appearances, and the defensive discipline of Italian football that refined his movement off the ball and positional play. Cremonese signed him on a contract through June 2028 as part of their newly promoted squad-building investment.

Antonio Sanabria Personal Info and Profile

Sanabria's dual Paraguayan-Spanish nationality — born in Paraguay, raised and educated in Spain, holding a Spanish passport — is reflected in his technical style. La Masia's influence on his movement, first touch, and combination play is visible across his career, and his Serie A experience has added physical robustness and positional discipline.

Transfer News and Market Value

Antonio Sanabria signed with Cremonese in August 2025 on a contract through June 2028. His market value is estimated at approximately €2 million — reduced from higher valuations during his Torino peak but reflecting his age and Serie A market level.

No significant transfer interest has been publicly reported. His Cremonese contract provides financial stability, and his World Cup participation will provide visibility beyond the Italian domestic market.

His most notable recent transfer was leaving Torino for Cremonese — a step down in club profile but a move that offered regular starting football as Cremonese competed in Serie A as a promoted side.

Post-World Cup options could include remaining at Cremonese, a move to MLS, or a final career stint in a domestic South American league if European opportunities diminish.

Salary and Net Worth

Antonio Sanabria's salary at Cremonese is estimated between €80,000 and €120,000 per month, consistent with a first-choice striker at a Serie A promoted club.

His Torino salary (2021–25) was higher — estimated at €150,000–200,000 per month — reflecting a more established Serie A club's wage structure across four seasons.

Real Betis (2016–21) paid competitive La Liga wages for a regular starter, estimated at €100,000–150,000 per month during his best Betis seasons.

Total career earnings across Barcelona B, Roma, Sporting Gijón, Betis, Torino, and Cremonese are estimated at approximately €20–25 million gross.

Paraguay's FIFA World Cup prize pool distribution supplements his club salary. With 47 caps, he is one of the squad's more experienced international earners.

Commercial opportunities have been limited to kit partnerships and regional endorsements. His profile as a former La Masia product has never translated into significant individual commercial deals.

Estimated net worth is approximately €8–12 million, reflecting his extended European career earnings, particularly the combined Betis and Torino years.

Antonio Sanabria Club Career

Sanabria's career began at La Masia's technical standards before Roma provided his first Serie A experience. The Sporting Gijón loan — 10 goals in 33 appearances — was his most productive early career season and prompted Real Betis's investment. At Betis across five seasons he developed into a consistent La Liga forward, making over 130 appearances.

Torino (2021–25) gave him his most sustained single-club period — four Serie A seasons, regular appearances across Italian football's physical defensive environment, and the experience of competing as a recognised first-choice striker at a historic club. His goals and assists record at Torino across four seasons reflects consistent rather than spectacular production.

Cremonese signed him ahead of their 2025–26 Serie A campaign as a striker with proven top-flight experience. In the 2025–26 Serie A season he recorded 1 goal and 1 assist across 18 appearances (941 minutes) — a modest return in a team still adjusting to life at the top level.

For Paraguay, his 47 caps across 13 years of international football — from his debut at 17 in 2013 to the 2026 World Cup — represent one of the longest international careers of any player in the 2026 squad.

Club Career Stats

International goal record (Paraguay)

International Career

Antonio Sanabria made his senior Paraguay debut in 2013 at age 17 — one of the youngest players to debut for La Albirroja in recent history. His 47 caps across 13 years include Copa América 2016 Centenario, 2019, 2021, and 2024, and four World Cup qualifying campaigns.

His 7 international goals make him one of Paraguay's more productive forwards across the modern era. His technical quality from La Masia's education gives him combination-play ability that differentiates him from more direct strikers in the squad. Alongside Gabriel Ávalos and Julio Enciso, he provides one of Paraguay's most experienced attacking units at the tournament.

The 2026 World Cup will be Sanabria's first FIFA World Cup at senior level despite 13 years of international football — a reflection of the difficulty of Paraguay's qualification campaigns rather than any deficiency in individual quality. At 30, this is likely his only World Cup, and he enters it as the squad's most-capped forward.

Honours and Trophies

Playing Style and Key Strengths

Antonio Sanabria is a technical centre-forward whose La Masia education is visible in his movement, first touch, and combination play. He is not a physically dominant target man — his 5 ft 11 in frame is average for a striker — but his positional intelligence and ability to link play between midfield and attack gives Paraguay a striker who operates beyond simply finishing.

His strongest qualities are his technical control, his movement off the ball — an area where La Masia's curriculum is particularly intensive — and his ability to hold up play and bring others into attacking situations. His Serie A experience has added defensive pressing discipline and physical resilience that Paraguayan strikers without European backgrounds typically develop more slowly.

La Masia's lasting influence

Players who develop at FC Barcelona's La Masia carry the institution's identity throughout their careers, regardless of the clubs they subsequently play for. Sanabria's technical quality, movement patterns, and combination instincts reflect a formation at one of football's most technically demanding academies. That education — combined with years of Serie A and La Liga competitive experience — makes him Paraguay's most technically sophisticated forward option at the 2026 World Cup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Antonio Sanabria's career is one of the most unusual in Paraguayan football — born in San Lorenzo, raised in Spain, developed at La Masia, and shaped across Spanish and Italian professional football for fifteen years before finally reaching a FIFA World Cup at 30.

His technical quality, international experience, and La Masia-educated movement make him Paraguay's most technically sophisticated forward at the 2026 tournament. Whether he can deliver in Group D matches against the United States, Türkiye, and Australia will depend on Paraguay's tactical setup and his ability to produce the combination play and finishing that his career has demonstrated across La Liga and Serie A.