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From Punta del Este to José Ignacio: the beaches where football stars spend the summer
While Europe is playing in scarves and gloves, another season gets under way on Uruguay's Maldonado coast: the season of the beach umbrella. Punta del Este is Uruguay's most important resort and one of the most exclusive in South America. People call it the Monaco of the South, the Pearl of the Atlantic and the Saint-Tropez of South America. Three nicknames any striker would envy.
From the peninsula, the coast runs east towards La Barra and José Ignacio. Along that stretch, every summer, football takes a holiday too. Or at least it tries.
The bridge that does the wave
To get from Punta del Este to La Barra you cross the Maldonado stream on the Puente Leonel Viera, which almost everyone calls the Puente de La Barra. It is named after its designer, Leonel Viera, and is famous for its undulating shape: it rises and falls like a ball bouncing twice before it goes in. Crossing it slowly, watching the water, is almost a tradition. Nobody will book you for time-wasting.
Pre-season with a sea view
Not every footballer comes here to rest. With Marcelo Gallardo as manager, River Plate chose Punta del Este for their pre-season in January 2015, 2016 and 2019. All three times the squad stayed at Solanas, a resort complex in the area.
The 2019 edition had its postcard moment. River arrived as Copa Libertadores champions and, on the first day, instead of beach there was rain. The plan was not called off: players and coaching staff went out on a bike ride in the downpour. Proof that in Punta del Este it is not all suntans. Sometimes pre-season comes with a raincoat.
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The front three, together again
In December 2019, a celebration for Luis Suárez at a hotel in the area brought together several of his Barcelona teammates: Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. Neymar turned up too, by then already playing for Paris Saint-Germain.
At Barcelona, Messi, Suárez and Neymar had formed one of the most memorable attacking trios of the decade. Seeing them together again, this time a few kilometres from Uruguay's Atlantic shore, made the news across half the world. It was, without doubt, the best attack to set foot in the area that summer. And no release clause had to be paid.
The beach umbrella transfer market
Punta del Este and its surroundings attract the social and economic elite of the region, and many well-known figures have visited or spent their summers there. So in January, the transfer market changes trade. The question is no longer which club your idol is joining, but which beach stop.
The route has its tiers. The peninsula is where the action is; across the bridge, La Barra; and further east, José Ignacio, for those who prefer peace and quiet. Call it squad rotation: three beaches, one summer and no manager to leave you on the bench.
If you are thinking of coming at the end of November for the Libertadores final, our piece on Punta del Este and the 2026 Libertadores final has the distances, how to get back on match night and what to see by the sea.
With or without a pre-season tan, play GeoFútbol today, it's free (in Spanish or Portuguese).