Nicolás Mezquida
Gabriel Nicolás Mezquida Sero is a Uruguayan footballer who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids.Mezquida began his career in the youth academy of C.A. Peñarol in 2006, before being promoted to the first team in the 2008 season. On January 22, 2009, at the age of 17, he signed a pre-contract with Schalke 04 worth a reported €2 million with the intent of joining the club at the end of the year. However, he changed his mind and decided to remain with C.A. Peñarol in South America. During his time with Peñarol, he had two loan spells with Norwegian clubs Brann and Lillestrøm. He joined Fénix in 2012, scoring one goal in 14 matches for the club. He was loaned out to Rampla Juniors in 2013 and scored seven goals in 24 matches for the club.
In September 2013, after leaving Fenix, Mezquida went on trial with Celtic of the Scottish Premiership but was ultimately not signed, potentially because of work permit eligibility issues, since he had not featured for the senior national side of Uruguay.
On February 5, 2014 Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer announced that they had signed Mezquida along with fellow Uruguayan Sebastián Fernández on a transfer from Boston River of the Uruguayan Segunda División where he had been playing since leaving Fenix.
On December 9, 2018, Mezquida was traded along with $100,000 in TAM to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for Zac MacMath.International career
Mezquida excelled whilst playing for Uruguay at U-15 level, scoring ten goals in 12 appearances, and was the top goal scorer at the 2007 South American Under-15 Football Championship, helping them finish as runners-up. He also played for the U-17 team at the international level.
