Leonardo Balerdi was born on 26 January 1999 in Puerto Madryn, Chubut province, Argentina. He came through the youth setup of Boca Juniors before Borussia Dortmund signed him in January 2019 for around €15 million, making him one of the more expensive teenage defender transfers from Argentine football at the time.
At Dortmund he found regular first-team opportunities limited in a squad with senior established defenders. He was loaned to Marseille in 2020-21 and impressed sufficiently for Marseille to sign him on a permanent deal for around €7 million in summer 2021. The move to the south of France proved the right environment for his development.
At Olympique de Marseille he has established himself as one of Ligue 1's most competitive centre-backs, combining physical defending with ball-carrying and the aggressive mindset that defined his time at Boca Juniors. He became a club captain figure and a leader in the dressing room, often wearing the armband for Marseille in league and European matches. His consistency has made him a senior French football figure despite his Argentine origins.
For Argentina he debuted in 2021 and has been a squad option through the 2022 World Cup cycle and the 2024 Copa América. Competing for centre-back positions behind Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez and Nicolás Otamendi is a high bar, but his Ligue 1 performances have kept him in the extended national team conversation.
Standing 1.87 m, Balerdi is a right-footed centre-back whose defensive aggression, aerial ability and ball-carrying from the back draw comparisons to a physically more imposing Lisandro Martínez. His combination of Argentine competitive spirit and French top-flight experience gives him a distinctive profile in the squad.