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Chelsea have completed the signing of Valentin Barco, the 22-year-old Argentina international left-back, as one of their summer transfer window additions.
Barco was born not in Buenos Aires but in 25 de Mayo, a town more than 200 kilometres away. His parents drove long distances to take him to training at the Boca Juniors academy before the family later relocated to the Argentine capital.
Originally a striker in his junior career, Boca Juniors converted Barco into a left-back. Since turning professional he has also featured at left wing-back, left midfield and central midfield.
Barco is widely known in Argentina by the nickname 'Colo' or 'el Colo', derived from 'colorado' — a common Argentine term for those with ginger hair.
His breakout season at Boca came in 2023, when he also made his Copa Libertadores debut. In the last-16 tie against Uruguayan club Nacional, which finished 2-2 on aggregate, Barco — then 19 — stepped up to take Boca's fifth penalty in the shootout and converted to send his side through. Boca reached the final, where Barco started at left midfield against Fluminense at the Maracana before the Brazilian side won after extra time.
Strong performances for Strasbourg earned Barco a place in Lionel Scaloni's Argentina squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where he was the youngest member of the group at 21. Argentina reached the final before losing 1-0 to Spain.
Barco has earned five senior caps for Argentina, scoring twice in victories over Zambia and Iceland earlier this year and making his World Cup debut in the group stage win against Jordan.