Andrés Salazar

Biography

Andrés Salazar Osorio (born 15 January 2003) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Latvian Higher League club Riga FC. He has also represented Colombia at senior international level. Salazar was born in Guarne in the Antioquia Department, and grew up in the Camilo Torres de Guarne neighbourhood. Salazar started his career with grassroots side Manantiales, before moving to professional side Atlético Nacional. While in the academy, he suffered a potentially career-threatening injury, but was able to overcome it to continue his development. He was loaned to Categoría Primera B sides Valledupar and Fortaleza C.E.I.F. for the 2021 and 2022 seasons, respectively. In a Categoría Primera A match between Atlético Nacional and América de Cali, Salazar injured América de Cali's Spanish forward Iago Falque with a strong challenge. He received criticism for the perceived malice in his challenge, which Salazar denied, stating that there was "no bad intention" and that he hoped Falque "recovers soon". Falque himself would go on to state that Salazar had sent him a message to apologise, and that he had forgiven him for the incident, describing the injury as "involuntary". Following impressive performances with the Colombia under-20 squad, Salazar was linked with a move to Mexican side Club América. On 15 August 2024, Salazar joined Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian on a season-long loan deal. On 4 January 2025, Hearts had announced that Salazar had left the club to return to Atlético Nacional. On 5 February 2026, Salazar joined Latvian Higher League club Riga FC on a contract. Salazar has represented Colombia at under-20 level. He made his debut for the senior team on 16 June 2023 in a 1–0 win against Iraq.