Clubs: CA River Plate, Valencia CF, Real Zaragoza, SL Benfica

UEFA honours
UEFA Champions League: runner-up 2001
UEFA Cup: winner 2004
UEFA Super Cup: winner 2004

• Aimar showed great promise as a teenager, winning the FIFA U-20 World Cup with Argentina in Malaysia in 1997 before becoming a regular in River's first team.

• Won four half-season Argentinian titles plus the Copa Libertadores with the Buneos Aires giants before Valencia enticed him to Spain in January 2001 for a €24m fee; helped his new club reach the 2001 UEFA Champions League final, which they lost on penalties to FC Bayern München.

• A Liga title winner in 2001/02 (33 matches, four goals), he repeated the feat two years later (25 games, four goals) while also helping Rafael Benítez's side to lift the UEFA Cup.

• Introduced to Argentina's senior team in June 1999, he participated at the FIFA World Cup finals in 2002 and 2006 and was a runner-up at the 2007 Copa América.

• Left Valencia for Zaragoza in 2006 but his second season there ended in shock relegation from the Liga so moved on to Benfica, where he recovered from early fitness problems to help the Eagles end a five-year wait for Portuguese title in 2009/10; maintained top form in 2010/11 as Benfica reached the latter stages of the UEFA Europa League.