FC St. Pauli

Zalazar learned his trade at Spanish club Albacete Balompié. In 2015, he joined the youth ranks of FC Málaga, where he played until 2019, with the exception of a loan spell with San Félix Under-19s in the 2016-17 season. The Uruguayan, who also holds Spanish citizenship, moved to Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on a four-year deal last season but was immediately loaned out to Polish top-division club Korona Kielce. Zalazar has made 19 appearances for the Uruguay Under-20s, scoring once.

Reaction to the deal

Director of sport Andreas Bornemann: "We're delighted that Rodrigo will run out for St. Pauli next season. He's a quality player with enormous potential to develop in view of his age."

Head coach Timo Schultz: "Rodrigo is a quick, agile central midfielder with a physical, robust style of play. He loves to get forward and has a good finish on him with his right foot."

Rodrigo Zalazar: "I'm very happy to be here and to have the chance to play for a club with such a history. I'm delighted to be given this opportunity and am looking forward to a successful season."

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FC St. Pauli is aware that Rodrigo Zalazar made an unacceptable post on his social media profile following a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during his time as a Korona Kielce player. The images were removed shortly after and Zalazar issued an apology. Eintracht Frankfurt officials spoke to Zalazar at the time to make their position clear and emphasise the relevance of the matter.

Our attitude to the issues of National Socialism and the Holocaust is quite clear: never again – never forgive, never forget. We therefore also spoke to the player and agreed to continue the conversation with him on this subject to raise his awareness of the issue still further.

Zalazar said: "When the photo was taken, I wasn't aware of the huge significance of this place. I therefore apologised straightaway and made a donation to the memorial site. I'm sorry for what happened. It will never happen again."

Photos: Witters