Maximiliano Gastón López (born 3 April 1984) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a second striker. He holds both an Argentine and an Italian passport. He is known as El Rubio ("The Blonde"), and La Gallina de Oro ("The Golden Hen").
Formed at River Plate, he spent most of his career in Italy, making 215 Serie A appearances and scoring 46 goals for Catania, A.C. Milan, Sampdoria, Chievo, Torino and Udinese. He also played in Spain for Barcelona and Mallorca, winning the La Liga and UEFA Champions League double with the former in 2006, and for Grêmio and Vasco da Gama in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.
López represented his birth nation of Argentina at under-15, under-17 and under-20 levels, also taking part to the 2003 South American Youth Championship. He was eligible for both Argentina and Italy, as he holds both citizenships and has never represented any national team at senior level. In July 2010, he explicitly stated he might accept a call-up from the Azzurri.
López was married to Argentine model Wanda Nara from 2008 to 2013. The couple have three sons, Valentino Gastón (born 25 January 2009), Constantino (born 19 December 2010) and Benedicto (born 20 February 2012). Nara and López split after her affair with López's former Sampdoria teammate Mauro Icardi, now with Galatasaray, was exposed. López had previously been good friends with Icardi, inviting his countryman on vacations and opening his home to Icardi when he first moved to Italy. She and López began divorce proceedings in December 2013. Nara and Icardi subsequently married on 27 May 2014. During the April 2014 Serie A match between Sampdoria and Inter, López notably refused to shake Icardi's hand, leading the press to dub the game the "Wanda derby".
López's change of luck from being a somewhat criticised forward at River Plate to being signed by Barcelona made him an internet meme in his native Argentina. Satirical blogs were created lobbying for his inclusion in the Argentinian squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. After the Argentinian elimination from the World Cup, without López getting any caps at all, the nature of the meme changed to a series of reasons explaining his lack of time play on Barcelona with hyperbolic claims which closely resembled Chuck Norris Facts. In interviews, López has stated that he is "okay" with this unexpected following.
López and fashion industry businessman Paul Richardson led a consortium interested in buying English Championship club Birmingham City. They pulled out of any prospective deal in December 2022, citing a lack of agreement on revised terms.
Russian English Premier League Hat-Trick 2007-10-27 |
2001-2005 |
2005-2007 |
2006-2007 (Loan) |
2007-2010 |
2009 (Loan) |
2010-2014 |
2012 (Loan) |
2012-2013 (Loan) |
2014-2015 |
2014 (Loan) |
2015-2017 |
2017-2018 |
2018-2019 |
2019-2020 |
2020-2021 |