Uruguayan soccer player Juan Izquierdo died in a hospital in Brazil on Tuesday, five days after collapsing during a match in Sao Paulo. He was 27 years old.

The Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo said in a statement that the Nacional defender died at 9:38 p.m. local time as a result of “cardiovascular arrest associated with cardiac arrhythmia.”

Izquierdo collapsed last Thursday during a Copa Libertadores soccer match between Nacional and Sao Paulo at the Brazilian city’s Morumbi Stadium.

The Uruguayan Air Force said one of its planes would transport the coffin to Montevideo later on Wednesday.

Izquierdo’s wife Selena shared a message on Izquierdo’s social media channels titled “I say goodbye to my half, the love of my life.” They have two children – the youngest, a boy, was born in early August.

“For many Juan Izquierdo, my Juanma, my best friend, my husband, the father of my children, my unconditional partner. Today a part of me dies with you,” she said.

Mateo Antoni, a teammate of Izquierdo, said the defender “helped him, advised him, guided him, made demands, insulted him, hugged him and laughed with him.”

“I can’t describe how great you have been to me,” he wrote in a letter. “What I will remember for the rest of my life is knowing that I will always look out for you because I know you will look out for me.”

The Uruguayan club released a statement on social media saying that Izquierdo’s death “saddens them with deep pain and touches our hearts” and that “the whole of Nacional mourns his irreplaceable loss.”

The South American Football Confederation also published a tribute. CONMEBOL President Alejandro Domínguez said he “deeply regrets the early departure of Juan Izquierdo.”

“South American football is in mourning,” he said. Other associations, including Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, also expressed their condolences.

Doctors at the hospital said earlier this week that Izquierdo had been taken to the neurological intensive care unit because of increased intracranial pressure and had been on a ventilator since Sunday.

Among those who expressed their condolences were players from the Uruguayan national team.

“Pain, sadness, it’s hard to explain,” said Inter Miami striker Luis Suárez. “May he rest in peace. I wish his family and friends a lot of strength.”

Uruguay’s first and second division soccer matches were postponed last weekend due to concerns about Izquierdo’s health. Sao Paulo players wore a shirt in support of the Uruguayan footballer ahead of their team’s 2-1 victory in the Brazilian league against Vitoria on Sunday.

The Brazilian club also released a message after Izquierdo’s death.

“We have had days full of prayer, solidarity and hope and today we are deeply saddened by the news of Juan Izquierdo’s death,” said the Sao Paulo club statement. “Our condolences go out to the family, friends, teammates, Nacional fans and all the Uruguayan people in this moment of grief.”

Izquierdo’s professional career began in 2018 at local club Cerro. The following year he moved to Peñarol, but did not get much playing time.

“Peñarol deeply regrets the death of Juan Manuel Izquierdo. We express our deepest condolences and embrace his family, friends and Nacional in this moment of great pain,” Peñarol said on its social media channels.

After leaving Peñarol, Izquierdo moved to Montevideo Wanderers.

His athletic form and sharp tackling caught the attention of Mexican side San Luís in 2021, but he quickly returned to the Wanderers. Izquierdo was signed by Nacional in 2022, played one game and was then transferred to local Liverpool club.

The defender was one of Liverpool’s best players in the season that led to the 2023 Uruguayan title, the club’s first in over a century.

Izquierdo returned to Nacional this year, vying for a place in the starting line-up with the experienced Sebastián Coates, who played for the Uruguayan national team. He played 23 games this year and scored one goal.

Nearly two decades ago, Sao Caetano defender Serginho died hours after collapsing at the Morumbi Stadium during a Brazilian league match against Sao Paulo. Doctors tried to resuscitate him on the pitch while tens of thousands of fans watched in shock and players cried and prayed on the sidelines.

Serginho’s death forced Brazilian soccer managers to change health protocols and allow defibrillators in every stadium. Doctors used a defibrillator on Izquierdo when he was taken to hospital.

“So much sadness, 20 years later,” former Sao Caetano player Anderson Lima said on Instagram. “May God comfort his family in this sad moment.”