Sebastian Leto
Birthdate: 30 August 1986
Birthplace: Alejandro Korn, Argentina
Other clubs: Lanús (2005-07), Olympiacos (loan 2008-09), Panathinaikos (2009-13), Catania (2013-)
Bought from: Lanús
Signed for LFC: £1.8m, 01.07.2007
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Liverpool debut: 28.08.2007
Last appearance: 31.10.2007
Contract expiry: 01.07.2009
Win ratio: 75% W: 3 D: 0 L: 1
LFC league games/goals: 0 / 0
Total LFC games/goals: 4 / 0
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Player profile
Attacking midfielder Leto was sold to Liverpool in the January transfer window in 2007, but played on at Argentinian Lanús until he officially joined Liverpool on 1 July.
The young Argentinian appeared in four competitive matches in Liverpool's first team during the 2007/08 season. His debut came in the away leg of the Champions League qualifier in Toulouse. A month later he played the full 90 minutes of the League Cup win at Reading. He also featured from the start against Cardiff in the League Cup and Marseille in the Champions League but was substituted on both occasions, as indeed he had been at Toulouse. Liverpool were denied a work permit for him in the summer of 2008 and he agreed to a two-year loan at Greek side, Olympiacos.
Halfway through his loan period there was interest from another Athens club in Panathinaikos. This led to the player making a permanent move away from Liverpool on 1 July 2009 with the fee believed to be around £3 million. That was good business for Liverpool as Leto had cost them less than £2 million two years earlier.
Leto, who made no impact in England, became an instant hero in Greece when he scored the winning goal in the 2010 cup final for Panathinaikos against Aris Thessaloniki. His club also won the Greek championship. This was the second time that Leto had been part of a club that did the Greek League and Cup double because he had achieved the same feat when on loan from Liverpool at Olympiacos in 2009.
After two average seasons for Panathinaikos he excelled in the 2011/12 season and scored no less than 15 goals in 17 league matches. At the height of his powers he injured his knee in January and missed the rest of the season when Panathiniakos finished runners-up to Olympiacos. He terminated his contract with Panathinaikos in January 2013 after he had still not recovered from his injury. A statement released by Panathinaikos said: “Seba’s talent, his contribution to the team, his passion and the bond he formed with the fans has earned him a special place in the history and the heart of the club.”
Only weeks after ending his contract with Panathinaikos, Leto was signed by Sicilian club Calcio Catania. No details were released about the length of the contract that had been agreed between the player and the club.