Yuto Nagatomo is a Japanese international professional football player. Currently, he plays as a defender for FC Tokyo and the Japan national team. He started his professional football career from FC Tokyo in Japan. Since then he has played for Italian clubs Cesena and Inter Milan. He has made senior international debut for Japan national team in 2008. He has won Coppa Italia with Inter Milan in 2011 and Super Lig with Galatasaray in 2018. With Japan, he has won AFC Asian Cup and Kirin Cup, both in 2011.

Best Known for

• He paraded the Japanese flag around the pitch during a Champions League match against Bayern Munich to show solidarity with his home country, Japan following the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that took place in 2011. 

Early Life of Yuto Nagatomo

Yuto Nogatomo was born on 12 September 1986, in Saijo, Ehime, Japan. He was raised by his mother, Rie Nagatomo with his brother, Minoru Nagatomo. Regarding his nationality, he is Japanese and is of Asian descent. Yuto Nagatomo attended at the Higashi Fukuoka High School where he started playing football. Later on, he joined at the Meiji University and played college football.

Career of Yuto Nagatomo

Yuto Nagatomo started his youth football during his high school career in 2002. After completing high school, he played football at Meiji University. Nagatomo began his professional football career from FC Tokyo in 2007, where he played for four years.

Cesena

In July 2010. FC Tokyo loaned Nagatomo to newly-promoted Serie A club AC Cesena. He played the first half of the season at Cesena.

Inter Milan

Another Italian club Inter Milan eyed Nagatomo for his impressive performances at Cesena. Cesena loaned Nagatomo to Inter Milan becoming the first East Asian to sign with Inter Milan.

Nagatomo showed impressive performance in his first season at Inter Milan, which led the club to sign him permanently. 

Nagatomo turned down an offer from Manchester United in 2015.

Galatasaray

Turkish club showed interest in Japanese defender Nagatomo. Inter Milan loaned Nagatomo to Galatasaray in January 2018. In June same year, Galatasaray made the Nagatomo move permanent.

Marseille

On 31 August 2020, Nagatomo signed with Ligue 1 club Marseille on a free transfer. He made his first appearance for the club in a 1–1 league draw against Lille on 20 September 2020.

Later he returned to FC Tokyo and is currently playing for them.

International Career of Yuto Nagatomo

Initially, Nagatomo represented Japan U21 at Summer Olympics in 2008. He was then called up for the senior team in the same year. He made his senior team debut in May 2008 in a friendly against Ivory Coast. Nagatomo's first World Cup was 2010 FIFA World Cup. Nagatomo was a key player in the Japanese squad that won AFC Asian Cup in 2011. Later, he appeared in Japan national team at 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Personal Life of Yuto Nagatomo

Yuto Nagatomo is married to beautiful Airi Taira. She is a popular Japanese actress and the couple got married in 2017. Before marriage, the couple was in a long-distance relationship with each other for several years. Nagatomo was playing football in Europe, whereas his girlfriend was pursuing her acting career in Japan. Nagatomo proposed to his girlfriend on the San Siro pitch. She accepted the proposal and they are leading a happy life together. They have a child together.

Body features of Yuto Nagatomo

The Japanese defender stands 1.7 m tall i.e five feet and six inches. He has a weight of 68 kg. He is 32-years old at present and has maintained his body perfectly fit for football.

Net Worth of Yuto Nagatomo

Previously, Yuto Nagatomo had an annual salary of 1.5 million Euro at Inter Milan. At present, he has an annual salary of around 1 million Euro at Turkish club Galatasaray. His market value is estimated at around 4.1 million Euro. The net worth of 32-year old defender as of 2023 is $5 Million. he has had quite impressive earnings playing in Italy's and Turkey's top clubs.