Hugo Francisco Cuenca Martínez (born 8 January 2005) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Serie A club Genoa and the Paraguay national team.
Born in Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay,[2][3] Cuenca played football through the youth system of Deportivo Capiatá, before going on a series of trials with AC Milan, starting from December 2019,[2][4][5] and finally joining the Italian club in August 2022, as he signed a three-year professional contract in the process.
[2][7] Throughout the whole 2022–23 season, Cuenca played for AC Milan's under-19 team, scoring four goals – one of which, a strike against Hellas Verona, was nominated for goal of the season –[8] and four assists in twenty-eight games;[3][8] he also helped the team reach the UEFA Youth League semi-finals for the first time in their history,[9][10] although they were eventually eliminated by Croatian side Hajduk Split.
Cuenca made his professional debut on 10 August 2024, starting for the newly created reserve team Milan Futuro, on a 3–0 away win Coppa Italia Serie C first round match against Lecco.
[18] Born in Paraguay,[2][3] Cuenca also holds a Spanish passport, which he acquired in order to accommodate his move to AC Milan (due to transfer rules for non-EU players).