Diego Mario Buonanotte Rende (born 19 April 1988), is an Argentine footballer who plays for Málaga CF, as a attacking midfielder or winger.

River Plate
Buonanotte made his professional debut as a 17 year old on 9 April 2006, in the 3–1 win against Instituto. On 7 October 2007, only one week after his first game, he scored his first goal at senior level. Buonanotte was picked by coach Daniel Passarella to start in the derby against Boca Juniors. River Plate won 2–0, with Buonanotte playing a key role in the victory. He was named by World Soccer Magazine as one of the '50 most exciting teenagers in the world game'. Buonanotte was part of the 2008 Apertura winning team.

Málaga
On 21 January 2011 Buonanotte signed a five-year contract with Málaga CF, but he was loaned to River Plate until July 2011. He scored his first goal for Málaga in 21 December 2011 in a 2–2 home draw against Getafe CF in the Copa del Rey (winning 3–2 on aggregate.) On 21 November 2012 he scored his careers first Champions League goal, in a 2−2 away draw againt Zenit.

Personal life

Car crash
In December 2009, Buonanotte was involved in a near fatal car crash after he lost control of his car on an Argentine freeway. He was taken to the hospital with multiple injuries while three friends who were traveling with him in the car died at the scene of the crash. The footballer was driving his father's Peugeot 307 back from a night out when he veered off the 65th highway and collided with a tree. The accident occurred about 15 km outside Clementina, Santa Fe. Another car carrying more friends of Buonanotte also arrived on the scene of the accident afterwards eager to find out what had happened. The footballer is said to have been conscious when he was pulled from the wreckage but had sustained serious injuries.

Eduardo Allegrini, director of the hospital where Buonanotte was taken after the crash, said "(Buonanotte) has fractured his right humerus, right clavicle and has bruised his right lung". Allegrini clarified that the River player's condition was stable but he remained in intensive care under observation. Guillermo Fernández, a firefighter who helped pull Buonanotte from the crash site said: "Diego told us he lost control of the car".

Back to the pitch
It was initially thought that Buonanotte's convalescence would require up to seven months for complete recovery, but he was able to return to the pitch on 17 April 2010, when he replaced Diego Barrado in the second half of a match against Godoy Cruz. River won 2–1 at home. On 30 April, he scored for the first time since his accident, clinching a 2–1 victory against Vélez Sársfield at the Monumental.