Nolito

Nolito
Nolito.JPG
Nolito in 2013
Personal information
Full name Manuel Agudo Durán
Date of birth (1986-10-15) 15 October 1986 (age 35)
Place of birth Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Winger, forward
Club information
Current team
Celta
Number 9
Youth career
1990–2000 Algaida
2000–2002 Sanluqueño
2003–2005 Valencia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 Sanluqueño
2005–2006 Sanluqueño ? (27)
2006–2008 Écija 71 (15)
2008–2011 Barcelona B 106 (29)
2010–2011 Barcelona 2 (0)
2011–2013 Benfica 35 (12)
2013Granada (loan) 17 (3)
2013–2016 Celta 100 (39)
2016–2017 Manchester City 19 (4)
2017–2020 Sevilla 49 (7)
2020– Celta 70 (11)
National team
2014–2016 Spain 16 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:11, 2 April 2022 (UTC)

Manuel Agudo Durán (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈnwel aˈɣuðo ðuˈɾan]; born 15 October 1986), known as Nolito ([noˈlito]), is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Celta.

Having begun his career at lower league clubs he signed for Barcelona in 2008, playing predominantly with its reserves. He totalled over 160 games and 40 goals in La Liga, where he also represented Granada, Celta and Sevilla. Abroad, he played two seasons for Benfica in Portugal, and one in the English Premier League with Manchester City.

Nolito made his debut for Spain in November 2014, representing the nation at Euro 2016.

Club career

Early career

Born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz, Andalusia, Nolito began his career with UD Algaida in his hometown before joining Atlético Sanluqueño in 2000. He made his first-team debut in Tercera División with the latter club at the age of just 15, scoring on his debut, and moved to Valencia in 2003, where he wrapped up his formative years.

Nolito returned to Sanluqueño in 2005, and was their top scorer in the 2005–06 season with 27 goals (24 in the regular season). He then signed with Écija of the Segunda División B, where he scored in a 1–1 home draw against Real Madrid in the 2006–07 Copa del Rey.

Barcelona

Nolito arrived at Barcelona's youth academy at nearly 22 years of age, after scoring 13 times for Écija the previous campaign. With the Catalans' B team, also in the third tier, he scored 16 league goals over two seasons – 12 in the second– as the side returned to the Segunda División after an 11-year absence.

On 3 October 2010, Nolito made his La Liga debut for Barcelona, coming on as a substitute for Pedro in a 1–1 home draw against Mallorca. On 10 November, he opened the 5–1 home win over Ceuta in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey (7–1 on aggregate).

Benfica

Nolito with Benfica in 2011

In late May 2011, Nolito rejected Barcelona's offer of a professional contract and instead signed a five-year deal with Portuguese club Benfica, effective as of 1 July. He scored on his official debut on the 27th, a 2–0 home win against Trabzonspor in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. He also netted in the second leg, a 1–1 draw.

On 20 August 2011, Nolito scored once in a 3–1 home victory over Feirense, making him alongside Eusébio the only player to score in his first five official matches. He managed 15 goals in 48 competitive appearances in his first season, helping his team to win the Taça da Liga.

Nolito returned to his country and his native region on 29 January 2013, being loaned to Granada for six months and a fee of €600,000, without the possibility of making the move permanent in June. In his first match, four days after signing, he took the corner which resulted in Cristiano Ronaldo's own goal for the game's only, giving Granada their first win over Real Madrid in 40 years.

Celta

Nolito talking to an assistant referee in 2015

Nolito signed with Celta de Vigo on 1 July 2013, penning a four-year deal and reuniting with former Barcelona B boss Luis Enrique. He finished his debut season as team top scorer, with 14.

Nolito was named La Liga Player of the Month for September 2014, with four goals during a month which ended with Celta in sixth position. He created 96 goalscoring opportunities over the campaign, the most in the Spanish league and fourth most in Europe's five leading leagues.

On 23 September 2015, Nolito took his league tally to five after scoring once and providing two assists for Iago Aspas in a 4–1 home defeat of former club Barcelona. He totalled three goals and an assist that month to help the side remain unbeaten, earning him a second Player of the Month accolade. In mid-December, however, he suffered a hamstring injury against Espanyol which sidelined him for two months.

Nolito returned to action on 20 February 2016, featuring roughly 20 minutes in a 3–2 home win over Eibar. In the following round, he scored the game's only goal at Getafe, and his team eventually finished in sixth place.

Manchester City

On 1 July 2016, Nolito signed with Premier League side Manchester City on a four-year deal for a fee of £13.8 million. He made his debut on 13 August, playing 59 minutes in a 2–1 home victory against Sunderland. Three days later he scored his first goal, and also provided an assist to Sergio Agüero in a 5–0 away rout of Steaua București in the Champions League play-off round.

Nolito made a few appearances during his time in Manchester, but he and his family were unsettled by life in England.

Sevilla

In July 2017, Sevilla signed Nolito on a three-year contract. He spent the better part of the 2018–19 season on the sidelines, nursing a fibula injury.

Return to Celta

On 18 June 2020, Nolito rejoined Celta on a reported one-year deal. His Sevilla contract was set to expire at the end of the month, and the former were granted an emergency exception to acquire him outside of the transfer window because of a long-term injury to goalkeeper Sergio Álvarez. Three days later, in his first game back, he came off the bench to assist Santi Mina and score a penalty in a 6–0 home thrashing of Alavés.

International career

Nolito did not earn a single cap for Spain at youth level. On 7 November 2014, he was called up by full side manager Vicente del Bosque for a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Belarus and a friendly with Germany. He made his debut against the latter on the 18th, starting at his club ground of Balaídos in a 0–1 loss.

On 17 May 2016, Nolito was named in the preliminary squad for the final tournament in France. Twelve days later, in a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina, he scored his first goals, striking twice in the first half of a 3–1 win in Switzerland. he repeated the feat the following match, a 6–1 rout of South Korea in Austria.

Selected for the squad of 23, Nolito acted often as starter, scoring from close range in a 3–0 group stage victory over Turkey at the Stade de Nice and also assisting Álvaro Morata for the opener.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 April 2022
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Écija 2006–07 Segunda División B 31 2 5 3 36 5
2007–08 40 13 0 0 40 13
Total 71 15 5 3 76 18
Barcelona B 2008–09 Segunda División B 28 4 28 4
2009–10 40 12 40 12
2010–11 Segunda División 38 13 38 13
Total 106 29 106 29
Barcelona 2010–11 La Liga 2 0 3 1 0 0 5 1
Benfica 2011–12 Primeira Liga 29 11 7 1 12 3 48 15
2012–13 6 1 6 0 3 0 15 1
Total 35 12 13 1 15 3 63 16
Granada 2012–13 La Liga 17 3 17 3
Celta 2013–14 La Liga 35 14 2 0 37 14
2014–15 36 13 1 0 37 13
2015–16 29 12 0 0 29 12
Total 100 39 3 0 103 39
Manchester City 2016–17 Premier League 19 4 5 0 6 2 30 6
Sevilla 2017–18 La Liga 30 4 5 1 7 0 42 5
2018–19 4 0 3 1 10 4 17 5
2019–20 15 3 3 2 2 0 20 5
Total 49 7 11 4 19 4 79 15
Celta 2019–20 La Liga 7 2 7 2
2020–21 36 7 1 2 37 9
2021–22 27 2 3 0 30 2
Total 70 11 4 2 74 13
Celta total 170 50 7 2 177 52
Career total 468 120 44 11 40 9 552 140
  1. ^ Two appearances in Taça de Portugal, four appearances and one goal in Taça da Liga
  2. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Two appearances in Taça de Portugal, three appearances in Taça da Liga
  4. ^ Four appearances in FA Cup, one appearance in EFL Cup
  5. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International

Source:

National team Year Apps Goals
Spain
2014 1 0
2015 4 0
2016 11 6
Total 16 6

Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Nolito goal.

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 29 May 2016 AFG Arena, St. Gallen, Switzerland 7  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–0 3–1 Friendly
2 2–0
3 1 June 2016 Red Bull Arena, Salzburg, Austria 8  South Korea 3–0 6–1
4 5–0
5 17 June 2016 Stade de Nice, Nice, France 11  Turkey 2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2016
6 9 October 2016 Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër, Albania 15  Albania 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

Barcelona

Benfica

Sevilla

Individual


This page was last updated at 2022-04-20 08:02 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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