Saúl Ñíguez

spanish association football player

Ñíguez and the second or maternal family name is Esclápez. In this spanish name, the first or paternal surname isand the second or enate syndicate name is Saúl Ñíguez Esclápez ( hold 21 November 1994 ), known as Saúl, is a spanish professional football player who plays as a cardinal or defensive midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea, on lend from Atlético Madrid of La Liga, and the Spain national team.

Reading: Saúl Ñíguez

After coming through Atlético Madrid ‘s youth academy, Saúl went on to appear in more than 300 competitive matches for the club. In the 2013–14 season, he was on loanword at Rayo Vallecano, besides in La Liga. Having represented Spain at diverse young person levels, Saúl helped the under-21 team eat up second in the 2017 UEFA european Under-21 Championship, being top scorekeeper in the summons. He was selected by the senior team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup .

Club career [edit ]

Atlético Madrid [edit ]

Born in Elche, Valencian Community, [ 4 ] Saúl moved to Real Madrid at the age of 11 before switching to cross-city rivals Atlético Madrid in 2008. [ 5 ] He made his senior debut in the 2010–11 season, appearing for the modesty team in the Segunda División B. [ citation needed ] His first finish came on 10 April 2011 in a 3–1 away win against Extremadura, [ 6 ] his only of the season in an eventual midtable ending. [ citation needed ] In July 2011, Saúl joined the Atlético chief squad for pre-season train. [ citation needed ] On 8 March 2012, at the age of just 17 years and 108 days, he made his debut with the Atlético first team, playing the end six minutes of a 3–1 home win against Beşiktaş in the UEFA Europa League. [ 7 ] His second appearance came on 20 September, again as a substitute and in the Europa League, this fourth dimension against Hapoel Tel Aviv. [ 8 ] Three days late, he scored both goals for Atlético B in a 2–1 away bowler hat win over real Madrid C. [ 9 ] Saúl made his La Liga debut on 21 April 2013, playing two minutes in a 1–0 acquire away to Sevilla after replacing fellow young graduate Koke. [ 10 ] Again from the bench, he appeared in his irregular league equal with the main team on 4 May, against Deportivo La Coruña in a 0–0 pull. [ 11 ] On 21 July 2013, Saúl joined Rayo Vallecano on lend for the 2013–14 season. [ 12 ] After returning, he featured in both legs of the 2014 Supercopa de España in which Atlético defeated Real Madrid, starting in the first match. [ 13 ] [ 14 ]
In a Madrid bowler hat on 7 February 2015, Saúl replaced the injure Koke after ten minutes, and scored his team ‘s second finish curtly after through a bicycle kick, in a 4–0 gain. [ 15 ] From the 2015–16 season onwards, after the deviation of Mario Suárez and the injury of Tiago Mendes, Saúl became a nuclear midfield component for the Diego Simeone -led team. [ 16 ] [ 17 ] On 27 April 2016, Saúl played 85 minutes in the inaugural peg of the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League against FC Bayern Munich, and besides scored the alone goal at the Vicente Calderón Stadium with an individual attempt. [ 18 ] Starting in the final against real Madrid, he played the entire 120 minutes and successfully converted his attempt in the penalty shoot-out, in a 5–3 loss. [ 19 ] The following 18 April, in the same rival but in the quarter-final, he scored through a header to help Atlético to a 1–1 draw aside to Leicester City. [ 20 ] besides in that month, in an interview given to Diario AS, he admitted to having played for “ two seasons ” under highly irritating circumstances. [ 21 ] On 1 July 2017, Saúl signed a modern nine-year contract with Atlético. [ 22 ] He made nine appearances in the 2017–18 Europa League, scoring three goals for the eventual champions. [ 23 ] [ 24 ] Saúl started his 250th equal for the golf club on 18 August 2019, in a succeed over Getafe. [ 25 ] In the 2020 Supercopa de España Final against Real Madrid, which ended 0–0 after extra time, both he and Thomas Partey missed their shoot-out attempts in a 4–1 get the better of. [ 26 ] [ 27 ] On 18 February 2020, Saúl scored from stopping point range in the fourthly minute of the 2019–20 Champions League ‘s round-of-16 first leg – his tenth finish in the rival [ 28 ] – against defending champions Liverpool to ensure a 1–0 dwelling succeed for the hosts. [ 29 ] He besides featured in the second leg at Anfield, playing the stallion 3–2 extra-time victory. [ 30 ] On 30 June 2020, Saúl scored doubly from penalties in a 2–2 draw away to Barcelona, as Atlético managed that total of goals against that opposition in a league catch for the first gear meter under Simeone. [ 31 ]

Chelsea [edit ]

On 31 August 2021, Saúl joined Premier League club Chelsea on loanword for the remainder of the 2021–22 season, with an choice to make the transportation permanent upon the completion of the loanword. [ 32 ] He made his Premier League debut on 11 September, in a 3–0 win against Aston Villa. [ 33 ]

International career [edit ]

Saúl earned 47 caps for Spain, all youth levels comprised. [ citation needed ] He experienced individual and corporate success in the under-19 team, winning the 2012 UEFA european Under-19 Championship and being named in the team of the Tournament. [ 34 ] On 26 May 2015, Saúl was called to the elder team for a friendly with Costa Rica and a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Belarus, [ 35 ] but did not make his debut on either occasion. He, Sergio Rico and Lucas Vázquez were the three uncapped players in a probationary squad for the final tournament in France, [ 36 ] but was finally cut from the concluding police squad aboard Isco. [ 37 ]

style of act [edit ]

A midfielder by trade, [ 41 ] Saúl was deployed as a centre-back during his spell at Rayo Vallecano. [ 43 ] spanish football journalist Guillem Balagué stated that he suits several styles of play, citing his ability to play “ Simeone style ” ( in reference to Atlético coach Diego Simeone ) and “ Barcelona style ”, summing up with “ We have never had a midfielder like this ”. [ 41 ] Following Luis Enrique ‘s appointment as Spain director in 2018, Diario AS’ Alfredo Relaño remarked that “ Saúl is the player to move the ball forward with purpose and try to finalise retentive passages of possession ”, adding that “ The raw center of the ballpark for Spain ( where so much happens for the home side ) is now defined by him, a box-to-box actor and one never afraid to try his fortune in presence of goal ”, [ 43 ] Sid Lowe of The Guardian opined that “ now he embodies the switch, technique and talent but athleticism excessively, blessed of faultless timing, arriving in the area ”. [ 44 ]

personal life [edit ]

Saúl comes from a football kin : his beget, Boria, played respective years with Elche as a hitter. [ 45 ] His brothers, Aarón and Jony, are besides footballers. [ 46 ] [ 47 ] Saúl was one of the stars of the Amazon Prime television objective series Six Dreams, recorded during the 2017–18 temper. [ 48 ] In June 2020, he announced that he and his brother Aarón would be starting a newfangled youth undertaking with Nike called Club Costa City, in his hometown. [ 49 ]

career statistics [edit ]

club [edit ]

As of match played 23 November 2021

International [edit ]

As of match played 18 November 2019[63]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team
Year
Apps
Goals

Spain

2016
1
0

2017
6
0

2018
8
2

2019
4
1

Total
19
3

As of match played 18 November 2019

Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Saúl goal[63]

Honours [edit ]

Atlético Madrid
Spain U17
Spain U19
Spain U21
Individual

UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2012[34]
UEFA European Under-21 Championship Golden Boot: 2017[72]
UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2017[73]
UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2017–18[74]