Nolito


Manuel Agudo Durán, known as Nolito, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for RC Celta de Vigo and the Spain national team.
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

Barcelona

Born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz, Andalusia, Nolito arrived at Barcelona's youth academy at nearly 22 years of age, having appeared with Écija in his native region in two third division seasons. With the Catalans, in the same level, he scored 16 league goals in two seasons combined – 12 in the second– as the B-team returned to the second level after an 11-year absence; still as a youth, he briefly represented Valencia, but quickly returned to his first club Atlético Sanluqueño.
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 scoring in a 5–1 home win over Ceuta in the campaign's Copa del Rey.

Benfica

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 netted 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 goal, giving Granada its first win over Real Madrid in 40 years.

Celta

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 his team 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 win 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 Denis Suárez and score a penalty in a 6–0 home win over 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

International

International goals

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
129 May 2016AFG Arena, St. Gallen, Switzerland71–03–1Friendly
229 May 2016AFG Arena, St. Gallen, Switzerland72–03–1Friendly
31 June 2016Red Bull Arena, Salzburg, Austria83–06–1Friendly
41 June 2016Red Bull Arena, Salzburg, Austria85–06–1Friendly
517 June 2016Stade de Nice, Nice, France112–03–0UEFA Euro 2016
69 October 2016Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër, Albania152–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

Barcelona
Benfica