Javier "Javi" Galán Gil (born 19 November 1994) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays a left-back,

left wing-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or left winger for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

club

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The population ...

, Extremadura, Galán represented CD San Roque Badajoz, CP Don Bosco and CP Flecha Negra as a youth. On 20 June 2013, after scoring 12 goals for the latter's ''Juvenil A'' squad, he moved to

CD Badajoz Club Deportivo Badajoz is a Spanish football team based in Badajoz, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 1905 and refounded in 2012, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, and holds home games at ''Estadio Nu ...

. Galán made his senior debut on 15 September 2013, playing the last 30 minutes in a 1–0 home win against CD Solana for the ''Regional Preferente'' championship. He scored his first senior goal fourteen days later, netting the last in a 4–1 home routing of EF Emérita Augusta. Galán helped the ''Blanquinegros'' in their promotion to

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segunda División'', and the semi-professional ''Segunda Di ...

during his first campaign.

Córdoba

On 9 July 2015, Galán joined

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), (from the 2020–21 season onwards competing under the umbrella of Unión Futbolística Cordobesa, S.A.D.) is a Spanish football club based in Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1951 as ...

, being assigned to the reserves also in the fourth tier. Upon arriving, he became an immediate first choice for the B's. Galán made his professional debut on 12 October 2016, starting as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

in a 2–1

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

away win against

Cádiz CF Cádiz Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., known simply as Cádiz, is a Spanish professional football club based in Cádiz, Andalusia. Founded in 1910, the club competes in the La Liga, holding home games at Nuevo Mirandilla, with a seating capacity of 20 ...

. He made his

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

debut on 4 December, starting in a 2–1 win at

CF Reus Deportiu Club de Futbol Reus Deportiu, S.A.D. was a Spanish football team based in Reus, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1909, it last competed in the Segunda Division (while its B team competed in the Tercera Division) before foldi ...

. On 12 December 2016, Galán renewed his contract until 2020. Five days later he scored his first professional goal, netting the first in a 2–1 win at

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926 as a result of the merger of two clubs who had maintained a large sporting rivalry for years in the city: ''Real Stadium Club Ovetense'' and ''Real Club De ...

. Galán was an undisputed starter during the 2017–18 campaign; converted to a

by manager Jorge Romero, he went on to score two goals in 40 appearances as his side narrowly avoided relegation.

Huesca

On 29 January 2019, Galan moved to

side SD Huesca on a three-and-a-half-year contract. He made his debut in the top tier on 1 February, starting in a 4–0 home routing of

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club colo ...

. Galán immediately became a regular starter for the side, suffering relegation in his first season but immediately bouncing back as champions in his second. He scored his first goal in the top tier on 6 February 2021, netting the opener in a 1–2 home loss to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

Celta

On 31 July 2021, after suffering another relegation with Huesca, Galán signed a five-year contract with

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...

in the top tier.

Atlético Madrid

On 3 July 2023, Galán signed a contract until June 2026 with fellow La Liga club

Real Sociedad (loan)

On 24 January 2024, Atlético Madrid sent Galán on loan to fellow La Liga club

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...

until the end of the 2023–24 season.

Personal life

Galán is physically likened to England international forward

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while als ...

, with his nickname being ''Rooney'' during his youth career and Badajoz.

Career statistics

Honours

Huesca *

: 2019–20

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Galan, Javier 1994 births Living people Footballers from Badajoz Spanish men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football wingers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Divisiones Regionales de Fútbol players CD Badajoz players Córdoba CF B players Córdoba CF players SD Huesca footballers RC Celta de Vigo players Atlético Madrid footballers Real Sociedad footballers