José Luis Moreno Barroso (born 3 March 1991), commonly known as Joselu, is a Spanish

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 as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. A youth proponent of

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

, where he played one

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 ...

season, he spent most of his professional career in

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 ...

, in service of eight clubs.

Club career

Villarreal

Born in

Cartaya Cartaya is a Spanish locality and municipality in the Province of Huelva, (autonomous community of Andalusia). In 2010 it had 18,415 inhabitants. Its surface area is 226.4 km2 and has a density of 81.34 people per km2. The present town of C ...

Province of Huelva Huelva () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva. Its area is 10,1 ...

, Joselu came through the ranks of

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, th ...

, and made his senior debut for their third team. He first appeared at the professional level on 12 June 2010, in the reserves' penultimate game of the season, as a half-time substitute in a 1–0 away loss against

CD Numancia Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at ''Nuevo Estadio Los ...

. He scored his first goal roughly one year later, opening a 2–1 defeat at

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

also in the

. Joselu netted 11 times in 29 matches the following campaign, including a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

on 30 September 2011 in a 3–2 home win over

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2. ...

. The team was eventually relegated due to the descent of their parent club, and he made 16 competitive appearances for the latter – mostly from the bench – that year, including in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. His debut was a goalless

away draw to

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and op ...

, replacing

Jonathan de Guzmán Jonathan Alexander de Guzmán (born 13 September 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sparta Rotterdam. Born in Canada, he represented the Netherlands internationally. De Guzmán is Canadian-born, but made himself a ...

for the final four minutes.

Later years

Joselu was loaned to

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 ...

on 23 June 2012, ahead of the upcoming season. He remained in his native

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

and the second division a year later, signing a three-year deal with the option of a fourth at

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, 2 days before Christmas, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play i ...

. In January 2015, with ''Recre'' in serious financial problems halfway through a season that would end with relegation, Joselu transferred to

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

for a year and the option of a second. He remained there only until August, when he was signed by fellow division two side

CD Lugo Club Deportivo Lugo is a Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at '' Estadio Anxo Carro''. History The new board of directors was o ...

. On 14 June 2017, after being crowned top scorer of the second tier with 23 goals, Joselu agreed to a three-year contract with

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (), known simply as Granada, is a Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that plays in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021� ...

, recently relegated from the top flight. On 13 August of the following year, he moved to

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 ...

of the same league on a four-year deal. Joselu joined

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1912, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez Lóp ...

on 17 January 2020, on loan for the remainder of the season with an option to a permanent deal. This clause was activated on 2 July, but the player returned to Lugo on a one-year deal on 9 August 2021, after a goalless

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

. On 2 January 2023, after six months without a club, Joselu returned to Lugo for a third spell, signing until the end of the campaign.

Personal life

Joselu's younger brother, Simón, was also a footballer and a forward. He too came through Villarreal's system.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joselu 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from the Province of Huelva Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Andalusia Men's association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Tercera División players Villarreal CF C players Villarreal CF B players Villarreal CF players Córdoba CF players Recreativo de Huelva players RCD Mallorca players CD Lugo players Granada CF footballers Real Oviedo players CD Tenerife players