Francisco "Kiko" Casilla Cortés (; born 2 October 1986) 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 as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

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 ...

. He started playing for

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 ...

, but only represented the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

s in the early stage of his career. He went on to appear in 126 competitive matches for

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

over six

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 ...

seasons before returning to his previous club in 2015, with whom he won three UEFA Champions League titles as backup to Keylor Navas. In 2019–20, he won promotion to the Premier League with Leeds United. Casilla won one cap for Spain, in 2014.

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in Alcover, Tarragona, Catalonia, Casilla did not enjoy much playing time in his two-year stint with

reserve side,

Real Madrid Castilla Real Madrid Castilla Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team that plays in Primera Federación – Group 1 for the 2022–23 season. It is Real Madrid's reserve team. They play their home games at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium with a cap ...

. In the 2005–06 season, he played 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 ...

after having graduated from the C team, being only third choice after

Jordi Codina Jordi Codina Rodríguez (born 27 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Codina arrived at Real Madrid in 2002 at the age of 20, having been grown in the you ...

and

David Cobeño David Cobeño Iglesias (; born 6 April 1982) is a Spanish football executive who is the director of football of La Liga club Rayo Vallecano and a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Playing career Born in Madrid, Cobeño ...

. After only four appearances, Casilla was expected to receive more opportunities after the departure of Cobeño. However, Codina became the starter and Antonio Adán, a fellow youth graduate, the backup, and Casilla ended up playing only in the last game of the campaign, with an eventual relegation befalling.

Espanyol

In August 2007, Casilla was acquired by RCD Espanyol on a free transfer. On 20 January 2008, he made his debut in

in a 1–2 away loss against Real Valladolid, coming on as a substitute for injured

Iñaki Lafuente Iñaki Lafuente Sancha (born 24 January 1976) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He appeared in 146 La Liga games over ten seasons, mainly with Athletic Bilbao. He also represented Espanyol and Sporting ...

two minutes after half-time as the habitual starter

Carlos Kameni Idriss Carlos Kameni (born 18 February 1984) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for Andorran club UE Santa Coloma as a goalkeeper. He spent the vast majority of his career in Spain, mainly with Espanyol for whom he appeared in 22 ...

was away on international duty. That month, news surfaced that

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

were interested in acquiring the young Spaniard's services. Barred by Kameni and new signing Cristian Álvarez, Casilla joined

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

side

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 ...

on loan for 2008–09. The move was extended for the entirety of the following campaign after the Andalusians returned to division two, and he again started most of the season, but the team was immediately relegated. Casilla still sat on the bench for Espanyol's first game in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

but, on 31 August 2010, moved again on loan, to second division club FC Cartagena. Subsequently, returned to the ''Pericos'', he constantly battled for first-choice status with Álvarez. After the Argentine left, Casilla became the undisputed starter. On 1 February 2015, he was sent off against Sevilla FC for handling Iago Aspas' shot outside of the penalty area, and his replacement Pau López could not prevent an eventual 2–3 defeat.

Return to Real Madrid

On 17 July 2015, Casilla returned to Real Madrid on a five-year contract for €6 million. He made his competitive debut on 31 October, in a 3–1 win over UD Las Palmas. Casilla played understudy to Keylor Navas in his first season, appearing in seven official matches. Two of those came in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, as the tournament ended in conquest. On 9 August 2016, Casilla was in goal for injured Navas in the 3–2 victory against fellow Spaniards Sevilla for the UEFA Super Cup, in Trondheim. He managed to contribute more in his second year, and the club won the national championship after a five-year wait. His Champions League input consisted of the 2–1 group phase defeat of Sporting CP, as they again emerged victorious in the competition. Casilla made two appearances in the Champions League and 17 in all competitions during 2017–18, as Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall title in the tournament. In the following campaign, after the summer signing of Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois, he was further demoted down the pecking order.

Leeds United

On 17 January 2019, the 32-year-old Casilla moved abroad for the first time in his career and signed a four-and-a-half-year contract at Leeds United of the English Championship. He made his debut nine days later, in a 2–1 win against Rotherham United. In September 2019, Casilla was accused of racially abusing Charlton Athletic forward

Jonathan Leko Jonathan Kisolokele Leko (born 24 April 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Milton Keynes Dons. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion, made his senior debut as a 16-year-old in 2015, and spent time on l ...

in a match between the two teams. He was charged by The Football Association but remained available for selection during the investigation. On 28 February 2020, he received an eight-game ban and £60,000 fine after being found guilty. Casilla played his first game in the Premier League on 16 January 2021, in a 0–1 home loss to Brighton & Hove Albion. He was second-choice to young Frenchman

Illan Meslier Illan Stéphane Meslier (born 2 March 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Leeds United. Early life Illan Stéphane Meslier was born on 2 March 2000 in Lorient, Brittany. Club career Lorien ...

over the season. On 12 July 2021, Casilla was loaned to Elche CF for the next Spanish top-division season. Initially a starter, he eventually lost his place to

Edgar Badia Edgar Badia Guardiola (born 12 February 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Real Zaragoza, on loan from Elche CF. Club career Espanyol Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Badia was a youth product of local RCD Es ...

. Casilla's contract at Leeds was terminated by mutual consent on 31 July 2022.

Getafe

On 10 August 2022, Casilla joined

on a one-year deal.

International career

Casilla represented Spain at under-21 level once, playing 29 minutes in a 2–0

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

defeat of France in

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotels were built, though ...

. On 29 August 2014, he was called up to full side manager Vicente del Bosque's 23-man squad for matches against France and

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

in September, as third-choice behind

Iker Casillas Iker Casillas Fernández (; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Popularly dubbed "''San Iker''" ("Saint Iker") for his ability to produce spectac ...

and David de Gea. He only made his debut, however, on 18 November, replacing the former for the last 14 minutes of a friendly with Germany in Vigo and being beaten by Toni Kroos for the game's only goal.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Real Madrid *

: 2016–17 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

* UEFA Champions League: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 * UEFA Super Cup:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Leeds United *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

: 2019–20

References

External links

Real Madrid official profile
*
Stats and bio at Cadistas1910
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Casilla, Kiko 1986 births Living people People from Alt Camp Sportspeople from the Province of Tarragona Spanish footballers Footballers from Catalonia Association football goalkeepers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Real Madrid C footballers Real Madrid Castilla footballers RCD Espanyol B footballers RCD Espanyol footballers Cádiz CF players FC Cartagena footballers Real Madrid CF players Elche CF players Getafe CF footballers Premier League players English Football League players Leeds United F.C. players UEFA Champions League winning players Spain youth international footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spain international footballers Catalonia international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Race-related controversies in the United Kingdom