Sergio León Limones (; born 6 January 1989) 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 for
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 ...
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 ...
.
An academy graduate of Betis where he was mainly a reserve, he played more frequently at
Reus
Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is k ...
before being signed by
Elche
Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,top scorer 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 ...
three years later, he joined
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
Osasuna
Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...
, where he also appeared for Betis and Levante to total 130 matches and 24 goals over five seasons.
Club career
Betis and Reus
Born in
Palma del Río
Palma del Río is a city located in the province of Córdoba, Spain. According to the 2006 census by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, the city has a population of 20,640.
Agriculture
The region was intensively developed agriculturally d ...
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 ...
' youth ranks at the age of 15 and made his debut for the first team on 27 March 2010, playing 26 minutes in place of Juanma in a 1–0
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 ...
loss against
Girona FC
Girona Futbol Club, S.A.D. is a professional football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, it plays in La Liga, to which they gained promotion in the 2022 Segunda División play-offs.
Girona holds its home matches at ...
at the
Manuel Ruiz de Lopera
Manuel Ruiz de Lopera y Ávalos (born 13 August 1944) is a Spanish businessman who was owner and chairman of football club Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based ...
. It would be his only appearance of the campaign, as the ''Verdiblancos'' failed to regain their
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 ...
status.
In the 2011 January
transfer window
A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...
, after featuring rarely also for the reserves over the course of seasons, León left Betis and signed for
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 ...
in the
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 ...
. He scored five goals in 14 games until the end of the season, helping the
Catalans
Catalans (Catalan language, Catalan, French language, French and Occitan language, Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian language, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance languages, Romance ethnic group native to Cataloni ...
return to
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 ...
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 17 February 2013 in a 3–2 home win over
Ontinyent CF
Ontinyent Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Ontinyent, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1947 it held home games at ''Estadio El Clariano'', with a capacity of 5,000 seats.
On 28 March 2019, due to economic pr ...
.
Elche
In the summer of 2013, León joined
Elche CF
Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Elx Club de Futbol, S.A.D.) is a professional football based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1923, the club competes in La Liga, holding home matches at ''Estadi ...
on a four-year deal, being assigned to their reserves and then loaned to
Real Murcia
Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, playing ho ...
. After only three competitive appearances for the latter he was recalled by his parent club, continuing to feature and score regularly for the B's.
On 12 July 2014, León was again loaned to a second-tier club,
UE Llagostera
C.F. Badalona Futur Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Badalona, Province of Barcelona, Barcelona, in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. Founded in 1947, it currently plays ...
, for the upcoming season. In the second matchday, he scored his first professional goal to open a 2–0 victory over
CD Leganés
Club Deportivo Leganés, S.A.D. is a football club based in Leganés, Community of Madrid, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. It was founded on 23 June 1928. It holds home games at ...
at home for the team's first professional win. He eventually finished as top scorer for the
Province of Girona
Girona (; es, Gerona ; french: Gérone) is a province of Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest by the province of Barcelona, on the ...
side, who finished ninth.
León subsequently returned to Elche, and was promoted to the first team which had suffered top-flight relegation for financial reasons. He made his competitive debut for the
Valencians
Valencians ( va, valencians) are the native people of the Valencian Community, in eastern Spain. Legally, Valencians are the inhabitants of the community. Since 2006, the Valencian people are officially recognised in the Valencian Statute of Aut ...
on 23 August 2015 by playing the full 90 minutes as they opened their campaign with a 2–0 defeat at
SD Ponferradina
Sociedad Deportiva Ponferradina, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Ponferrada, in the El Bierzo region, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 7 June 1922, it plays in Segunda División, holding home matches at the ...
, and a week later scored his first goal to win a match 2–1 against
Bilbao Athletic
Athletic Club "B", commonly known as Bilbao Athletic, is the reserve team of Athletic Bilbao, Athletic Club, a association football, football club based in Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Count ...
at the
Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero
The Estadio Martínez Valero is a stadium located in the Spanish city of Elche in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community. It is the home stadium of Elche CF, a team that is currently playing in La Liga. Its name pays tribute to the late pre ...
. He was the
Segunda División Player of the Month The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second profes ...
in September 2015, having contributed three goals and an
assist
Assist or ASSIST may refer to:
Sports
Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team:
*Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...
, and eventually won the
Pichichi Trophy
In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...
for top scorer, netting his 22nd from the
penalty spot
The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it.
Wit ...
in the final game against
AD Alcorcón
Agrupación Deportiva Alcorcón S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Alcorcón, in the autonomous community of Madrid. Founded in 1971, it currently plays in Primera Federación – Group 1, holding home matches at the Municipal de Santo ...
to overtake
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 ...
's
Florin Andone
Florin Andone (; born 11 April 1993) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Segunda División club Eldense.
Raised in Spain from the age of 12, Andone began competing in the country's lower divisions before making hi ...
.
Osasuna
León signed a four-year contract with
CA Osasuna
Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El Sa ...
on 24 August 2016, for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut in the top division three days later, replacing
Oriol Riera
Oriol Riera Magem (Catalan pronunciation: ˈɾjɔl ˈrjeɾə born 3 July 1986) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker, currently manager of CD Tudelano.
After starting out at Barcelona, he went on to amass La Liga totals of 1 ...
in a 2–0 home loss against
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 ...
. He scored his first goal in the competition on 22 September, to equalise in a 2–1 loss to
RCD 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 ...
again at the
El Sadar Stadium
Estadio El Sadar (; known as ''Estadio Reyno de Navarra'' from 2005 to 2011, ) is a football stadium in Pamplona, Navarre, Spain. The stadium holds 23,576 people. It was built in 1967 and is the home of Osasuna. It is currently used mostly for foo ...
.
On 17 October 2016, León scored a brace in a 3–2 away defeat of
SD Eibar
Sociedad Deportiva Eibar (in eu, Eibar Kirol Elkartea) is a professional Spanish football club based in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous Basque Country.
Founded on 30 November 1940, the team currently plays in the Segunda División, the s ...
. He repeated the feat the next 9 April, in a 2–1 home victory against
CD Leganés
Club Deportivo Leganés, S.A.D. is a football club based in Leganés, Community of Madrid, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. It was founded on 23 June 1928. It holds home games at ...
. He finished the season with a squad-best ten goals, but his team suffered relegation.
Return to Betis
On 1 June 2017, León returned to Betis after agreeing to a four-year deal, for a rumoured fee of €3.5 million. He was the club's top scorer with 11 goals as they qualified for the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
in his first season, though he played less frequently in the second half of the campaign following the promotion of
Loren
Loren is a given name, nickname and surname which may refer to:
Given name Men
* Loren Acton (born 1936), American physicist and astronaut
* Loren C. Ball (born 1948), amateur astronomer who has discovered more than 100 asteroids
* Loren M. Ber ...
into the first team.
Levante
León joined
Levante UD
Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community.
Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante ...
on a three-year contract on 12 June 2019. Mainly a substitute during his spell, he scored ten competitive goals in 59 matches, including five in the 2020–21 edition of the
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 ...
.
Valladolid
On 31 August 2021, León signed a one-year contract with
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 ...
in the second division.
Honours
Individual
*
Pichichi Trophy
In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...
(
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 ...
Segunda División Player of the Month The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second profes ...