Valentín Mariano José Castellanos Giménez (born 3 October 1998), also known by his nickname Taty Castellanos, is an Argentine 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 ...

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 ...

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

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

, on loan from

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...

Club career

Early career

Castellanos started his club career in the youth academy of

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

. He made his senior team debut in the

2017 Copa Sudamericana The 2017 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 16th edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the ''Copa Sudamericana'', or pt, Copa Sul-Americana), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Argent ...

against

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

playing 14 minutes. He then moved to

Torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...

on a one-year loan in July 2017. While on loan, he scored two goals in 11 appearances and helped the club win the Segunda Division title and secure promotion to Uruguay's top flight. On 1 July 2018, his move from

was made permanent.

New York City FC

On 27 July 2018, he joined

side

on loan until the end of the 2018 season. In his first match with New York City FC, he started and scored a goal against the Vancouver Whitecaps. New York City exercised their option to buy Castellanos on 29 November 2018, ahead of the 2019 season. In 2019, Castellanos played an integral role in New York City's attack, scoring 11 times and adding seven assists in 30 matches. This form helped NYCFC finish atop the Eastern Conference standings and qualify for their first

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

. In 2020, Castellanos declined in his production, scoring six goals and adding three assists in 22 matches during a season shortened by the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Castellanos suffered from an inability to finish chances as he had an xG/90 of 0.65, but ended the season with G/90 of only 0.40. NYCFC would finish fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. During the first round of the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Castellanos had his initial penalty in a shootout vs. Orlando City saved, but VAR overturned the call due to goalkeeper

Pedro Gallese Pedro David Gallese Quiroz (born 23 February 1990) is a Peruvian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Orlando City and the Peru national team. Club career Universidad San Martín Pedro Gallese began ...

leaving the goal line early. He scored his second penalty but NYCFC lost 6–5 in the shootout, eliminating them from the playoffs. Castellanos was able to finish much more consistently during the 2021 season, becoming only the fifth player in MLS history to score in each of their club's first four matches. Shortly after this milestone, on 13 May 2021, Castellanos signed a new deal with NYCFC through 2025. Castellanos again played an integral role in New York City's attack throughout the 2021 season. He significantly improved his G/90 to 0.62 and raised his xG/90 to 0.70 showing improvement in his movement, creation ability, and finishing. He was especially good near the season's conclusion, scoring 12 goals in NYCFC's last 14 matches. During this stretch, he was awarded MLS Player of the Month for August and the NYCFC Player of the Month for both August and September. He ended the season as the team's leading scorer with 19 goals and added eight assists, winning the

MLS Golden Boot The MLS Golden Boot (currently commercially termed "Audi Golden Boot") has been awarded since the 2005 season to Major League Soccer's regular–season leading scorer. The award replaced the MLS Scoring Champion Award that was awarded since the le ...

over DC United's

Ola Kamara Ola Williams Kamara (born 15 October 1989) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Allsvenskan club Häcken. He has previously played for Stabæk, Hønefoss, Strømsgodset, Molde, Austria Wien, TSV 1860 Munich, C ...

on the assist tiebreaker. Castellanos also led the league in shots and shots on target with 132 and 57, respectively. Castellanos scored in all three of his 2021 MLS Cup Playoff appearances, including the first goal of the 2021 MLS Cup, which NYCFC won on penalties, giving Castellanos the first domestic trophy of his career.

Girona (loan)

On 25 July 2022, Castellanos joined newly promoted

club

on a season-long loan.

International career

In October 2019, Castellanos was called up for the first time to the

Argentina national under-23 football team The Argentina Olympic football team (Argentina U-23 since 1992) represents Argentina in international football competitions during Olympic Games and Pan American Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overa ...

by coach

Fernando Batista Fernando Ariel Batista (born 20 August 1970) is Argentine Association football, football manager and retired player who is currently an assistant manager for the Venezuela national football team, Venezuela national team under head coach José P� ...

for two friendly matches against Mexico.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Torque *

Uruguayan Segunda División Segunda División Profesional is the second division of professional football in Uruguay, established in 1942. The league is sometimes referred to as ''Primera B''. Segunda División was first held in 1942 to replace amateur Divisional Intermed ...

: 2017 New York City FC *

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Argentina U23 *

CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament The CONMEBOL Preolímpico ( en, Pre-Olympic Tournament) is an international association football event in the South America region organized by CONMEBOL. It is the qualification tournament for the football tournament at the Olympic Games. In 1960 ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Individual *NYCFC Player of the Month: August 2021, September 2021 * MLS Player of the Month: October/November 2020, August 2021 *

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castellanos, Valentín 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from Mendoza, Argentina Argentine footballers Association football midfielders Uruguayan Segunda División players Uruguayan Primera División players Major League Soccer players La Liga players Universidad de Chile footballers Montevideo City Torque players New York City FC players Girona FC players Argentine expatriate footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United States Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Chile Expatriate footballers in Uruguay Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Spain