Julio José Pleguezuelo Selva (, born 26 January 1997) 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 ...

who plays for club Plymouth Argyle. Pleguezuelo mainly plays as a

centre 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 ...

but can also feature as both a

right 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 ...

and a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

Club career

Early career

2012 2013 - Julio Pleguezuelo - Flickr - Castroquini-FCB

Pleguezuelo was born in

Palma, Majorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of Mallorca ...

, Balearic Islands. In 2004, he joined

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 s ...

's youth setup, after starting out at CD Atlético Baleares. In 2010, Pleguezuelo moved to Atlético Madrid. The following year, however, he signed for

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

, being linked to

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

sides Arsenal, Manchester City and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

during his spell at the latter.

Arsenal

In July 2013, shortly after turning 16, Pleguezuelo moved abroad and signed for Arsenal. On 11 April of the following year, after becoming a key unit at the club's under-18 squad, he signed his first professional contract. Pleguezuelo established himself as the captain of the under-21 side during the 2015–16 campaign. He went on to lead Arsenal to victory in the

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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

U21 Premier League 2 play-off final which was won by 3 goals to 1 over Aston Villa. Pleguezuelo made his senior Arsenal debut against Blackpool in EFL Cup on 31 October 2018.

Mallorca (loan)

On 5 August 2016, Pleguezuelo was loaned to Segunda División side RCD Mallorca, for one year. He made his professional debut on 7 September, starting in a 1–0

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 footb ...

home win against CF Reus Deportiu. On 9 October 2016, Pleguezuelo made his debut in the second tier, playing the last nine minutes in a 3–0 home win against

SD Huesca Sociedad Deportiva Huesca, S.A.D., is a Spanish football club in Huesca, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded on 29 March 1960, SD Huesca plays in the Segunda División, having played in the Spanish top division for the first time in ...

. After 15 matches and a subsequent

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

, he returned to his parent club.

Gimnàstic (loan)

On 31 January 2018, Pleguezuelo was loaned to

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. ...

in the second division until the end of the season.

FC Twente

On 21 May 2019, Pleguezuelo joined

FC Twente Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese ...

of the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

on a free transfer.

Plymouth Argyle

On 21 June 2023, Pleguezuelo joined newly-promoted

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club Plymouth Argyle on a two-year contract. The move saw him become the first Spanish player to play for the club.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Arsenal * U21 Premier League 2 play-offs:

Individual *

Team of the Month: March 2022,

References

External links

Profile
at Arsenal.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pleguezuelo, Julio 1997 births Living people Footballers from Palma de Mallorca Spanish men's footballers Men's association football defenders Segunda División players Eredivisie players RCD Mallorca players Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers Arsenal F.C. players FC Barcelona players FC Twente players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Spain men's youth international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands