Daniel Sánchez Ayala (born 7 November 1990) 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 lea ...

who last played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for Potters Bar Town. His first club was

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. He joined

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

in 2011, and joined Middlesbrough on loan in October 2013, before joining the club on a permanent deal in January 2014. He joined

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

soon after a few years.

Club career

Liverpool

Born in El Saucejo,

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, Ayala agreed a move to

in September 2007 after rejecting a professional contract with

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

, where he came through the youth team. Liverpool paid a compensation fee to Sevilla and Ayala was offered a three-year contract. In the 2007–08 season he featured predominantly in the Under-18 team, whilst in the 2008–09 season he split his time between the Under-18 and reserve teams. He played through injury in the FA Youth Cup 2008–09 Final defeat to Arsenal. Ayala made his senior debut on 16 August 2009 in a

match against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

, coming on as a substitute for the injured

Martin Škrtel Martin Škrtel (born 15 December 1984) is a Slovak former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Škrtel previously played for FK AS Trenčín and FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, Zenit Saint Petersburg, before join ...

and made his first start against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

three days later. On Halloween, he came on as a substitute in Liverpool's 3–1 defeat against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...

, after

Jamie Carragher James Lee Duncan Carragher ( ; born 28 January 1978) is an English football analyst and former player who played as a defender for Premier League club Liverpool during a career which spanned 17 years. A one-club man, he was Liverpool's vice ...

and Philipp Degen were sent off. He also played in Liverpool's 4–0 win over

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, subsequently relegating them to the

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 sys ...

, and Liverpool's 2–0 defeat against Chelsea. On 12 November, it was announced that the player had signed an extended contract keeping him at Liverpool until the summer of 2012. In September 2010, Ayala joined

side

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

on loan. He started the same day in Hull City's away match at

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

which they lost 2–0. In his second match for the club against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

he scored his first goal in a competitive match. On 20 September, Liverpool announced that his loan period had been extended until 1 January. Ayala played 12 times for Hull in all competitions, scoring once. On 27 December, he returned to Liverpool due to an injury crisis. On 11 February 2011,

finally signed Ayala on a loan deal until the end of the season, after the move was delayed due to the players hamstring injury which he picked up while playing for

. He went on to play 17 times for Derby, making 16 consecutive starts.

Norwich City

On 13 August 2011, Ayala signed for

for a reported fee of £800,000. The deal officially went through on 16 August 2011. Ayala was handed the number 26 shirt, vacated by Steven Smith and was named in the squad for the Premier League fixture against Stoke City at Carrow Road on 21 August 2011. This was due to Zak Whitbread being rated as doubtful for the fixture after picking up a knee knock against Wigan. He made his debut for Norwich as a second-half substitute for Anthony Pilkington following Leon Barnett's sending off against Stoke. Ayala suffered a knee injury in the League Cup defeat to

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

ruling him out for two months. He made his Norwich comeback in the 1–1 draw against Fulham, starting with Zak Whitbread and playing 90 minutes. Ayala was ruled out for a few weeks after suffering a hamstring injury in a 2–0 win over Bolton. On 7 August 2012, Ayala secured a season-long loan deal with Nottingham Forest. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 home win against

Middlesbrough

On 23 October 2013, Ayala joined

club

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on a three-month emergency loan spell. He made his debut for Middlesbrough two days later, when his new side crushed

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

4–0, taking the honour of scoring on his debut. He bagged in his second goal for the club in his third appearance in their 2–2 draw with

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, where he scored the equaliser in the final minute of added time. On 24 January 2014, Ayala joined Middlesbrough on a permanent forty-two month contract. Ayala thus became recently appointed manager

Aitor Karanka Aitor Karanka de la Hoz (Basque and ; born 18 September 1973) is a Spanish football manager and former player. Save for a brief spell in the United States at age 32, Karanka played solely in Spain for Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid, appearing ...

's first permanent signing for Middlesbrough, with the fee reported to be in the region of £350,000. He was released upon the expiration of his contract on 30 June 2020.

Blackburn Rovers

On 15 September 2020, Ayala signed for

on a 3-year deal. Ayala made his debut for Blackburn in their 0–0 draw with Cardiff on 3 October. Ayala scored his first goal for Blackburn in the club's 2–1 win against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

on 18 August 2021.

Rotherham United

On 27 October 2023, Ayala signed for

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

side

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

on a short-term deal. On 7 March 2024, Ayala was released by mutual consent.

Potters Bar Town

On 22 October 2024, Ayala played for Potters Bar Town in an

Alan Turvey Trophy The Alan Turvey Trophy, also known as the Velocity Cup under a sponsorship deal, formerly the Isthmian League Cup, is a football knock-out cup competition organised by the Isthmian League in England. History Isthmian League Chairman and Presiden ...

loss against

Cheshunt Cheshunt (/ˈtʃɛzənt/ CHEZ-ənt) is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, situated within the London commuter belt approximately north of Central London. The town lies on the River Lea and Lee Navigation, bordering th ...

Career statistics

Honours

Middlesbrough *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

runner-up: 2015–16 Individual * The Football League Team of the Season: 2015–16 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2015–16 Championship *

PFA Fans' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Fans' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Fans' Player of the Year, or simply the Fans' Player of the Year) award is given to footballers in the top four flights of English football, the Premier L ...

: 2015–16 Championship

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayala, Daniel 1990 births Living people People from Sierra Sur (Seville) Footballers from the Province of Seville Spanish men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Liverpool F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Potters Bar Town F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Spanish sportsmen