Lucía Villalón Puras (born 22 August 1988) is a Spanish sports journalist and television presenter. A law and journalism graduate of the

Universidad CEU San Pablo CEU San Pablo University () is a private Catholic university located in Madrid, Spain, with campuses in Moncloa (Madrid) and in Montepríncipe (Alcorcón). It is run by the Centro de Estudios Universitarios (CEU Foundation). It was established ...

in Madrid, she began her career as an intern at

Televisión Española (acronym TVE, branded tve, "Spanish Television") is Spain's national state-owned public television broadcaster and the oldest regular television service in the country. It was also the first regular television service in Equatorial Guinea. T ...

before presenting for

Real Madrid TV Real Madrid TV is a free digital television channel, operated by Real Madrid specialising in the Spanish football club. The channel is available in Spanish and English. It is located at Ciudad Real Madrid in Valdebebas, Real Madrid's training c ...

. Villalón was the

pit lane Pitstop may refer to: * Pit stop Pitstop may refer to: * Pit stop, in motor racing, when the car stops in the pits for fuel and other consumables to be renewed or replenished * ''Pit Stop'' (1969 film), a movie directed by Jack Hill * ''Pit ...

reporter of Antena 3's coverage of

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

motor racing in 2015. She has also covered sport for

beIN Sports beIN Sports ( ) is a Qatari multinational network of sports channels owned and operated by the media group beIN. The network has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its ...

Televisa Deportes TUDN (formerly Televisa Deportes) is a division of the Mexico, Mexican television broadcaster Televisa that produces sports programming for Las Estrellas, Canal 5 (Mexico), Canal 5, Nueve (Mexican TV network), Nueve, FOROtv, Foro TV and the Te ...

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...

DAZN DAZN (; pronounced "da zone") is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top sports Sports broadcasting, streaming and entertainment platform. Founded in 2007 as Perform Group via the merger of Premium TV Limited and Inform Group, it is o ...

and presented her own programme on the

Movistar Plus+ Movistar Plus+ (formerly Movistar+) is the trade name of the subscription platform for digital television owned by , which operates in Spain. The service is distributed via optical fiber and ADSL as well as with satellites such as Astra. The pl ...

channel.

Biography

Villalón was born in Santander, Spain on 22 August 1988. Her father is the businessman Curro Villalón, and she has a brother and a sister. Villalón's uncle

Jesús Puras Jesús Puras Vidal de la Peña (born March 16 1963), also known as 'Chus Puras', is a Spanish Rallying, rally driver active in the World Rally Championship from 1991 to 2002. Puras was well known for his blistering performances on tarmac rallies ...

was a

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

driver and her parents encouraged her and her siblings to do all sorts of outdoor activities. She is a law and journalism graduate of the

in Madrid. Villalón had always wanted to become a journalist and liked law and believed it to compliment nicely. She began her career as an intern for

, focusing on sport. Villalón went on to be a presenter for

. In 2015, she became the

reporter for Antena 3's free-to-air television coverage of the

single-seater motor racing championship, replacing Nira Juanco. Villalón was required to study the series during the pre-season testing sessions at the

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stands ...

at which she began working and her first race broadcast was at the

2015 Australian Grand Prix The 2015 Australian Grand Prix, formally titled the 2015 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 15 March 2015 in Albert Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The race was contested over fifty-eigh ...

. She focused on the Spanish racing drivers Carlos Sainz Jr.,

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...

and

Roberto Merhi Roberto Merhi Muntan (born 22 March 1991) is a Spanish racing driver, who competes in the GT300 class of Super GT for LeMans. Merhi competed in Formula One at 14 Grands Prix in . Merhi previously competed in Formula E for Mahindra and who ...

. In 2016, Villalón joined

as a presenter of the

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

football league and began working for the broadcaster that August. She also reported on the

Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario (, , ; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's soccer tournament that was hosted by the United States in 2016. The competition was a celebration of the centennial of CONMEBOL and the Copa Am� ...

in 2016 and the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

. Villalón reported on the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

in Russia for

and

. She resigned from beIN Sports in August 2018 and moved to the Spanish-language American sports channel Univisión Deportes, reporting on events such as the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

. Villalón left the network in late 2019. The following year, Villalón joined the sports content streaming platform

, covering the

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 ...

, the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. In August 2023, she joined the

channel and presented the ''Deporte Plus+ con Lucía Villalón'' programme in place of . Villalón has been an ambassador of

DS Automobiles DS Automobiles is a French Luxury car, luxury-Premium segment, premium marque created in 2009. Formerly part of Automobiles Citroën, Automobiles Citroën S.A., DS has been a standalone brand ultimately owned by PSA Group, later Stellantis. The in ...

, and the Swedish soft drinks company Vitamin Well.

Personal life

Villalón was in a relationship with the football player from

Javier Hernández Javier Hernández Balcázar (; born 1 June 1988), commonly known by the nickname Chicharito (, Mexican Spanish: ''little pea''), is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga MX club Guadalajara. He is known for his c ...

April 2015 to January 2017. She entered into a relationship with the football player

Gonzalo Melero Gonzalo Julián Melero Manzanares (born 2 January 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Almería as a midfielder. Club career Born in Madrid, Melero joined Real Madrid's youth setup in 2004, aged ten, after starting out at EF ...

in 2021, and they married in mid-2022. They have two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Villalón, Lucía 1988 births Living people People from Santander, Spain 20th-century Spanish women 21st-century Spanish women journalists 21st-century Spanish journalists Spanish sports journalists Women sports journalists Association football journalists Formula One journalists and reporters