Manuel 'Manu' Gavilán Morales (born 12 July 1991) 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 le ...

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 ...

and is currently a free agent.

Club career

Born in Seville, Andalusia, Gavilán graduated from Real Betis' youth setup, and made his senior debut with the reserves in the 2008–09 season, in the

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 ...

. After attracting interest from Liverpool and other Premier League clubs, he joined Serie A's

Bologna F.C. 1909 Bologna Football Club 1909, commonly referred to as Bologna (), is an Italian professional football club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. The club have won seven top-flight titles, two Co ...

on 10 August 2010, for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

350,000. Gavilán played his first match as a professional on 18 January 2011, coming on as a substitute for Henry Giménez in the 77th minute of a 1–2 away loss against

S.S.C. Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli (), is an Italian professional football club based in the city of Naples ( it, Napoli, nap, Napule), Campania that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. Napoli ha ...

in the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia. He subsequently served loans at fellow Italians Piacenza Calcio,

A.S.G. Nocerina A.S.G. Nocerina S.r.l., was an Italian association football club, based in Nocera Inferiore, Campania. The club withdrew from the league in 2015 and was replaced by A.S.D. Città di Nocera 1910 (formerly "Città di Agropoli"), which known as ...

and San Marino Calcio, only appearing regularly with the latter; he was released in June 2014. On 6 August 2014, Gavilán returned to Spain and signed a three-year deal with

Zamora CF Zamora Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Zamora, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded in 1968 it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at '' Estadio Ruta de la Plata'', with a c ...

in the third level. He scored his first goal for the team on 26 October, opening the scoring a 4–0 away win over Atlético Astorga FC. In the following seasons, save for a brief spell in the

Austrian Football Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...

with SV Ried, Gavilán continued to compete in the Spanish lower leagues, representing in quick succession

CD Eldense Club Deportivo Eldense is a Spanish football team based in Elda, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1921, the club plays in the Primera División RFEF – Group 2, and holds home matches at ''Estadio Nuevo Pepico Amat'', which ha ...

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 ...

CD Guijuelo Club Deportivo Guijuelo is a Spanish football team based in Guijuelo, Province of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded in 1974 it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at the 1,500-seat ...

and CD Toledo. On 31 July 2019, after a two-week trial, he joined Hong Kong Premier League side Happy Valley, leaving on 28 May 2020 after it was decided his contract would not be renewed. Gavilán signed with Kitchee of the same league on 1 June 2020. On 31 May 2022, Gavilán left the club after finishing his contract. On 29 July 2022, Gavilán joined Lee Man.

Honours

Kitchee * Hong Kong Premier League: 2019–20 Spain * UEFA European Under-17 Championship:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gavilan, Manuel 1991 births Living people Footballers from Seville Spanish men's footballers Men's association football forwards Segunda División B players Tercera División players Betis Deportivo Balompié footballers Zamora CF footballers CD Eldense footballers CF Badalona Futur players CD Guijuelo footballers CD Toledo players Serie C players Bologna FC 1909 players Piacenza Calcio 1919 players ASG Nocerina players ASD Victor San Marino players Austrian Football Bundesliga players SV Ried players Hong Kong Premier League players Happy Valley AA players Kitchee SC players Lee Man FC players Spain men's youth international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Austria Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Expatriate men's footballers in San Marino Spanish expatriate sportspeople in San Marino