Miguel Alfonso Herrero Javaloyas (; born 29 July 1988), commonly known as Míchel , 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 plays mainly as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Alzira Alzira may refer to: * ''Alzira'' (opera), an opera by Giuseppe Verdi *Alzira, Valencia Alzira (; ) is a city and municipality of 49.000 inhabitants (62,094 floating population) in Valencia, eastern Spain. It is the capital of the '' comarca'' o ...

. He achieved

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 ...

totals of 172 games and nine goals over nine seasons, with

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Deportivo, Levante,

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

and

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

Club career

Valencia

Born in

Burjassot Burjassot (; ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Horta Nord in the Valencian Community, Spain. Museums The Museum of Geology at the University of Valencia is located on calle Doctor Moliner. It has several collections of geological and ...

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

, Míchel finished his football grooming at local Burjassot CF and started playing as a senior with

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

's reserves. After a string of midfield injuries to the main squad (

Rubén Baraja Rubén Baraja Vegas (; born 11 July 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer, currently a manager. A complete central midfielder with good tackling, technique, and offensive qualities, together with accurate passing and goalscoring ability, he pla ...

, Edu and Manuel Fernandes) he was called up by coach

Unai Emery Unai Emery Etxegoien (born 3 November 1971) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa. He is widely regarded as o ...

, making his

debut against

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

, playing 20 minutes in a 4–0 away loss on 6 December 2008; previous to that, he had already appeared in a

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

against

Club Portugalete Club Portugalete is a List of football clubs in Spain, Basque football team based in Portugalete, in the autonomous community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country. Founded in 1909, it plays in , holding its home games in the '' ...

, where he also scored. Míchel's first start occurred on 3 March 2009 in the 2–1 loss at

CD Numancia Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in , holding home games at '' Nuevo Estadio Los Pajaritos''. Besides football it ...

, as he began to be regularly summoned to the league's squad of 18 each week. He was delighted with his

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

at Valencia, never having imagined he would be playing for the club's first team after being not much earlier in the

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

Loans and Levante

In early June 2010, deemed surplus to requirements by coach Emery – for instance, in the 2009–10 campaign he only collected 28 minutes in the league, all as a late substitute – Míchel was loaned for one season to

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

. He spent most of the campaign injured, and the

Galicians Galicians ( or ''pobo galego''; ) are an ethnic group primarily residing in Galicia, northwest Iberian Peninsula. Historical emigration resulted in populations in other parts of Spain, Europe, and the Americas. Galicians possess distinct cu ...

were also relegated after 20 years in the top flight. At

Hércules CF Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Primera Federación and plays its home games ...

, where he spent the 2011–12 season, Míchel scored a career-best 13 goals, also being a key player as the team nearly returned to the top tier.El Levante ficha a Míchel, como agente libre (Levante sign Míchel, as free agent)

Goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

, 26 June 2012 (in Spanish) The club attempted to acquire the player permanently, but were eventually denied. Míchel rescinded his contract with Valencia in June 2012, and signed a three-year deal with neighbouring

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 6 September 1909, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025– ...

shortly after. He scored eight goals in 51 official games in his only season, including two in 11 in that campaign's

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

Return to Valencia

On 10 May 2013, Míchel agreed on a return to former club Valencia, penning a three-year link after his

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

420,000

buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

was paid. He made his debut in his second spell on 17 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home win against

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...

. Míchel was loaned to

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. They compete in La Liga, the top tier of the Football in Spain, Spanish football. The team has pla ...

of the same league in late July 2014, for two years.

Guangzhou R&F

On 18 December 2014, Míchel was sold to Guangzhou R&F F.C. in the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

. He made his debut for his new team on 10 February of the following year, appearing in the second preliminary round of the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

against

Warriors FC Warriors Football Club was a Singaporean professional football club based in Choa Chu Kang, Singapore, that played in the Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. Before changing their name on 20 January 2013, they ...

. Míchel returned to Spain on loan in January 2016, to

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo ( Asturian: Real Uviéu) is a Spanish professional football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays at ...

of the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

Valladolid

In August 2016, Míchel negotiated an end to his contract in China and signed a three-year deal with

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

. Having consolidated their place in the top division, he extended by a further year at its conclusion. Míchel's link with was automatically renewed due to an appearances clause in the summer of 2020, amidst interest from Göztepe S.K. of Turkey. However he stayed put, and became the new

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in October after Javi Moyano left. Míchel left the

Estadio José Zorrilla es:Estadio is the spanish language word for Stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered s ...

on 30 June 2021, as his contract expired.

Tenerife

On 18 July 2021,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Míchel joined second-division

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1922, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez L� ...

on a two-year deal. On 23 August 2022, he terminated his contract.

Personal life

In 2019, Míchel married

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 ...

reporter Celia Sanchís.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
CiberChe stats and bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michel 1988 births Living people People from Burjassot 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Valencia Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Segunda Federación players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Valencia CF players Deportivo de La Coruña players Hércules CF players Levante UD footballers Getafe CF footballers Real Oviedo players Real Valladolid players CD Tenerife players Torrent CF players UD Alzira footballers Chinese Super League players Guangzhou City F.C. players Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in China Spanish expatriate sportspeople in China