Nico González (footballer, Born 2002)
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Nicolás González Iglesias (born 3 January 2002), sometimes known mononymously as Nico, 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 as a
midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
for club
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
.


Club career


Barcelona

González was born in
A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...
, Galicia, and started his career with local side Montañeros at the age of seven. In December 2012, he agreed to a move to
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, effective as of the following July. On 19 May 2019, aged just 17, González made his senior debut for the reserves, coming on as a late substitute for Kike Saverio in a 2–1
Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: 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 ...
away loss against Castellón. In the 2020–21 season, he was initially a member of the ''Juvenil A'' before starting to feature regularly for the reserve team from November 2020 onwards. On 12 May 2021, González renewed his contract until 2024, with a €500 million buyout clause. After featuring in the main squad during the pre-season, he made his first team – and
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 ...
– debut on 15 August, replacing
Sergio Busquets Sergio Busquets Burgos (, ; born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. A deep-lying playmaker capable of directing gameplay through short and calm passe ...
in the opening game of the 2021–22 La Liga season, a 4–2 victory against
Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...
. González scored his first professional goal on 12 December 2021, netting the opener in a 2–2 away draw against
Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...
.


Loan to Valencia

On 13 August 2022, González renewed his contract until 2026 and signed 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 ...
on a season-long loan.


Porto

On 29 July 2023, González signed a five-year contract with
Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...
club
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
, for a reported fee of €8.5 million, with Barcelona having a buy-back clause. González made his debut for the Portuguese side on 14 August, coming off the bench to replace Romário Baró in the 70th minute of a 2–1 win away at Moreirense in the Primeira Liga. One week later, he made his first start for Porto in a 2–1 home victory against Farense.


Manchester City

On 3 February 2025, in the final hour of the winter transfer window,
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
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
announced the signing of Nico on a four-and-a-half-year deal for a reported fee of £50 million. On 8 February 2025, González debuted a 2–1 away victory against League One club Leyton Orient in the fourth round of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
, before coming off as a substitute with an injury 22 minutes into the first half. On 19 February, he scored his first goal for the club and in 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 ...
, getting on the scoresheet in a 3–1 loss against
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
at the Santiago Bernabéu, as City got knocked out of the tournament. Three months later, on 20 May, González scored his first Premier League goal in a 3–1 victory against
Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
.


Personal life

He is the son of former Spanish footballer and
Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is an aerial lift line in Ecatepec de ...
legend Fran González and the nephew of José Ramón.


Career statistics


Honours

Porto *
Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...
: 2023–24 *
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...
:
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
Manchester City *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
runner-up: 2024–25


References


External links


Profile
at the Manchester City F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:González, Nico 2002 births Living people Footballers from A Coruña Spanish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players Valencia CF players FC Porto players Manchester City F.C. players Segunda División B players La Liga players Primeira Liga players Premier League players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Portugal 21st-century Spanish sportsmen