Cristian López Santamaría (born 27 April 1989), known simply as Cristian, 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

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) ** Smal ...

Club career

Alicante

Born in

Crevillent Crevillent (; ) is a town and municipality located in the Alicante province, part of the Valencian Community, Spain. It is situated in the ''comarca'' of Baix Vinalopó, and lies at the foot of the hill range known locally as Serra de Creville ...

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

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 ...

, Cristian played for several clubs as a youth, including local

Crevillente Deportivo Crevillente Deportivo is a Spanish football team based in Crevillent, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1967, it plays in , holding home games at '' Estadio Municipal Enrique Miralles'', which has a capacity of 3,500 spectators. ...

and

Alicante CF Alicante Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1918, it played its home matches at ''Estadio Alicante CF'', with a 4,000-seat capacity. History ''Alicante Club de Fútbol'', under t ...

. He made his debut for the latter's first team during the 2007–08 season, as they returned to

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 ...

after a 50-year absence. In the following campaign, Cristian continued playing mostly with the reserves 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 ...

, with the main squad finally being relegated. He made his division two debut in a game against

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 ...

on 6 June 2009, scoring in a 1–2

local derby A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees. One of the first known sports rivalries occurred in the Roman Empire between the Blues and th ...

home loss.

Castilla and Mestalla

López signed for

Real Madrid Castilla Real Madrid Castilla Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team that plays in . It is Real Madrid's reserve team. They play their home games at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium with a capacity of 6,000 seats. Reserve teams in Spain play in the ...

in the summer of 2009, with

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 ...

's reserves in the third division. He finished 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 ...

with ten goals – second-best in the squad – as the team finished eighth in the league. In January 2011, Cristian signed for

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 B team in the fourth level, in a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

-long loan. He scored in double digits as the ''Che'' reserves returned to the third tier at the first attempt, and the move was made permanent in the summer. He added a further 11 goals the following campaign, including four as they won 4–2 at

UE Sant Andreu Unió Esportiva Sant Andreu () is a Spanish football club based in the district of Sant Andreu in Barcelona, Catalonia. Founded in 1909, it plays in , holding home matches at '' Camp Municipal Narcís Sala'', with an all-seated capacity of 6,56 ...

on 13 May 2012. Cristian spent

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

still in division three, with

CD Atlético Baleares Club Deportivo Atlético Baleares, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Palma de Mallorca, Palma, the capital of the Mallorca, island of Mallorca, in the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. Foun ...

. He ranked top scorer for the

Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

-based side, scoring twice on 31 March 2013 in a 3–0 home win over city rivals

RCD Mallorca B Real Club Deportivo Mallorca B is a Spanish football team based in Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded in 1967, it is the reserve team of RCD Mallorca and currently plays in , holding home matches at ''Estadi i Son Bibiloni'', with ...

Huddersfield

On 24 July 2013, trialist Cristian played for

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

, in a 4–2 friendly loss at the

John Smith's Stadium Kirklees Stadium, currently known as the John Smith's Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town Association Football Club ...

, and he scored in the next pre-season match with

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

(3–2 defeat). The following week he signed a one-year deal with the Terriers, taking the number 19 shirt vacated by Alan Lee. Cristian made his

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 ...

on 3 August 2013, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat at

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 ...

– in the process, he became the club's first ever Spanish player in its 105-year history. On 10 October, however, he joined

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

side

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

on a month's loan, becoming the first Spaniard to sign for the club. He scored his first goal for them and in

English football Football is the most popular sport in England. Widely regarded as the birthplace of modern football, the first official rules of the game were established in England in 1863. The country is home to the world's first football league, the oldest ...

on the 22nd, in a 1–1 draw against

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

at the

New Meadow New Meadow, also known as The Croud Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5. It serves the home grou ...

, but returned to Huddersfield on 5 November following an injury crisis to its attacking sector. On 14 March 2014, López moved to League Two's

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

, on loan for the rest of the season. He was released by Huddersfield in May.

Burgos and CFR Cluj

On 17 July 2014, Cristian joined

Burgos CF Burgos Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The original Burgos CF (1936), Burgos CF was dissolved in 1983 after becoming Insolven ...

in the third tier, eventually helping his team to a mid-table finish. He received a straight

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

on 11 October 2014 in a goalless draw at

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 , holding home games at the 1,500-seat '' Estadio Municipal de Guijuelo''. ...

, for a 15th-minute high challenge on Juli Ferrer. Cristian moved abroad for the second time in June 2015, signing with Romanian

Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

. He made his top-flight debut on 11 July, replacing Guima for the final 20 minutes of a 2–2 draw at

FC Viitorul Constanța Fotbal Club Viitorul Constanța (), commonly known as Viitorul Constanța or simply Viitorul, was a Romanian professional football club based in Ovidiu, Constanța County. They last played their home matches in blue and black kits at the Stadio ...

in the opening game of the season. A month later, he scored his first goal for the ''Feroviarii'', the game's only at the Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu against

FC Petrolul Ploiești Asociația Clubul Sportiv Petrolul 52, commonly referred to as FC Petrolul Ploiești (), Petrolul Ploiești or simply Petrolul, is a Romanian professional Association football, football Club (organization), club based in Ploiești, Prahova Count ...

, four minutes after coming on for Leo Beleck. On 31 August 2015, Cristian recorded a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 3–1 home win over

FC Botoșani Asociația Fotbal Club Botoșani (), commonly known as FC Botoșani or simply Botoșani, is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Botoșani, Botoșani County, that competes in the Liga I. In 2013, twelve years after being ...

. The following 17 May, in the final of the

Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...

, he came on at

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

for Tomislav Gomelt and headed a last-minute equaliser as CFR came from behind to draw 2–2 against

FC Dinamo București FC Dinamo București, commonly known as Dinamo București () or simply Dinamo, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in Bucharest that competes in the Liga I. Founded in 1948 as the team of the Ministry of Inter ...

before

winning Winning may refer to: * Victory Film * Winning (film), ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman * ''Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams Music * ''Winning'', an album by Ten Fo ...

in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

Lens

Cristian switched countries again on 31 August 2016, when he joined

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

club

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (), commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply as Lens, is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the department of Pas-de-Calais. The club's nickname, ''Les Sang et Or'' (), comes from i ...

on a one-year deal with the option for a second. He made his debut nine days later, replacing Kévin Fortuné for the final ten minutes of a 1–1 home draw with

FC Bourg-Pérronas FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakist ...

, and scored his first goal on 20 September in a 4–2 victory over

US Orléans Union Sportive Orléans Loiret Football (; commonly referred to as US Orléans or simply Orléans) is a French association football club based in Orléans. The club was founded in 1976 and currently play in Championnat National after being releg ...

also at the

Stade Bollaert-Delelis The Stade Bollaert-Delelis () is the main football stadium in Lens, France, that was built in 1933. It is the home of RC Lens. The stadium's capacity is 38,223 – about 7,000 more than the city's population. The stadium was originally named af ...

. The team finished fourth, one point off promotion, and he was joint-third amongst scorers with 16 goals. Cristian scored eight times in the first half of the 2017–18 season. He then embarked on a drought which lasted until the final two fixtures against

Tours FC Tours Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tours (), was a football club based in Tours, France. Formed in 1919, the club adopted the name Tours FC in 1951 after several other name changes. The club was dissolved on 26 February 2025 d ...

and

AJ Auxerre Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or by the abbreviation AJA, is a French professional association football, football club based in the Communes of France, commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club plays in L ...

, and fans petitioned for him to be given a new contract.

Angers

On 31 August 2018, the last day of the 2018 summer transfer window,

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 ...

Cristian signed a one-year contract with

Angers SCO Angers Sporting Club de l'Ouest, commonly referred to as Angers SCO (), is a French professional football club based in Angers in Pays de la Loire in western France. The club was founded in 1919 and plays in Ligue 1, the first division of Foot ...

. His maiden appearance in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

took place on 6 October, when he played the last eight minutes of a 2–2 home draw to

RC Strasbourg Alsace Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, commonly known as RC Strasbourg (, ; RCS) or simply just Racing, is a football in France, French professional association football club founded in 1906 and based in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. It became a p ...

. He scored his first goal late in same month, but in a 1–2 loss against

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...

Hatta and Las Palmas

On 19 August 2019, Cristian agreed to a one-year deal at

UAE Pro-League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

Hatta Club Hatta Club is a sports club based in Hatta in the Emirate of Dubai, UAE, founded in 1981. It is most widely known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the UAE Division One. Founded in 1981, the club’s football team p ...

. The following 1 March, he signed with Spanish second-division side

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas S.A.D. is a professional association football, football club based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The club will compete in Segunda División, the 2nd division in the Spanish football league syst ...

for the rest of the season with the option of one more.

Aris

Cristian signed a two-year contract with

Aris Thessaloniki F.C. Aris FC () , commonly known as Aris Thessaloniki or simply Aris, is a Greek professional football club and the most successful and prestigious of the city Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. The team competes in the top-tier Super League Greece an ...

on 26 August 2020. He scored in his

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

debut, equalising against

PAS Lamia 1964 Lamia Football Club () is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Lamia (city), Lamia, Greece. It was founded in 1964. The club plays in the Super League Greece 2, Super League 2, the second tier of Greek football. It ...

in an eventual 3–1 home win. On 1 February 2021, Cristian joined

FC Cartagena Fútbol Club Cartagena, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Cartagena, in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Founded in 1995 it currently plays in Segunda División, holding home games at '' Estadio Cartagonova'', with a capacity of 15,105 sp ...

on loan until 30 June.

Eldense

On 8 August 2022, López returned to his home country and moved to

Primera Federación The Primera Federación, officially the Primera Federación Versus e-Learning for sponsorship reasons (formerly known as Primera RFEF). is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administe ...

club

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 Segunda División, and holds home matches at '' Estadio Municipal Nuevo Pepico Amat'', which has a ...

. Mainly a backup, he contributed four goals in 27 total matches in his only season, in a return to the second tier after 59 years.

Career statistics

Honours

Valencia B *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

CFR Cluj *

: 2015–16

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Cristian 1989 births Living people People from Crevillent 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Alicante Men's association football forwards Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Primera Federación players Crevillente Deportivo players Alicante CF footballers Real Madrid Castilla footballers Valencia CF Mestalla footballers CD Atlético Baleares footballers Burgos CF footballers UD Las Palmas players FC Cartagena footballers CD Eldense footballers AD Ceuta FC players English Football League players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Liga I players CFR Cluj players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players RC Lens players Angers SCO players UAE Pro League players Hatta Club players Super League Greece players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Romania Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece