Francisco "Kiko" Casilla Cortés (; born 2 October 1986) 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

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

for

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and ope ...

. He started playing for

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, but only represented the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

s in the early stage of his career. He went on to appear in 126 competitive matches for Espanyol over six

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

seasons before returning to his previous club in 2015, with whom he won three

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

titles as backup to

Keylor Navas Keilor Antonio Navas Gamboa (born 15 December 1986), known as Keylor Navas, is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Costa Rica national team. He was named CONCACAF Men' ...

. In 2019–20, he won promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English F ...

with

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

. Casilla won one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal s ...

for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, in 2014.

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in

Alcover Alcover is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alt Camp, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The Prades Mountains are located in the vicinity of this municipality. It is the birthplace of the footballer A football player or footballer is a spo ...

, Tarragona,

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, Casilla did not enjoy much playing time in his two-year stint with

reserve side,

Real Madrid Castilla Real Madrid Castilla Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team that plays in Primera Federación – Group 1 for the 2022–23 season. It is Real Madrid's reserve team. They play their home games at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium with a ca ...

. In the 2005–06 season, he played in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the L ...

after having graduated from the C team, being only third choice after Jordi Codina and David Cobeño. After only four appearances, Casilla was expected to receive more opportunities after the departure of Cobeño. However, Codina became the starter and Antonio Adán, a fellow youth graduate, the backup, and Casilla ended up playing only in the last game of the campaign, with an eventual relegation befalling.

Espanyol

In August 2007, Casilla was acquired by

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...

on a free transfer. On 20 January 2008, he made his debut in

in a 1–2 away loss against

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club colo ...

, coming on as a substitute for injured Iñaki Lafuente two minutes after

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 ...

as the habitual starter Carlos Kameni was away on international duty. That month, news surfaced that

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

were interested in acquiring the young Spaniard's services. Barred by Kameni and new signing Cristian Álvarez, Casilla joined

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 Foo ...

side

Cádiz CF Cádiz Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., known simply as Cádiz, is a Spanish professional football club based in Cádiz, Andalusia. Founded in 1910, the club competes in the La Liga, holding home games at Nuevo Mirandilla, with a seating capacity of 20 ...

on loan for 2008–09. The move was extended for the entirety of the following campaign after the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

ns returned to division two, and he again started most of the season, but the team was immediately relegated. Casilla still sat on the bench for Espanyol's first game in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

but, on 31 August 2010, moved again on loan, to second division club FC Cartagena. Subsequently, returned to the ''Pericos'', he constantly battled for first-choice status with Álvarez. After the Argentine left, Casilla became the undisputed starter. On 1 February 2015, he was sent off against

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Eur ...

for handling Iago Aspas' shot outside of the penalty area, and his replacement Pau López could not prevent an eventual 2–3 defeat.

Return to Real Madrid

On 17 July 2015, Casilla returned to Real Madrid on a five-year contract for €6 million. He made his competitive debut on 31 October, in a 3–1 win over

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Las Palmas, on the island of Gran Canaria in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded on 22 August 1949, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at the ...

. Casilla played understudy to

in his first season, appearing in seven official matches. Two of those came in the group stage of the

, as the tournament ended in conquest. On 9 August 2016, Casilla was in goal for injured Navas in the 3–2 victory against fellow Spaniards Sevilla for the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

, in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. He managed to contribute more in his second year, and the club won the national championship after a five-year wait. His Champions League input consisted of the 2–1 group phase defeat of Sporting CP, as they again emerged victorious in the competition. Casilla made two appearances in the Champions League and 17 in all competitions during 2017–18, as Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall title in the tournament. In the following campaign, after the summer signing of

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament con ...

Thibaut Courtois Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois (born 11 May 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Belgium national team. He is considered one of the best goalkeepers in world football. Court ...

, he was further demoted down the pecking order.

Leeds United

On 17 January 2019, the 32-year-old Casilla moved abroad for the first time in his career and signed a four-and-a-half-year contract at

of the English Championship. He made his debut nine days later, in a 2–1 win against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

. In September 2019, Casilla was accused of racially abusing

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

forward Jonathan Leko in a match between the two teams. He was charged by

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

but remained available for selection during the investigation. On 28 February 2020, he received an eight-game ban and £60,000 fine after being found guilty. Casilla played his first game in the

on 16 January 2021, in a 0–1 home loss to Brighton & Hove Albion. He was second-choice to young Frenchman Illan Meslier over the season. On 12 July 2021, Casilla was loaned to

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Elx Club de Futbol, S.A.D.) is a professional football based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1923, the club competes in La Liga, holding home matches at '' Estadi ...

for the next Spanish top-division season. Initially a starter, he eventually lost his place to Edgar Badia. Casilla's contract at Leeds was terminated by mutual consent on 31 July 2022.

Getafe

On 10 August 2022, Casilla joined

on a one-year deal.

International career

Casilla represented

at under-21 level once, playing 29 minutes in a 2–0 friendly defeat of France in

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotels were built, though ...

. On 29 August 2014, he was called up to full side manager

Vicente del Bosque Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquess of Del Bosque (; born 23 December 1950) is a Spanish retired football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and is to date the only football manager to ha ...

's 23-man squad for matches against France and Macedonia in September, as third-choice behind Iker Casillas and David de Gea. He only made his debut, however, on 18 November, replacing the former for the last 14 minutes of a friendly with Germany in

Vigo Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...

and being beaten by

Toni Kroos Toni Kroos (born 4 January 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid. Kroos plays mainly as a central midfielder, but has also been deployed as a deep-lying playmaker in his career. He is kn ...

for the game's only goal.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Real Madrid *

: 2016–17 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 2000 ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

Leeds United *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

: 2019–20

References

External links

Real Madrid official profile
*
Stats and bio at Cadistas1910
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Casilla, Kiko 1986 births Living people People from Alt Camp Sportspeople from the Province of Tarragona Spanish footballers Footballers from Catalonia Association football goalkeepers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Real Madrid C footballers Real Madrid Castilla footballers RCD Espanyol B footballers RCD Espanyol footballers Cádiz CF players FC Cartagena footballers Real Madrid CF players Elche CF players Getafe CF footballers Premier League players English Football League players Leeds United F.C. players UEFA Champions League winning players Spain youth international footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spain international footballers Catalonia international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Race-related controversies in the United Kingdom