Manuel Castellano Castro (born 27 March 1989), commonly known as Lillo, is a Spanish

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 full-back for Águilas FC.

Club career

Born in

Aspe Aspe (, ) is a town and municipality located in the '' comarca'' of Vinalopó Mitjà, in the province of Alicante, Spain. The town is located in the valley of the river Vinalopó, from Alicante city. The economy of Aspe is based on textile and ...

Province of Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: / ) is a province located in eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province, containing the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Co ...

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 ...

, Lillo began his career with local

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 ...

, playing three seasons with the reserves. In 2006–07 and 2009–10, he totalled 23 appearances, with the team being relegated from

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 ...

on both occasions. In between, he spent the 2008–09 campaign on loan at

Real Murcia CF Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in , playing home matches at Estadio Nueva Condo ...

, playing only 13 competitive games as the club finished 14th in 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 ...

. On 21 March 2010, Lillo appeared in his first official match with the main squad, featuring the first 45 minutes of a 2–0

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 ...

home win against

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001 ...

. In late May, as his contract with Valencia was expiring, he signed with

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community, Spain. Founded in 1923, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025–26 season, holding home matches at ...

; however, due to a mistake from his agent, the move was declared void and, two months later, he joined Almería. Lillo spent the vast majority of his first season with the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

ns with the

B side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

in the third tier, making three appearances for the first team. In November 2012, the

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 ...

joined another side in that league, CD Alcoyano. On 18 July 2013, Lillo moved to SD Eibar, recently promoted to the second division. He played 26 matches in his debut campaign, with the club being promoted to the top flight for the first time ever, and on 11 July 2014 renewed his link for a further year. Lillo agreed to an extension at the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

team on 31 December 2014, until 2017. On 5 July 2016, he mutually agreed to terminate his contract, and signed a two-year deal with

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

hours later. He scored his only goal in the main division on 15 January 2017, but in a 2–3 home loss to Eibar. On 1 September 2017, the

Lillo joined second-tier

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. The team's ...

on a two-year contract. In 2023, Lillo was announced at San Fernando. On 23 December 2024, Lillo was announced at Águilas FC.

Career statistics

Honours

Eibar *

: 2013–14 Osasuna *Segunda División: 2018–19 Spain U20 *

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

ITA – ESP 1:2 (0:0)
; Pescara 2009, 4 July 2009

References

External links

* *
CiberChe biography and stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lillo 1989 births Living people People from Vinalopó Mitjà 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Alicante Men's association football fullbacks La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Primera Federación players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Valencia CF players Real Murcia CF players UD Almería B players UD Almería players CD Alcoyano footballers SD Eibar footballers Sporting de Gijón players CA Osasuna players CD Numancia players San Fernando CD players Israeli Premier League players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Spain men's youth international footballers Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in football Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Spain Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Israel