Lucas Pérez Martínez (; born 10 September 1988) 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 for

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

club

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

. After spending the first years of his career in the lower leagues, only appearing sporadically for the first team of Rayo Vallecano 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 ...

, he first made a name for himself with Karpaty Lviv in the

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

. In 2013, he signed with

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

from Greece, and later returned to

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 ...

with Deportivo, where he scored 32 goals in 93 matches. Subsequently, he represented English clubs

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 mostly ...

and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

in the

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 ...

, before rejoining Alavés where he had played as a youth.

Club career

Atlético and Rayo

Pérez 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. After appearing for five clubs as a youth he moved to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and joined

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

's C team, playing two seasons 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 ...

. In summer 2009 he signed with Rayo Vallecano, helping the reserves promote from the same level in his first year. In the 2010–11 season, Pérez contributed five games and one goal (in a 3–0 home win against

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 ...

on 6 November 2010) as Rayo returned to

after eight years. He continued to be mainly registered with the B side, however.

Karpaty Lviv

On 17 January 2011,

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 ...

Pérez joined Karpaty Lviv on a three-year deal. He scored his first goal for the team on 17 July, against Chornomorets Odesa in a 1–1

draw. Pérez netted 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 ...

on 4 November 2012 in a 4–0 home victory over Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, including a long-distance volley from a

corner kick A corner kick, commonly known as a corner, is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defe ...

delivery. In January 2013, he joined fellow top-division club

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

on loan for the remainder of the campaign, and later labelled his experience as "a nightmare".

PAOK and Deportivo La Coruña

On 5 July 2013, Pérez signed on a fee of

€ 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 ...

700,000 a three-year contract with

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 ...

team

. He scored his first competitive goal on 17 August, contributing to a 3–0 home defeat of Skoda Xanthi, and on 24 November he equalised in a 3–1 win over

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

in the Derby of Northern Greece. He also helped to a runner-up run in the

national cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League (England), National Basketball League. For most of th ...

, losing the decisive match to Panathinaikos. On 18 July 2014, Pérez returned to Spain and joined his newly promoted hometown side

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 ...

in a one-year loan deal, with a buyout clause. He scored in his first official appearance, having started in a 3–0 home victory against

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 19 October which also marked his top-flight debut. The following matchday, he was replaced in the 15th minute of a 0–0 draw at Espanyol due to a knee injury. Pérez only returned to action in January 2015, appearing 12 minutes in a 0–4 home loss 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 ...

. On 23 May, against the same opponent at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

, he helped ''Dépor'' come from behind by scoring in the 67th minute of a 2–2 draw in the last round that prevented relegation. On 23 July 2015, in his first competitive match upon his return to PAOK, against

NK Lokomotiva Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb (), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First Football League, the country's top division. Founded in 19 ...

in the second preliminary round of the

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 ...

, Pérez scored the opener after Róbert Mak's shot was saved, in an eventual 6–0 home rout. One week later, against Spartak Trnava in the same competition, he netted the game's only goal in the first leg. On 12 August 2015, Pérez signed a permanent four-year deal with Deportivo. On 12 December, he took his

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 ...

tally to 11 goals in only 15 games, helping to a 2–2 draw with Barcelona. Pérez totalled a career-best 17 goals at the end of the campaign, eventually helping his side to escape relegation again.

Arsenal

On 27 August 2016,

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

said that Pérez had completed a medical examination in order to join

after the paperwork was done; three days later, the transfer was confirmed by the club for a reported fee of £17.1 million. He made his competitive debut in the 2–1

home win over

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

on 10 September, which coincided with both his birthday and that of teammate Laurent Koscielny, whom he assisted for his team's equaliser. On 20 September 2016, during an

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

away match against

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 ...

, Pérez scored his first goals for the Gunners, grabbing a brace in an eventual 4–0 victory in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

. On 6 December, he contributed three goals in 39 minutes to a 4–1 away defeat of

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

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 ...

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

, helping them win the group. On 3 January 2017, Pérez netted for the first time in the domestic league, helping his team come back from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 at

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 ...

. Towards the end of the month, he provided an assist to

Danny Welbeck Daniel Nii Tackie Mensah Welbeck (born 26 November 1990) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., Brighton & Hove Albion. Welbeck m ...

's first-ever brace for Arsenal, in a 5–0 away win against

in 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 ...

. On 31 August 2017, Pérez rejoined Deportivo on a

-long loan deal.

West Ham United

On 9 August 2018, Pérez signed a three-year contract with

for a reported fee of £4 million. He made his league debut for his new club nine days later, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for

Mark Noble Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the sporting director of Premier League club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United. A fan of the c ...

in a 1–2 home loss to Bournemouth. He scored his first goal for them on 26 September, in their 8–0 demolition of Macclesfield Town in the

. On 4 December 2018, Pérez scored his first league goals for 700 days: coming on for Marko Arnautović, he scored twice in a 3–1 home victory against Cardiff City, becoming the first West Ham player to achieve the feat as a substitute since Paulo Wanchope in 2000.

Alavés

In May 2019, West Ham accepted an offer from Alavés for Peréz for a fee of €2.5m subject to a medical. He officially signed for the club on 3 June, making his league debut on 18 August by playing the last minutes of the 1–0 home victory over Levante. He scored his first goal on 29 September, the first in a 2–0 win against

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

also at the

Mendizorrotza Stadium Mendizorrotza or Mendizorroza is a football (soccer), football stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The stadium is the home ground of Deportivo Alavés. History Opened on 27 April 1924, just one day before of Saint Prudence's Day (the day of the ...

. On 29 October 2019, Pérez equalised in a 1–1 home draw with Atlético Madrid, becoming the first Alavés player to score in five consecutive La Liga games since 1955. He repeated the feat the following match (at

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 ...

, 4–2 loss), and in the process became their first player to achieve that in six consecutive fixtures. He found the net for the seventh time on 9 November against

, becoming the first player in the history of the competition to score in seven consecutive matches with two different teams, as he had done it before with Deportivo. Pérez terminated his contract on 18 August 2021.

Elche and Cádiz

On 31 August 2021,

Pérez signed a one-year deal with

Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

, still in the top tier. The following 31 January, he moved to

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

of the same league on a 18-month contract.

Fourth spell at Deportivo

Pérez agreed to a return to Deportivo on 31 December 2022, with the deal being made effective at the opening of the January

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

; the player himself paid €493,000 in order to be released. He scored a brace on his Primera Federación debut eight days later, in a 3–0 win over

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

. On 12 May 2024, Pérez scored from a

direct free kick A free kick is a method of restarting play in association football. It is awarded after an infringement of the Laws of the Game (association football), laws by the opposing team. Direct and indirect free kicks Free kicks may be either dire ...

in the 1–0 victory against second-placed Barcelona Atlètic, securing the club's

return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

after four years. In the play-off final, he added three goals over two legs in a 6–3 aggregate win over Castellón to claim the title. On 22 January 2025, Pérez terminated his contract after requesting to leave for "personal reasons".

PSV Eindhoven

On 23 February 2025, aged 36, Lucas moved to the Dutch

with

on a short-term deal. He made his debut three days later, as a late replacement in the 2–1 home loss against Go Ahead Eagles in the

semi-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

of the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

. On 24 March 2025, it was reported that Pérez had contracted active tuberculosis, potentially sidelining him for the remainder of the season.

International career

Pérez earned his first

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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for the Galicia autonomous team on 20 May 2016, appearing in the 2–2 friendly with

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Personal life

Pérez was abandoned by his parents at an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

at the age of two, being raised by his grandparents. His parents later returned to his life, asking him for large sums of money upon his success.

Career statistics

Honours

PAOK *

Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

runner-up: 2013–14 Arsenal *

: 2016–17 Deportivo La Coruña * Primera Federación: 2023–24 PSV *

: 2024–25

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Lucas 1988 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from A Coruña Men's association football wingers Men's association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Primera Federación players Atlético Madrid C players Rayo Vallecano B players Rayo Vallecano players Deportivo de La Coruña players Deportivo Alavés players Elche CF players Cádiz CF players Ukrainian Premier League players FC Karpaty Lviv players FC Dynamo Kyiv players Super League Greece players PAOK FC players Premier League players Arsenal F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Eredivisie players PSV Eindhoven players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands