Manuel "Manu" Nieto Sánchez (born 29 March 1998) 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 ...

for

FC Andorra Futbol Club Andorra is a professional football club based in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, that currently competes in , in the Spanish league system. The club was founded in 1942 and currently plays its home fixtures at Estadi Nacional. In spite ...

Club career

Nieto was born in

Villa del Río Villa del Río is a city located in the province of Córdoba, Spain. According to the 2006 census ( INE), the city has a population of 7433 inhabitants. See also * List of municipalities in Córdoba Córdoba is a province in the autonomou ...

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

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 ...

, and joined

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 ...

' youth setup in 2014, from

Séneca CF Séneca Club de Fútbol is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Córdoba, Spain, Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1963, it is dedicated to youth football. The club also had a senior men's ...

. He made his senior debut with the reserves at the age of 17 on 27 September 2015, starting in a 0–1

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

UD Melilla Unión Deportiva Melilla is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in the autonomous city of Melilla. Founded in 1976, it currently plays in , holding home matches at ''Estadio Municipal Álvarez Claro'', with an 8,000 capac ...

. Nieto scored his first senior goal on 2 October 2016, netting the fifth of a 5–0 home routing of

CD San Roque de Lepe Club Deportivo San Roque de Lepe, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Lepe, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1956 it plays in , holding home games at ''Estadio Ciudad de Lepe'', with a capacity of 3,512 seats. Season ...

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 ...

. On 31 January 2018, after featuring sparingly, he was loaned to fourth division side

CD Alcalá Club Deportivo Alcalá is a Spanish football team based in Alcalá de Guadaira, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1945 it plays in , and plays home games at ''Nuevo Estadio Ciudad de Alcalá'', with a capacity of 2,261 seaters ...

for the remainder of the season. Upon returning, Nieto started to feature more regularly for the B-side before signing a two-year contract with

Cádiz CF Cádiz Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Cádiz, Andalusia. Founded in 1910, the club competes in Segunda División, holding home games at Nuevo Mirandilla, with a seating capacity of 20,724. Salvadoran ...

on 30 August 2019; he was assigned to the B-team in the third tier. On 17 January 2021, he renewed his contract until 2023. Nieto 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 23 January 2021, coming on as a late substitute for

Anthony Lozano Anthony Rubén Lozano Colón (born 25 April 1993), nicknamed Choco, is a Honduran professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga MX club Santos Laguna and captains the Honduras national team. Club career Early career Born in Yoro, L ...

in a 0–3 loss at

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

. On 28 June, he was loaned to

Primera División RFEF Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Ely Rafael Primera Ros ...

side

, for one year. On 9 July 2022, after contributing with Andorra's first-ever promotion 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 ...

, Nieto signed a permanent two-year contract with the club. On 14 August, however, he was loaned to

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 ...

in the third division. A regular starter for the

Valencians Valencians ( ; ) are the native people of the Valencian Community, in eastern Spain. Since 2006, the Valencian people are officially recognised in the Valencian Statute of Autonomy as a ''nationality'' "within the unity of the Spanish nation". ...

, Nieto scored ten goals during the campaign (four only in the promotion play-offs) as Eldense returned to

after 59 years. He returned to the ''Tricolors'' in July 2023, and scored his first professional goals on 18 August, netting 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 3–2 home win over

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 7 January 2024, Nieto was loaned to fellow second division side

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 ...

for the remainder of the season; he also renewed with the ''Tricolors'' until 2026.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nieto, Manu 1998 births Living people Footballers from the Province of Córdoba (Spain) Spanish men's footballers Men's association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Primera Federación players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Betis Deportivo Balompié footballers CD Alcalá players Cádiz CF Mirandilla players Cádiz CF players FC Andorra players CD Eldense footballers Elche CF players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Andorra Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Andorra 21st-century Spanish sportsmen