Manuel Trigueros Muñoz (born 17 October 1991) 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 ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

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' ...

club

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

. Trigueros has spent his entire professional career with Villarreal, making a club record of over 450 total appearances and winning the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipality of the province of Toledo and the fourth largest in the ...

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, O ...

, Castilla-La Mancha, Trigueros began playing football for his local team

Talavera CF Talavera Club de Fútbol was a Spanish football team based in Talavera de la Reina, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. Founded in 1948, it played its last season in Tercera División - Group 18, holding home matches at ''Estadio ...

. While playing in a nationwide tournament for his autonomous community, he was courted by several leading clubs, and chose

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional Football team, football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish footb ...

; he struggled to be picked in his only year as an under-18 in

La Masia La Masia de Can Planes, usually shortened to La Masia (; en, "The Farmhouse"), is a term used for FC Barcelona's youth academy. The academy includes more than 300 young players. It has been an instrumental factor in Barcelona's European succes ...

. He then moved to

Real Murcia 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 Primera División RFEF – Group 2, playing h ...

, making his senior debut with the reserves and being released in June 2010 following the main squad's

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open league ...

from the Segunda División.

Villarreal

Subsequently, Trigueros signed for

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

, being assigned to the C team. He made his official debut with

Villarreal B Villarreal Club de Fútbol "B" is a Spanish football team based in Villarreal, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1999, it is the reserve team of Villarreal CF and plays in Segunda División, holding home games at '' Ciudad Dep ...

on 4 June 2011, playing 30 minutes as a substitute for Fofo in a 2–1 away loss against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vi ...

on the last day of the second-tier season. On 11 February 2012 he scored his first goal in a 3–1 defeat at

CE Sabadell FC Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football team based in Sabadell, a city in the province of Barcelona in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1903, it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 2, holding ...

, being relatively played during the season but suffering relegation – even though the side finished in 12th position – as the first team had also dropped down a level in

. In June 2012, Trigueros was definitely promoted to the main squad. He contributed 36 games and three goals as the ''Yellow Submarine'' won instant promotion; his 15th appearance activated a clause that paid

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

100,000 to Murcia. Trigueros made his maiden appearance in the top flight on 19 August 2013, coming on as a 53rd-minute substitute for

Tomás Pina Tomás Pina Isla (born 14 October 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who currently plays as a central midfielder for Chinese Super League club Henan Songshan Longmen. He amassed La Liga totals of 301 matches and eight goals over 12 s ...

in 3–2 away victory over

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a 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, when it was renamed ''Unión D ...

. As a starter, he scored his first goal in the competition, his team's second in the 3–1 home defeat of

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

on 3 February 2014. That October, his contract was extended from 2017 to 2019; in November 2016, a new deal tied him to the club until 2022. On 21 May 2017, Trigueros scored in a 3–1 win at local rivals

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the S ...

on the last day of the season, securing fifth place and

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

for the

. He netted his first in that continental competition on 19 October, as the team fought back for a 2–2 group stage draw with

SK Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in ...

at the

Estadio de la Cerámica Estadio de la Cerámica, formerly and informally called El Madrigal (), is a football stadium in Villarreal, Spain, used since 1923. It is currently the home venue of Villarreal CF of La Liga, the highest football league in Spain. The stadium ha ...

. On 23 December, in another derby at

Mestalla Mestalla Stadium ( es, Estadio de Mestalla , ca-valencia, Estadi de Mestalla ) is a football stadium in Valencia, Spain. The stadium is the home of Valencia Club de Fútbol and has a capacity of 48,600 seats, making it the 8th-largest stadium ...

, he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for the first time in his career in a 1–0 victory. Trigueros reached 300 matches for the club on 10 November 2019, in a 3–1 away loss against

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

. In March 2021, he entered Villarreal's top three appearance makers, overtaking

Marcos Senna Marcos Antônio Senna da Silva (born 17 July 1976), known as Senna, is a retired professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He was mainly known for his passing range and long-range shooting and was also a penalty specialist. ...

's 363 and trailing only his contemporaries

Bruno Soriano Bruno Soriano Llido (; born 12 June 1984) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He spent his entire career with Villarreal since making his first appearance with the first team in 2006, and played ...

and Mario Gaspar. He played 14 times that season in their victorious Europa League campaign (54 in all competitions), scoring the opening goal of a 2–1 semi-final win over

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 ...

on 29 April. In November 2021, Trigueros' link to the club was lengthened to 2025, with him remaining a key part of manager

Unai Emery Unai Emery Etxegoien (born 3 November 1971) is a Spanish football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Aston Villa. After a career spent playing mostly in Spain's Segunda División, Emery transitioned into c ...

's plans. On 15 December, he made his 400th appearance for the club in a 7–1 rout of

Atlético Sanluqueño CF Atlético Sanluqueño Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1948, although its registration in official competitions took place in 195 ...

in the second round of the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

, trailing Bruno's overall record by just 25. He took the record on 8 September 2022 in a 4–3

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on the ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

victory at home to

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. T ...

Personal life

Both of Trigueros' parents were teachers, and he graduated in Primary Education in 2017. While some sources erroneously named his alma mater as

CEU San Pablo University CEU San Pablo University () is a private Catholic university in Madrid, Spain. It is involved in a number of academic exchange programmes with renowned universities worldwide (Columbia, Chicago, Duke, Boston, Colgate), work practice schemes and ...

, it was actually the

Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló de la Plana), or simply Castellón ( ca-valencia, Castelló, link=no) is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...

campus of a linked establishment,

CEU Cardinal Herrera University CEU Cardenal Herrera University (in Spanish: ''Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera'') is a private university located in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is part of the CEU Foundation, being the first private school of Law ever founded in Valenci ...

. Trigueros' father, also named Manuel, played in the second tier for

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (), known simply as Granada, is a Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that plays in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021 ...

. His cousin

Pablo Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People * Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer * Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer * Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer *Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist * Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer * Pablo B ...

, a defender, was also active at that level for

SD Ponferradina Sociedad Deportiva Ponferradina, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Ponferrada, in the El Bierzo region, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 7 June 1922, it plays in Segunda División, holding home matches at t ...

Career statistics

Honours

Villarreal *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Individual *

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...

La Liga Team of the Season: 2016–17

References

External links

Villarreal official profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trigueros, Manu 1991 births Living people People from Talavera de la Reina Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Toledo Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Real Murcia Imperial players Villarreal CF C players Villarreal CF B players Villarreal CF players UEFA Europa League winning players