Matías Nahuel

Matías Nahuel Leiva Esquivel (born 22 November 1996), known as Nahuel, is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Polish club Śląsk Wrocław. Born in Argentina, he has represented Spain at youth levels.

For the Chilean footballer, see Matías Leiva.
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Leiva and the second or maternal family name is Esquivel.

Matías Nahuel
Personal information
Full name Matías Nahuel Leiva Esquivel
Date of birth (1996-11-22) 22 November 1996
Place of birth Rosario, Argentina
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Śląsk Wrocław
Number 10
Youth career
2009–2011 Escuela ADIUR
2011–2013 Villarreal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Villarreal C 12 (2)
2013–2015 Villarreal B 64 (11)
2014–2018 Villarreal 25 (0)
2016–2018 → Betis (loan) 17 (0)
2018 → Barcelona B (loan) 18 (5)
2018–2019 Olympiacos 4 (0)
2019 → Deportivo La Coruña (loan) 13 (0)
2019–2022 Tenerife 30 (1)
2020–2021 → Oviedo (loan) 37 (6)
2022– Śląsk Wrocław 37 (5)
International career
2014–2015 Spain U19 11 (3)
2015–2017 Spain U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 September 2023

Club career

Villarreal

Born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, Nahuel moved to Spain at only 14, joining Villarreal CF's youth setup.[1] He made his senior debut with the C-side in 2012–13, in Tercera División, and also appeared occasionally for the reserves during that first season.

Nahuel made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 13 January 2014, playing 23 minutes in a 5–1 home routing of Real Sociedad.[2] On 28 August he scored his first professional goal, netting the last in a 4–0 home win against FC Astana for the campaign's UEFA Europa League.[3]

On 16 June 2016, Nahuel signed a two-year loan contract with Real Betis also of the top tier.[4][5] On 30 January 2018, he was loaned to Segunda División team FC Barcelona B for six months.[6]

Olympiacos

On 31 August 2018, the last day of the summer transfer window, Olympiacos F.C. signed Nahuel for an undisclosed fee – Villarreal retained a buyback option on the player.[7] The following 31 January, after being rarely used, he returned to Spain after agreeing to a six-month loan deal with Deportivo de La Coruña of the second division.[8]

Tenerife

On 30 August 2019, Nahuel joined CD Tenerife on a three-year contract.[9] On 15 September, after scoring only one goal during the entire 2019–20 campaign, he was loaned to fellow second division side Real Oviedo, for one year.[10]

Śląsk Wrocław

On 9 July 2022, Nahuel moved to Ekstraklasa club Śląsk Wrocław, signing a two-year deal.[11]

International career

Nahuel was part of the Spain under-19 team which won the 2015 UEFA European Championship in Greece. He scored in a 3–0 group stage opening victory against holders Germany,[12] adding the second goal in the 2–0 win over Russia in the decisive match in Katerini.[13]

Honours

Spain U19

References
  1. Conociendo a Matías Nahuel Leiva (Knowing Matías Nahuel Leiva) Archived 31 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine; Futbolistas Argentinos por el Mundo, 8 October 2013 (in Spanish)
  2. Five-star Villarreal cruise to win Archived 25 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine; ESPN FC, 13 January 2014
  3. ¡Europa, ya estamos aquí! (4–0) (Europe, we have arrived! (4–0)) Archived 4 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine; Villarreal CF, 28 August 2014 (in Spanish)
  4. Real Betis signs Nahuel for the next two seasons Archived 30 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine; Real Betis, 16 June 2016
  5. Nahuel jugará cedido en el Real Betis (Nahuel will play on loan at Real Betis) Archived 1 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine; Villarreal CF, 16 June 2016 (in Spanish)
  6. "Agreement with Villarreal CF for the loan of Nahuel Leiva". FC Barcelona. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  7. "Μεταγραφικό... χτύπημα με Ναουέλ ο Ολυμπιακός!" [Signing... Olympiacos get Nahuel!] (in Greek). Gazzetta. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  8. "New Dépor player! Nahuel Leiva". Deportivo La Coruña. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  9. "Nahuel Leiva, nuevo refuerzo blanquiazul" [Nahuel Leiva, new white-and-blue addition] (in Spanish). CD Tenerife. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  10. "Nahuel Leiva jugará cedido en el Real Oviedo" [Nahuel Leiva will play on loan at Real Oviedo] (in Spanish). CD Tenerife. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  11. "Matias Nahuel Leiva piłkarzem Śląska" (in Polish). Śląsk Wrocław. 9 July 2022.
  12. "Slick Spain too strong for holders Germany". UEFA. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  13. "Spain see off Russia for seventh Under-19 crown". UEFA. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
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