Joselu

José Luis Mato Sanmartín (born 27 March 1990), known as Joselu, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Qatar Stars League club Al Gharafa and the Spain national team.

Joselu began his career with Celta de Vigo before being purchased by Real Madrid in the summer of 2009. He was a prolific goalscorer for their B-team, scoring 40 goals in 72 appearances but he was unable to break into the first team and was sold to Bundesliga side TSG Hoffenheim in August 2012, being loaned out to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2013–14. Joselu joined Hannover 96 in June 2014, then Premier League side Stoke City a year later for a fee of £5.75 million. In 2017, he moved to Newcastle United for £5 million, where he spent two seasons before moving to Alavés for an undisclosed fee. He then signed for Espanyol at an undisclosed fee, before joining Real Madrid on loan for the 2023–24 season.

Joselu played for Spain at multiple youth levels, and made his debut for the senior national team in 2023. He was a member of the squad that won the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League.

Early life

Joselu was born in Stuttgart, West Germany, and attended school in the country for four years, before his family returned to Galicia, Spain.

Club career

Celta

Joselu played his two first professional matches for local Celta Vigo in the second division, late in the 2008–09 season. Since the age of 18, at about the same time he made his debuts with the main squad, he played with the B-team in the third level.

In late summer 2009, Joselu was purchased by Real Madrid, being immediately loaned to his former team for a further campaign. He was relatively used during the division two campaign, but only scored four goals as the team finished in 12th position.

Real Madrid

Joselu was Real Madrid Castilla's top scorer in the 2010–11 season, alongside Álvaro Morata, but the team failed to win promotion in the playoffs. On 21 May 2011, he made his first-team – and La Liga – debut, coming on as a substitute for Karim Benzema for the last ten minutes of a home fixture against Almería: he scored almost immediately from a Cristiano Ronaldo cross, making it 8–1 to the hosts.

On 20 December 2011, in his second official appearance for the main squad, Joselu replaced Benzema in the 77th minute of the home match against Ponferradina, for the season's Copa del Rey. He scored the goal to make the match 4–1 two minutes later, in an eventual 5–1 win.

In his second season with Castilla, Joselu became an essential offensive unit for manager Alberto Toril, and responded by netting 26 goals (19 in the regular season and seven in the playoffs) which made him the competition's top scorer, as his team were promoted to division two after five years, as champions. He subsequently attracted the attention of several European clubs.

Joselu said in 2015 that he did not regret his time at Real Madrid despite his limited first-team opportunities, due to his experiences training with its players and manager José Mourinho.

TSG Hoffenheim

On 8 August 2012, Joselu signed a four-year contract with TSG Hoffenheim for an undisclosed fee. He made his Bundesliga debut on 16 September, playing 30 minutes in a 3–5 away loss against SC Freiburg, and scored his first goal for his new club ten days later, contributing to a 3–0 success at VfB Stuttgart, and added a brace against SpVgg Greuther Fürth on 19 October 2012. He played 25 times for 1899 Hoffenheim, scoring five goals as they finished in 16th position.

Loan to Eintracht Frankfurt

At the end of his first season with Hoffenhiem, Joselu admitted that he struggled to adapt to his new surroundings and was loaned out to Bundesliga rivals Eintracht Frankfurt for the 2013–14 season. He rediscovered his form under Frankfurt manager Armin Veh at the Commerzbank-Arena, scoring 14 goals in 33 appearances as the club finished in 13th position and reached the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League.

Hannover 96

On 9 June 2014, Joselu joined Hannover 96 on a four-year deal for a €5 million transfer fee. In his only season there he made 32 appearances, scoring 10 goals.

Stoke City

On 16 June 2015, Joselu joined English side Stoke City for a fee of £5.75 million, therefore fulfilling a lifelong ambition to play in England's top division. He made his Premier League debut on 15 August away to Tottenham Hotspur, as a 59th-minute substitute for Jonathan Walters; he won a penalty when fouled by Toby Alderweireld, converted by Marko Arnautović as Stoke came from 2–0 down to draw 2–2. On 28 December, after coming on in place of compatriot Bojan, Joselu scored his first goal for the Potters in a 4–3 win at Everton. He played 27 times for Stoke in 2015–16, scoring four goals as the team finished in ninth position. Towards the end of the campaign, Stoke manager Mark Hughes stated that Joselu had made a slow start to life in English football.

Loan to Deportivo La Coruña

On 31 August 2016, Joselu returned to Galicia to join Celta's rivals Deportivo La Coruña on a season-long loan deal. He scored his first goals for the team on 10 December, a two-minute brace as a substitute to give them the lead in an eventual 3–2 loss on his return to Real Madrid. Joselu scored six goals in 24 appearances for Deportivo before his season was ended due to an Achilles injury.

Newcastle United

On 16 August 2017, Joselu joined Premier League side Newcastle United on a three-year deal for a fee of £5 million. He made his debut four days later as a 52nd-minute substitute for Dwight Gayle in a 1–0 loss at Huddersfield Town, and scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 home win over West Ham United on 26 August. Much like his fellow forwards, Joselu's form was inconsistent as Newcastle faltered in the league, but he was still top scorer by January when he scored in a 1–1 draw with Swansea City, although he also had his penalty saved by Nick Pope in a 1–1 draw with Burnley. He ended up finishing the season as third highest top scorer behind Gayle and Ayoze Pérez.

In the 2018–19 season, Joselu was fourth choice behind Pérez and new signings Salomón Rondón and Yoshinori Muto. The two league goals he scored all season both came in August in losses to Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. His final goal for the club came in a FA Cup third round replay victory over Blackburn Rovers on 15 January 2019, but by March, he was out of the squad altogether.

Alavés

On 15 July 2019, Joselu returned to La Liga to join Alavés on a three-year contract, for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around £2.5 million. On his debut on 18 August, he scored the only goal at home to Levante, while on 24 November he netted both goals in the last six minutes away to fellow Basque club Eibar. In 2020–21, he scored home and away against Real Madrid, including in a 2–1 win at the Santiago Bernabéu on 28 November for his club's first victory at that venue since May 2000.

In Joselu's final season at the Mendizorrotza Stadium before the end of his contract in 2022, he was the league's seventh highest scorer with 14 goals in 37 games.

Espanyol

On 27 June 2022, Joselu signed a three-year deal with Espanyol as a free agent. He made his debut for the club on 13 August against former club Celta where he scored from a penalty, after being awarded via VAR for a 2–2 draw. With 16 goals in 34 games for the relegated Catalans, he was La Liga's third highest scorer, behind Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona and Karim Benzema of Real Madrid.

Return to Real Madrid on loan

On 19 June 2023, Real Madrid announced the return of Joselu on a loan deal until 30 June 2024, with an option to buy at the end of the season. On 12 August 2023, he made his first appearance after the return coming on at the 80th minute in a 2–0 win against Athletic Bilbao in the league. On 2 September 2023, Joselu scored his first goal of the season against Getafe in a 2–1 win.

On 20 September 2023, Joselu made his first UEFA Champions League appearance in a group stage match against Union Berlin. On 29 November, he scored his first Champions League goal, securing a 4–2 win against Napoli. On 12 December, he scored a brace in a 3–2 away win over Union Berlin, in which Real Madrid finished top of their Group C with six wins out of six matches. On 14 January 2024, Joselu won his first club career trophy, as he participated in Madrid's 2024 Supercopa de España triumph, scoring the winning goal in the semi-final against Atlético Madrid and coming on as a substitute in the final versus Barcelona. On 8 May, Joselu scored two late and decisive goals for Real Madrid in a 2–1 victory against Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals second leg to send them through to the final, which Real Madrid later ended up winning 2–0 against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium in London. After the season, Madrid picked up the option to sign him permanently.

Al-Gharafa SC

On 28 June 2024, it was announced that Joselu had joined Qatar Stars League side Al-Gharafa SC from Real Madrid on a two-year deal, exactly one day after the Spanish club signed the player.

International career

Joselu represented Spain at under-19, under-20 and under-21 level, but never received a call-up to the senior squad until he was nearly 33. He was also capped for Galicia in 2016.

On 17 March 2023, Joselu received his first call-up to the Spain national team for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Norway and Scotland. He came off the bench against Norway on 25 March, making him the oldest Spain debutant since 2006, and scored twice in two minutes to help Spain achieve a 3–0 win. On 15 June 2023, he scored the winner for Spain in the 88th minute, four minutes after being subbed on, in a 2–1 victory over Italy in the Nations League semi-finals.

In 2024, he was named to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.

Style of play

Joselu plays as a forward and has been described by his former manager Mark Hughes as a "technically adept forward...He's a good technical player, he's got good ability and I like his movement. His link-up play is very good and with the finishing we've done so far in training I've been very pleased. You can see technically he's very adept, getting his body in the right position to take chances".

Personal life

Joselu is married to Melanie Cañizares, with whom he has two children. His wife is a sister to Daphne, wife of his former teammate Dani Carvajal.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 1 June 2024

International

As of match played 24 June 2024

As of match played 16 November 2023

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first.

Honours

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 2023–24
• Supercopa de España: 2024
• UEFA Champions League: 2023–24

Spain

• UEFA Nations League: 2022–23

Individual

• Zarra Trophy: 2022–23