Gonzalo Julián Melero Manzanares (born 2 January 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Almería as a midfielder.
Club career
Born in Madrid, Melero joined Real Madrid's youth setup in 2004, aged ten, after starting out at EF Zona Norte. He made his debut as a senior with the former's C-team in the 2013–14 campaign, being relegated from Segunda División B.
In July 2014 Melero was promoted to the reserves, now also in the third level.[1] On 30 January of the following year, after being sparingly used by manager Zinedine Zidane, he moved to Segunda División's SD Ponferradina in a 2+1⁄2-year deal.[2]
Melero made his professional debut on 15 February 2015, coming on as a second half substitute for Pablo Infante in a 2–1 home loss against CD Numancia.[3] He scored his first professional goal on 27 February of the following year, but in a 4–2 away loss against Bilbao Athletic.
On 27 July 2016, after Ponfe's relegation, Melero signed a one-year contract with SD Huesca still in the second level.[4] On 10 December, he scored a brace in a 5–2 home routing of UCAM Murcia CF.
Melero was an undisputed starter during the 2017–18 campaign, contributing with a career-best 17 goals as his side achieved promotion to La Liga. He made his debut in the category on 19 August 2018, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 away win against SD Eibar.[5]
On 3 July 2019, after suffering relegation, Melero signed a four-year contract with Levante UD still in the top tier.[6]
On 1 September 2022, he agreed to a four-year deal with UD Almería also in the first division.[7]
Personal life
Melero has two children with the sports journalist Lucía Villalón.[8]
Career statistics
- As of 25 May 2024[9]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Real Madrid C | 2012–13 | Segunda División B | 37 | 7 | — | — | 37 | 7 | ||
| Real Madrid B | 2013–14 | Segunda División B | 6 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Ponferradina | 2014–15 | Segunda División | 10 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 32 | 1 | |||
| Total | 38 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 42 | 1 | |||
| Huesca | 2016–17 | Segunda División | 36 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 42 | 7 |
| 2017–18 | 38 | 16 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 16 | |||
| 2018–19 | La Liga | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 2 | ||
| Total | 96 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 103 | 25 | ||
| Levante | 2019–20 | La Liga | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 2 | |
| 2020–21 | 29 | 7 | 6 | 1 | — | 35 | 8 | |||
| 2021–22 | 29 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 30 | 7 | |||
| 2022–23 | Segunda División | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 85 | 16 | 9 | 1 | — | 94 | 17 | |||
| Almería | 2022–23 | La Liga | 27 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 28 | 4 | |
| 2023–24 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | |||
| Total | 55 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | 57 | 5 | |||
| Career total | 317 | 54 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 339 | 55 | ||
References
- ^ "Zidane 'debuta' con el Castilla el 14 de julio" [Zidane 'debuts' with Castilla on 14 July] (in Spanish). Marca. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ^ "Gonzalo Melero, nuevo fichaje de la Ponferradina" [Gonzalo Melero, new signing of Ponferradina] (in Spanish). Ponferradina's official website. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ^ "El Numancia voltea el duelo en un final pletórico de Julio Álvarez" [Numancia tosses the duel with a plethoric ending from Julio Álvarez] (in Spanish). Marca. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ^ "Gonzalo Melero, nuevo fichaje de la SD Huesca" [Gonzalo Melero, new signing of SD Huesca] (in Spanish). SD Huesca. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "El Huesca estrena a lo grande" [Huesca debut through the big door] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- ^ "Levante UD y SD Huesca acuerdan el traspaso de Melero que será granota hasta 2023" [Levante UD and SD Huesca agree the transfer of Melero who will be granota until 2023] (in Spanish). Levante UD. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Newest addition Gonzalo Melero to reinforce midfield". UD Almería. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ Pedreño, Mercedes (1 October 2024). "Nace Lucas, el segundo hijo de Lucía Villalón y Gonzalo Melero: "Ahora toca seguir haciendo pruebas"" [Lucas, the second son of Lucía Villalón and Gonzalo Melero, is born: "Now it's time to continue testing"]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ Gonzalo Melero at Soccerway
External links
- Real Madrid profile
- Gonzalo Melero at BDFutbol
- Gonzalo Melero at Soccerway
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