For other uses, see Nicolás González.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is González and the second or maternal family name is Iglesias.

Nicolás González Iglesias (born 3 January 2002), sometimes known mononymously as Nico, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City.

Club career

Barcelona

Nico was born in A Coruña, Galicia, and started his career with local side Montañeros at the age of seven. In December 2012, he agreed to a move to Barcelona, effective as of the following July.[4]

On 19 May 2019, aged just 17, Nico made his senior debut for the reserves, coming on as a late substitute for Kike Saverio in a 2–1 Segunda División B away loss against Castellón.[5] In the 2020–21 season, he was initially a member of the Juvenil A before starting to feature regularly for the B-team from November 2020 onwards.

On 12 May 2021, Nico renewed his contract until 2024, with a €500 million buyout clause.[6] After featuring in the main squad during the pre-season, he made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 15 August, replacing Sergio Busquets in the opening game of the 2021–22 La Liga season, a 4–2 win over Real Sociedad.[7][8]

Nico scored his first professional goal on 12 December 2021, netting the opener in a 2–2 away draw against Osasuna.[9]

Loan to Valencia

On 13 August 2022, Nico renewed his contract until 2026, and later signed with Valencia on a season-long loan.[10]

Porto

On 29 July 2023, Nico signed a five-year contract with Primeira Liga club Porto, for a reported fee of €8.5 million, with Barcelona having a buy-back clause.[11][12]

He made his debut for the Portuguese side on 14 August, coming off the bench to replace Romário Baró in the 70th minute of a 2–1 win away at Moreirense in the Primeira Liga.[13] One week later, Nico made his first start for Porto, in a 2–1 home win over Farense.[14]

Manchester City

On 3 February 2025, in the final hour of the winter transfer window, Premier League club Manchester City announced the signing of Nico on a four-and-a-half-year deal for a reported fee of £50m.[15][16]

On 8 February 2025, he made his City debut in a 2–1 away victory over EFL League One side Leyton Orient in the fourth round of the FA Cup, before being substituted with an injury 22 minutes into the first-half.[17] On 19 February, Nico scored his first goal for the club and in the UEFA Champions League, getting on the scoresheet in a 1–3 loss to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, as City got knocked out of the tournament.[18]

Personal life

He is the son of former Spanish footballer and Deportivo La Coruña legend Fran González and the nephew of José Ramón.[19]

Career statistics

As of match played 26 February 2025[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona B 2018–19 Segunda División B 1 0 — — — — 1 0
2019–20 Segunda División B 0 0 — — — 0 0 0 0
2020–21 Segunda División B 23 0 — — — 1[c] 0 24 0
2021–22 Primera División RFEF 2 0 — — — 0 0 2 0
Total 26 0 — — — 1 0 27 0
Barcelona 2021–22 La Liga 27 2 2 0 — 7[d] 0 1[e] 0 37 2
Valencia (loan) 2022–23 La Liga 26 1 0 0 — — 0 0 26 1
Porto 2023–24 Primeira Liga 25 2 7 0 1 0 6[f] 0 0 0 39 2
2024–25 Primeira Liga 17 5 2 0 2 0 7[g] 1 1[h] 1 29 7
Total 42 7 9 0 3 0 13 1 1 1 68 9
Manchester City 2024–25 Premier League 3 0 1 0 — 1[f] 1 0 0 5 1
Career total 124 10 12 0 3 0 21 2 3 1 163 13
  1. ^ Includes Copa del Rey, Taça de Portugal, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Taça da Liga
  3. ^ Appearance in Segunda División B play-offs
  4. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearance in Supercopa de España
  6. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  7. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  8. ^ Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

Honours

Porto

References

  1. ^ "2024/25 Updated Premier League squad lists". Premier Leagues. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Nico González". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  3. ^ Nico González at WorldFootball.net
  4. ^ "Nicolás, rumbo a La Masía" [Nicolás, towards La Masía] (in Spanish). La Voz de Galicia. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Nico, el hijo de Fran, debuta con el Barça B" [Nico, the son of Fran, debuts with Barça B] (in Spanish). Sport. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Nico González renews through to 2024". FC Barcelona. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Braithwaite 9/10, De Jong and Depay 8/10 as Barcelona win to begin post-Messi era". ESPN.com. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Nico and Gavi, latest Masía debutants". FC Barcelona. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Nico and Ez Abde score first goals for FC Barcelona". FC Barcelona. 12 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Nico renews contract to 2026, loaned to Valencia". FC Barcelona. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Nico González é Dragão até 2028". FC Porto (in Portuguese). 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Agreement for the transfer of Nico to Porto". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Moreirense ainda assustou, mas o FC Porto deu a volta em sete minutos" [Moreirense still scared, but FC Porto turned it around in seven minutes] (in European Portuguese). Diário de Notícias. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  14. ^ "Marcano, goleador dos últimos minutos. FC Porto vence Farense na compensação" [Marcano, last-minute goalscorer. FC Porto beats Farense in extra-time]. TSF (in European Portuguese). 20 August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Gonzalez becomes City's fourth winter signing". Manchester City F.C. 3 February 2025. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  16. ^ Jackson, Bobbie (3 February 2025). "Gonzalez takes Man City's spend to £180m - how they dominated window". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  17. ^ Stone, Simon. "FA Cup fourth round: Man City come from behind to beat Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  18. ^ McNulty, Phil (19 February 2025). "Real Madrid 3–1 Manchester City (Agg 6–3): Kylian Mbappé's stunning hat-trick dumps City out". BBC Sport. BBC. Archived from the original on 19 February 2025. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
  19. ^ "El Barça atará al hijo de Fran" [Barça will tie the son of Fran down]. as.com (in Spanish). 15 April 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  20. ^ Nico González at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
  21. ^ "Taça de Portugal. Sérgio Conceição é o terceiro treinador a vencer quatro finais" [Portugal Cup. Sérgio Conceição is the third manager to win four finals] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Porto pull off stunning comeback to beat Sporting in seven-goal Super Taça thriller". PortuGOAL. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nico_Gonz%C3%A1lez_(footballer,_born_2002)
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