Nico González (footballer, born 2002)

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Nico González
Nico Gonzalez (cropped).jpg
González playing for Barcelona in 2021
Personal information
Full name Nicolás González Iglesias [1]
Date of birth (2002-01-03) 3 January 2002 (age 23) [2]
Place of birth A Coruña, Spain [3]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) [2]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Manchester City
Number 14
Youth career
2009–2013 Montañeros
2013–2020 Barcelona
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2019–2022 Barcelona B 26 (0)
2021–2023 Barcelona 27 (2)
2022–2023 → Valencia (loan) 26 (1)
2023–2025 Porto 42 (7)
2025– Manchester City 13 (1)
International career
2018–2019 Spain U17 8 (0)
2021–2024 Spain U21 11 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:28, 23 August 2025 (UTC)

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

Contents

Club career

Barcelona

González 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, González 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 reserve team from November 2020 onwards.

On 12 May 2021, González 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 victory against Real Sociedad. [7] [8]

González 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, González renewed his contract until 2026 and signed with Valencia on a season-long loan. [10]

Porto

On 29 July 2023, González 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]

González 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, he made his first start for Porto in a 2–1 home victory against 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 £50 million. [15] [16]

On 8 February 2025, González debuted a 2–1 away victory against League One club Leyton Orient in the fourth round of the FA Cup, before coming off as a substitute with an injury 22 minutes into the first half. [17] On 19 February, he scored his first goal for the club and in the UEFA Champions League, getting on the scoresheet in a 3–1 loss against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, as City got knocked out of the tournament. [18] Three months later, on 20 May, González scored his first Premier League goal in a 3–1 victory against Bournemouth. [19]

Personal life

He is the son of former Spanish footballer and Deportivo La Coruña legend Fran González and the nephew of José Ramón. [20]

Career statistics

As of match played 23 August 2025 [21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] EuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Barcelona B 2018–19 Segunda División B 10————10
2019–20 Segunda División B00———0000
2020–21 Segunda División B230———1 [c] 0240
2021–22 Primera División RFEF 20———0020
Total260———10270
Barcelona 2021–22 La Liga 27220—7 [d] 01 [e] 0372
Valencia (loan) 2022–23 La Liga26100——00261
Porto 2023–24 Primeira Liga 25270106 [f] 000392
2024–25 Primeira Liga17520207 [g] 11 [h] 1297
Total427903013111689
Manchester City 2024–25 Premier League 11140—1 [f] 11 [i] 0172
2025–26 Premier League20000000—20
Total13140001110192
Career total13411150302124117714
  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. 1 2 Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  7. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  8. ↑ Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  9. ↑ Appearance in FIFA Club World Cup

Honours

Porto

Manchester City

References

  1. ↑ "2024/25 Updated Premier League squad lists". Premier Leagues. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Nico González". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  3. ↑ Nico González at WorldFootball.net
  4. ↑ "Nicolás, rumbo a La Masía" [Nicolás, towards La Masía]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 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]. Sport (in Spanish). Grupo Zeta. 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. 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]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Global Media Group. 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 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. ↑ Brown, Paul (20 May 2025). "Perfect Etihad ending for De Bruyne after vital Bournemouth victory". Manchester City F.C.
  20. ↑ "El Barça atará al hijo de Fran" [Barça will tie the son of Fran down]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 15 April 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  21. ↑ Nico González at Soccerway . Retrieved 15 February 2025.
  22. ↑ "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.
  23. ↑ "Porto pull off stunning comeback to beat Sporting in seven-goal Super Taça thriller". PortuGOAL. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  24. ↑ "Crystal Palace 1–0 Manchester City: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 17 May 2025. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
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