Nico González (footballer, born 2002)

Nicolás González Iglesias (born 3 January 2002), sometimes known as just Nico, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Primeira Liga club Porto.

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.
Nico González
González playing for Barcelona in 2021
Personal information
Full name Nicolás González Iglesias[1]
Date of birth (2002-01-03) 3 January 2002[2]
Place of birth A Coruña, Spain[1]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Porto
Number 16
Youth career
2009–2013 Montañeros
2013–2020 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2022 Barcelona B 26 (0)
2021–2023 Barcelona 27 (2)
2022–2023 → Valencia (loan) 26 (1)
2023– Porto 5 (0)
International career‡
2018–2019 Spain U17 8 (0)
2021– Spain U21 9 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:14, 8 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 August 2023

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.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6][7]

Nico scored his first professional goal on 12 December 2021, netting the opener in a 2–2 away draw against Osasuna.[8]

Loan to Valencia

On 13 August 2022, Nico renewed his contract until 2026, and later signed with Valencia on a season-long loan.[9]

Porto

On 29 July 2023, Primeira Liga club FC Porto announced the signing of Nico for €8.5 million, with Barcelona having a buy-back clause.[10][11]

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.[12] One week later, Nico made his first start for Porto, in a 2–1 home win over Farense.[13]

Personal life

He is the son of former Spanish footballer and Deportivo La Coruña legend Fran González and the nephew of José Ramón.[14]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 25 October 2023[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoals Apps GoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Barcelona B 2018–19 Segunda División B 10— ———10
2019–20 Segunda División B 00— ——0000
2020–21 Segunda División B 230— ——1[lower-alpha 1]0240
2021–22 Primera División RFEF 20— ——0020
Total 260— ——10270
Barcelona 2021–22 La Liga 27220 —7[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0372
Valencia (loan) 2022–23 La Liga 26100 ——00261
Porto 2023–24 Primeira Liga 5 0 1 0 0 0 3[lower-alpha 4] 0 0 0 9 0
Career total 84330 0 010020993
  1. Appearance(s) in Segunda División B play-offs
  2. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España
  4. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

References
  1. Nico González at WorldFootball.net
  2. "Nico González". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  3. "Nicolás, rumbo a La Masía" [Nicolás, towards La Masía] (in Spanish). La Voz de Galicia. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  4. "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.
  5. "Nico González renews through to 2024". FC Barcelona. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  6. "Braithwaite 9/10, De Jong and Depay 8/10 as Barcelona win to begin post-Messi era". ESPN.com. 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  7. "Nico and Gavi, latest Masía debutants". FC Barcelona. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  8. "Nico and Ez Abde score first goals for FC Barcelona". FC Barcelona. 12 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  9. "Nico renews contract to 2026, loaned to Valencia". FC Barcelona. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  10. "Nico González é Dragão até 2028". FC Porto (in Portuguese). 2023-07-29. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  11. "Agreement for the transfer of Nico to Porto". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  12. "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.
  13. "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.
  14. "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.
  15. Nico González at Soccerway
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