Santi Mina


Santiago "Santi" Mina Lorenzo is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for RC Celta de Vigo as a forward.
He began his career at Celta, scoring 12 goals in 56 games across three seasons before a €10 million move to Valencia in 2015. Four years later, he returned to Celta.

Club career

Celta

Born in Vigo, Galicia, Mina played youth football with hometown's RC Celta de Vigo, and made his senior debut with the reserves in the 2012–13 season, in Tercera División. On 5 January he signed a professional deal with the club, running until 2018.
Mina made his first-team – and La Liga – debut for them on 16 February 2013, coming on as a substitute for Iago Aspas in the 66th minute of a 1–3 away defeat against Getafe CF. He scored his first top-flight goal on 16 September, but in a 2–3 loss at Athletic Bilbao; at only 17 years, 9 months and 10 days, he became the team's youngest goalscorer in the first division.
On 11 April 2015, Mina scored four goals in a 6–1 home routing of Rayo Vallecano, becoming the youngest player ever to do so in the Spanish top tier and the first from Celta since 1979.

Valencia

On 4 July 2015, Mina moved to fellow league team Valencia CF after agreeing to a six-year deal for a €10 million fee. He scored his first competitive goal for the club on 5 December, netting four minutes from time in a 1–1 home draw against FC Barcelona.
On 18 February 2016, in only the first 45 minutes, Mina scored twice and provided three assists in a UEFA Europa League last-32 tie against SK Rapid Wien, in an eventual 6–0 win also at the Mestalla Stadium.
Mina scored a career-best 12 league goals in 2017–18 as Valencia came fourth, despite being more often than not a substitute for Simone Zaza and Rodrigo; halfway through the campaign, the trio had 12 more goals than Real Madrid's "BBC" attacking line. The following campaign, he netted braces in Copa del Rey wins over CD Ebro and Sporting de Gijón as his club picked up their first honour for 11 years; he was unused in the 2–1 final win over Barcelona on 25 May 2019.

Return to Celta

After four years at the Mestalla Stadium, Mina returned to Celta on a five-year contract as Maxi Gómez moved in the opposite direction.

Personal life

Mina's father, also named Santiago, was also a footballer. A defender, he played for several clubs in the 1970s and 1980s, including Celta.

Club statistics

Honours

Valencia