Diego López (footballer, born May 2002)
Spanish footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Diego López Noguerol (born 13 May 2002) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as either a right winger or a forward for La Liga club Valencia. Nicknamed El Guajín (The Kid in Asturian), López has become a fan favorite at the Spanish giant.
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López with Valencia in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Diego López Noguerol | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 13 May 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Turón, Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Positions | |||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Valencia | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2010 | Figueiredo | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Xeitosa | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2017 | Sporting Gijón | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Real Madrid | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2021 | Barcelona | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Valencia B | 52 | (14) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Valencia | 118 | (18) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2025 | Spain U21 | 20 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Spain U23 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 14:30, 20 June 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Early career
Born in Turón, Mieres, Asturias, López began playing football at the youth academy of FC Figueiredo where he scored more than 150 goals, and then Xeitosa CF where he scored 54 goals in his single season with them. His goalscoring earned him a move to the youth academy of Sporting de Gijón, followed by a short stint with Real Madrid, and finally moving to FC Barcelona in 2018.[1]
Valencia
On 7 July 2021, after finishing his formation, López joined Valencia CF and was initially assigned to moved to the reserves in Tercera División RFEF.[2] He missed the opening matches of the season due to an injury, and made his senior debut on 8 October 2021, coming on as a second-half substitute for Fran Pérez and scoring a brace in a 5–0 home routing of UD Benigànim.[3]
López helped the B-side in their promotion to Segunda Federación with nine goals, and made his professional – and La Liga – debut with Valencia on 29 August 2022, replacing Toni Lato late into a 1–0 loss to Atlético Madrid.[4] He scored his first goal in the top tier on 21 May of the following year, netting the winner in a 1–0 home success over Real Madrid.[5]
On 14 August 2023, López renewed his contract with the Che until 2026, being definitely promoted to the main squad.[6]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 11 December 2025[7]
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Valencia B | 2021–22 | Tercera División RFEF | 30 | 9 | — | 30 | 9 | |
| 2022–23 | Segunda Federación | 22 | 5 | — | 22 | 5 | ||
| Total | 52 | 14 | — | 52 | 14 | |||
| Valencia | 2022–23 | La Liga | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 36 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 39 | 4 | |
| 2024–25 | La Liga | 38 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 9 | |
| 2025–27 | La Liga | 15 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 4 | |
| Total | 99 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 107 | 20 | ||
| Career total | 151 | 31 | 8 | 3 | 159 | 34 | ||
