Matías Nahuel
Spanish footballer (born 1996)
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Matías Nahuel Leiva Esquivel (born 22 November 1996), known as Nahuel, is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Malaysian football club Johor Darul Ta’zim. Born in Argentina, he has represented Spain at youth levels.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matías Nahuel Leiva Esquivel | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 22 November 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rosario, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Winger | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 77 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Escuela ADIUR | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Villarreal | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Villarreal C | 12 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Villarreal B | 64 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2018 | Villarreal | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | → Betis (loan) | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | → Barcelona B (loan) | 18 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Olympiacos | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | → Deportivo La Coruña (loan) | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Tenerife | 30 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | → Oviedo (loan) | 37 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Śląsk Wrocław | 63 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–2026 | Maccabi Haifa | 22 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2026 | → Jagiellonia Białystok (loan) | 16 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Spain U19 | 11 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Spain U21 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:10, 29 May 2026 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Villarreal
Born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, Nahuel moved to Spain at only 14, joining Villarreal CF's youth setup.[1] He made his senior debut with the C-side in 2012–13, in Tercera División, and also appeared occasionally for the reserves during that first season.
Nahuel made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 13 January 2014, playing 23 minutes in a 5–1 home routing of Real Sociedad.[2] On 28 August he scored his first professional goal, netting the last in a 4–0 home win against FC Astana for the campaign's UEFA Europa League.[3]
On 16 June 2016, Nahuel signed a two-year loan contract with Real Betis also of the top tier.[4][5] On 30 January 2018, he was loaned to Segunda División team FC Barcelona B for six months.[6]
Olympiacos
On 31 August 2018, the last day of the summer transfer window, Olympiacos F.C. signed Nahuel for an undisclosed fee – Villarreal retained a buyback option on the player.[7] The following 31 January, after being rarely used, he returned to Spain after agreeing to a six-month loan deal with Deportivo de La Coruña of the second division.[8]
Tenerife
On 30 August 2019, Nahuel joined CD Tenerife on a three-year contract.[9] On 15 September, after scoring only one goal during the entire 2019–20 campaign, he was loaned to fellow second division side Real Oviedo, for one year.[10]
Śląsk Wrocław
On 9 July 2022, Nahuel moved to Ekstraklasa club Śląsk Wrocław, signing a four-year deal.[11] On 11 January 2024, he extended his contract until the end of June 2027.[12]
Maccabi Haifa
On 18 September 2024, Nahuel moved to Israeli club Maccabi Haifa, signing a four-year deal.[13]
Loan to Jagiellonia
On 28 January 2026, Polish club Jagiellonia Białystok announced the signing of Leiva on loan for the remainder of the season.[14]
JDT
Recently signed
International career
Nahuel was part of the Spain under-19 team which won the 2015 UEFA European Championship in Greece. He scored in a 3–0 group stage opening victory against holders Germany,[15] adding the second goal in the 2–0 win over Russia in the decisive match in Katerini.[16]
Honours
Spain U19