Rafa Mir

Early career

Mir was born in Cartagena and raised in Javalí Nuevo [es], a village belonging to Murcia, also in the Region of Murcia.^[3] He began his career playing futsal with CD Javalí Nuevo. After a 120-goal spell at ElPozo Murcia FS he began playing full football with Ranero CF, scoring 57 and 84 goals in his respective seasons before joining FC Barcelona.^[4]

Mir's 32 goals at La Masia earned him a return to his native region and Real Murcia, where a 45-goal haul led to the attention of Valencia CF.^[4]

Valencia

Mir made his senior debut for Valencia's reserves on 1 March 2015, as an 88th-minute substitute for Wilfried Zahibo in a 2–1 Segunda División B loss at CE L'Hospitalet. Hescored his first senior goal six days later, in a 2–0 win over CF Badalona at the Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna.^[5] He finished the campaign with four appearances, as his side narrowly avoided relegation.

The following season, in the UEFA Youth League, Mir scored consecutive braces in victories over Gent.^[6][7] On 14 November 2015, he was given his first start for the B-side, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–2 loss at another reserve team, Villarreal CF B.^[8]

On 20 November 2015, Mir was called up to the main squad by manager Nuno Espírito Santo for a La Liga game against UD Las Palmas;^[9] he was an unused substitute in the 1–1 draw at the Mestalla Stadium.^[10] He made his professional debut on 25 November, starting in a UEFA Champions League group stage match away to Zenit Saint Petersburg,^[11] being substituted by Santi Mina in the 56th minute of an eventual 2–0 defeat.^[12]

Mir made his top-flight debut against Las Palmas on 28 August 2016, replacing Enzo Pérez for the final four minutes of a 4–2 home loss.^[13] On 24 April 2017, he was hit by a car at a zebra crossing, suffering light injuries to his leg and arm.^[14]

Mir again spent the 2017–18 preseason with the first team of Marcelino García Toral, but with only one year left on his contract and not accepting the renewal offer proposed by the club,^[15][16] a way out began to be sought for the player, who had also received important offers.^[17] The doors of the first team were completely closed to him.^[18] He began the first half of the 2017–18 season for Valencia B in good form, scoring 15 goals in 19 games, attracting interest from Real Madrid and Wolverhampton Wanderers.^[19]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 3 January 2018, Mir joined Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with the club and taking the number 9 shirt. He linked up with former Valencia boss Nuno Espírito Santo, who gave him his first team debut at the club.^[20] He made his debut three days later in the FA Cup third round at home to Swansea City, playing the last 13 minutes of a goalless draw in place of Léo Bonatini.^[21]

On 23 July 2018, Mir joined Segunda División side UD Las Palmas on loan for one season.^[22] A year later, he returned to the Championship, on loan to Nottingham Forest.^[23] After struggling for both minutes and goals with Forest, Mir and Forest agreed for him to return to his parent club on 14 January 2020.^[24]

Immediately following his departure from Nottingham, Mir was loaned to Segunda División side SD Huesca for 18 months.^[25] He was sent off on 8 February 2020 in a 1–0 loss at Girona FC for elbowing Álex Granell and banned for one match.^[26] On 17 July, he scored twice in a 3–0 home win over CD Numancia to win promotion to the top flight with a game remaining.^[27]

On 15 December 2020, Mir scored a hat-trick in a 3–2 extra-time win over CD Marchamalo in the first round of the Copa del Rey.^[28] The following 29 January, he netted another treble in a 3–1 victory at Real Valladolid.^[29] He ended the league season with 13 goals, joint eighth-best.^[30]

Sevilla

On 20 August 2021, Mir signed a six-year contract with Sevilla for a fee potentially rising to €16 million.^[31] On 23 November 2021, he scored his first Champions League goal in the 97th minute of a 2–0 victory over VfL Wolfsburg.^[32]

Mir was approached by Valencia to return on loan for a €5 million fee in July 2023, with the club also taking on his €2 million salary and Sevilla's €3 million conditional payment to Wolverhampton.^[33] The move collapsed for financial reasons, and a late approach by A.C. Milan for a loan with obligatory purchase was rejected due to a lack of remaining forwards at Sevilla.^[34]

On 11 July 2024, Mir returned to boyhood club Valencia on loan, with a buyout clause of €5 million.^[35] On 17 August of the following year, he moved to fellow top-tier club Elche also on a temporary deal.^[36]

During a 2026 match between Elche and Espanyol, Omar El Hilali reported that Mir had allegedly made racial comments towards him. Mir reportedly said "You came in a small boat", a reference to illegal immigrants and asylum seekers. El Hilali triggered La Liga's anti-racism protocol following the alleged racial insult.^[37]

On 4 August 2026, Mir was loaned for the final year of his Sevilla contract to Aris, on a deal that would then see him join the Greek club until June 2028.^[38] Due to his conviction, he required permission from the court to move abroad, and had to register at the Spanish consulate in Thessaloniki.^[39]