Introduction
Denis Suárez Fernández (born 6 January 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for FC Barcelona.
Club career
Early years
Born in Salceda de Caselas, Pontevedra, Galicia, Suárez played youth football in his home country for Porriño Industrial and Celta de Vigo.
Manchester City
Suárez signed for Manchester City on 23 May 2011. Manchester City beat off interest from FC Barcelona, Chelsea and rivals Manchester United signing him for an initial fee of £850,000 that could rise by £2.75 million depending on appearances and performances.
Suárez played in the 2011–12 pre-season friendly match against Los Angeles Galaxy, replacing Edin Džeko in 88th minute. He also converted a penalty in the penalty shootout in the same game. He was an unused substitute in the League Cup game against Birmingham City. In the next round of the League Cup, he made his competitive debut for the club when he replaced Samir Nasri in the 67th minute in the 5–2 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. On 17 May 2012, Suárez starred for Manchester City reserves against Manchester United reserves in Manchester Senior Cup, although Manchester City lost 2–0. In 2012, he was awarded Manchester City's Young Player of the Year as voted for by the fans.
Barcelona
On 22 August 2013 Suárez completed a transfer to FC Barcelona for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year contract. During the 2013-14 season he played mostly for FC Barcelona B in the Spanish Segunda División to continue his development.
Sevilla (loan)
In July 2014, Suárez was loaned to Sevilla FC for two seasons as part of the deal which saw Ivan Rakitić move to Barcelona. He made his competitive debut on 12 August in the 2014 UEFA Super Cup at Cardiff City Stadium, playing 78 minutes before being substituted for José Antonio Reyes in the 2–0 defeat to Real Madrid. On 11 December, he scored the only goal of Sevilla's final Europa League group match against HNK Rijeka, sending the club through at the expense of their Croatian opponents.
Villarreal
On 29 August 2015, Suárez completed a transfer to Villarreal CF for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year contract which includes a buy back clause.
Return to Barcelona
On 4 July 2016, FC Barcelona announced the return of Suárez after exercising the buy back clause. Barcelona paid €3.5 million and Suárez signed a four-year contract, with an option of a further year depending on the number of appearances.
International career
Suárez has been capped by Spain U17 and has scored two goals for the team, against Moldova and Northern Ireland. He was also a member of the Spain U19 which won the 2012 Under-19 European Championship. Suárez was a 71st-minute substitute in the final against Greece and made six appearances at the Championships, scoring twice and playing 284 minutes.
On 29 May 2016, he made his senior debut coming on as second-half substitute for David Silva in a friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Career statistics
- As of 1 February 2017.
| Club | League | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Manchester City | Premier League | 2011–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012–13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Barcelona B | Segunda División | 2013–14 | 36 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 36 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 36 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 36 | 7 | ||||||
| Sevilla (loan) | La Liga | 2014–15 | 31 | 2 | 6 | 1 | — | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 6 | |
| Total | 31 | 2 | 6 | 1 | — | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 6 | |||
| Villarreal | 2015–16 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | — | 48 | 5 | |||
| Total | 33 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | — | 48 | 5 | ||||
| Barcelona | 2016–17 | 18 | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 3 | ||
| Total | 18 | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 118 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 170 | 21 | ||
Honours
Club
- Sevilla
- UEFA Europa League: 2014–15
- Barcelona
- Supercopa de España: 2016
International
- Spain
- Under-19 European Championship: 2012