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Niko Takahashi

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Niko Takahashi
高橋 仁胡
Personal information
Birth name Niko Takahashi Cendagorta[1]
Date of birth (2005-08-17) 17 August 2005 (age 20)
Place of birth Cornellà, Spain[1]
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Almere City
(on loan from Cerezo Osaka)
Number 16
Youth career
FCB Peñas
San Cugat
Cornellà
2019–2024 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024– Cerezo Osaka 22 (1)
2026– → Almere City (loan) 11 (0)
International career‡
2024 Japan U19 5 (0)
2022– Japan U20 21 (0)
2025– Japan U22 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 28 April 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 14 November 2025[4]

Niko Takahashi Cendagorta[5] (高橋 仁胡, Takahashi Niko; born 17 August 2005) is a professional footballer who plays as a left back for Dutch Eerste Divisie club Almere City on loan from Cerezo Osaka. Born in Spain, he is a Japan youth international.

Club career

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Early career

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Born in the Barcelona metropolitan area to a Japanese mother and Argentine father, Takahashi played futsal at a young age, before joining his first club FCB Peñas in La Floresta.[6][7]

He joined local side San Cugat before moving to Cornellà, where he attracted the attention of Espanyol, Girona and Barcelona.[6] He chose to sign with Barcelona, as he had supported the Catalan club since he was young, and joined in 2019.[8][9]

He signed a contract extension in September 2021.[9] A year later, in September 2022, he was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best players born in 2005 worldwide.[10]

Cerezo Osaka

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Takahashi started his senior career in early 2025 with Cerezo Osaka.

On 3 January 2026, Takahashi was loaned by Almere City in the Dutch second-tier Eerste Divisie until 30 June 2026.[11]

International career

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Takahashi is eligible to represent Spain, Japan and Argentina at international level. He was called up to the Japan under-16 team in 2020, but was unable to attend due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6][8] He also received a call up to the Spain under-16 team in May 2021, and has been approached by Argentina.[7][8][12][13]

In May 2022, Takahashi was called up to the Japan national under-19 football team for the first time ahead of the 2022 Maurice Revello Tournament.[14]

Takahashi was called up to the Japan U-20 squad for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[15]

In June 2024, he took part in the Maurice Revello Tournament in France[16] with Japan.

References

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  1. 1 2 Niko Takahashi at LaPreferente.com (in Spanish) Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ↑ "Niko Takahashi Cendagorta". web.gekisaka.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  3. ↑ Niko Takahashi at WorldFootball.net
  4. ↑ Niko Takahashi at Soccerway Edit this at Wikidata
  5. ↑ "SQUAD LIST – FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2023™" (PDF). FIFA. p. 15.
  6. 1 2 3 Noguer, Ignasi (4 September 2021). "La història de Niko Takahashi, la perla del Barça per qui sospiren 3 seleccions" [The story of Niko Takahashi, the pearl of Barça for whom 3 national teams are fighting]. elnacional.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Niko Takahashi Cendagorta, la Promesa de Barcelona que Busca la Selección Argentina" [Niko Takahashi Cendagorta, the Promise of Barcelona that the Argentine National Team is Looking for]. marketingregistrado.com (in Spanish). 15 July 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 Cristofanelli, Federico (14 July 2021). "La historia de Niko Takahashi, la promesa del Barcelona que está en el sub-16 de España, pero tiene propuestas para jugar en Argentina y Japón" [The story of Niko Takahashi, the promise of Barcelona who is an under-16 international for Spain, but has proposals to play for Argentina and Japan]. infobae.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  9. 1 2 "バルセロナが16歳DF高橋仁胡と契約延長! 今夏に飛び級でU-18チーム登録" [Barcelona extends contract with 16-year-old defender Niko Takahashi!]. news.yahoo.co.jp (in Japanese). 2 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  10. ↑ Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (28 September 2022). "Next Generation 2022: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  11. ↑ "Almere City FC huurt Japanse verdediger Niko Takahashi" [Almere City FC loans Japanese defender Niko Takahashi] (in Dutch). Almere City FC. 3 January 2026. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  12. ↑ "Niko Takahashi: La gran promesa de España que Argentina y Japón se quieren robar" [Niko Takahashi: The great promise of Spain that Argentina and Japan want to steal]. elgrafico.com (in Spanish). 14 July 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  13. ↑ "La historia del juvenil del Barcelona que nació en España, podría jugar para Japón pero al que buscan de la Selección Argentina: Niko Takahashi, la nueva promesa de La Masía" [The history of the Barcelona youth who was born in Spain, could play for Japan but the one they are looking for from the Argentine National Team: Niko Takahashi, the new promise of La Masía]. tntsports.com.ar (in Spanish). 14 July 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  14. ↑ Kawabata, Akihiko (23 May 2022). "異色選出のU-19日本代表。多重国籍のバルセロナDF高橋センダゴルタ仁胡ら招集に見るJFAの戦略" [U-19 Japan National Team selected from a different color. JFA strategy seen in the convocation of multinational Barcelona defender Niko Takahashi Cendagorta and others]. goal.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "U-20日本代表メンバー FIFA U-20ワールドカップアルゼンチン2023" [Japan U-20 national team for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2023]. Japan Football Association. 8 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "Festival International Espoirs Football Tournoi Maurice Revello Toulon". tournoimauricerevello.com (in French). Maurice Revello Tournament. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
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