Rafa Mir
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Rafael Mir Vicente[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 18 June 1997 | ||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Cartagena, Spain | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
2004–2006 | Javalí Nuevo | ||||||||||||||||
2006–2007 | ElPozo Murcia | ||||||||||||||||
2007–2009 | Ranero | ||||||||||||||||
2009–2011 | Barcelona | ||||||||||||||||
2011–2012 | Murcia | ||||||||||||||||
2012–2015 | Valencia | ||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
2015–2018 | Valencia B | 60 | (25) | ||||||||||||||
2015–2018 | Valencia | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2018– | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2018–2019 | → Las Palmas (loan) | 30 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
2019–2020 | → Nottingham Forest (loan) | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2020–2021 | → Huesca (loan) | 56 | (22) | ||||||||||||||
International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
2018–2019 | Spain U21 | 10 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
2021 | Spain U23 | 7 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:07, 24 May 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:01, 7 August 2021 (UTC) |
Rafael Mir Vicente (born 18 June 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Club career
Youth career and Valencia
Born in Murcia, Mir 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.[2]
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.[2] He made his senior debut for the 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.
Mir scored his first senior goal on 7 March 2015, netting the last in a 2–0 win over CF Badalona at the Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna.[3] He finished the campaign with four appearances, as his side narrowly avoided relegation.
The following season, Mir excelled in the UEFA Youth League, scoring consecutive braces in victories over Gent.[4][5] 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.[6]
On 24 November 2015, Mir was called up to the main squad by manager Nuno Espírito Santo for a La Liga game against UD Las Palmas;[7] he was an unused substitute in the 1–1 draw at the Mestalla Stadium.[8] He made his professional debut on 25 November, starting in a UEFA Champions League group stage match away to Zenit Saint Petersburg,[9] being substituted for Santi Mina in the 56th minute of an eventual 2–0 defeat.[10]
He made his top-flight debut against Las Palmas on 28 August, replacing Enzo Pérez for the final four minutes of a 4–2 home loss.[11]
Mir 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.[12]
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.[13] 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 Leo Bonatini.[14]
On 23 July 2018, Mir joined Segunda División side UD Las Palmas on loan for one season.[15] A year later, he returned to the Championship, on loan to Nottingham Forest.[16] 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.[17]
Immediately following his departure from Nottingham, Mir was loaned to Segunda División side SD Huesca for 18 months.[18] He was sent off on 8 February in a 1–0 loss at Girona FC for elbowing Álex Granell and banned for one match.[19] 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.[20] The following 29 January, he scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 victory at Real Valladolid.[21]
International career
On 29 June 2021, Mir was named in the 22-man squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics by manager Luis de la Fuente.[22] On 31 July, he scored an injury-time equaliser against the Ivory Coast to take their quarter-final to extra-time, in which he added two further goals to complete a hat-trick as Spain won 5–2 .[23]
Personal life
Mir, who idolised German forward Mario Gómez, is the son of former defender Magín Mir, whose clubs included RCD Mallorca and Murcia.[2]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 22 April 2021.[24]
Club | Season | Division | League | National Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Valencia B | 2014–15 | Segunda División B | 4 | 1 | — | — | 4 | 1 | ||
2015–16 | Segunda División B | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
2016–17 | Segunda División B | 35 | 9 | — | — | 35 | 9 | |||
2017–18 | Segunda División B | 19 | 15 | — | — | 19 | 15 | |||
Total | 60 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 25 | ||
Valencia | 2015–16 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
2016–17 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
Total | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2017–18 | Championship | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
2018–19 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
Las Palmas (loan) | 2018–19 | Segunda División | 30 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 30 | 7 | |
Nottingham Forest (loan) | 2019–20 | Championship | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
Huesca (loan) | 2019–20 | Segunda División | 18 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 9 | |
2020–21 | La Liga | 38 | 13 | 1 | 3 | — | 39 | 16 | ||
Total | 56 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 25 | ||
Career total | 161 | 54 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 170 | 57 |
Honours
Club
SD Huesca
International
Spain Olympic
- Summer Olympic silver medal: 2020
References
- ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Nottingham Forest" (PDF). English Football League. p. 49. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ a b c "Rafa Mir, el ´gigante´ de los mil goles del Valencia CF" [Rafa Mir, Valencia CF's 1000-goal 'giant'] (in Spanish). Superdeporte. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "El Mestalla sufre pero se impone" [Mestalla suffer but impose themselves] (in Spanish). Levante EMV. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "Perfect Arsenal forge on in Youth League". UEFA. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "Holders Chelsea assured of top-two finish". UEFA. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "El Valencia Mestalla naufraga ante el Villarreal B" [Valencia Mestalla sink against Villarreal B] (in Spanish). Super Deporte. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ Gimeno, Manu (20 November 2015). "Nuno se lleva a Rafa Mir y recupera a pesos pesados" [Nuno brings in Rafa Mir and regains heavyweights] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "Viera gets the point for Las Palmas as Valencia are left frustrated". ESPN. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ Rocha Rodrigues, Luís; Sousa, Vasco (24 November 2015). "Para sacudir a crise, Nuno estreia Rafa Mir, de 18 anos" [To end the crisis, Nuno chooses, Rafa Mir, 18] (in Portuguese). ZeroZero. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "Zenit stay perfect at Valencia's expense". UEFA. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "El Las Palmas desnuda al Valencia" [Las Palmas expose Valencia] (in Spanish). El Periódico. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ "Wolves close to signing Rafa Mir from Valencia". Sky Sports. 3 January 2018.
- ^ "Welcome Rafa". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 3 January 2018.
- ^ Dicken, Alex (10 January 2018). "Rafa Mir scouting report: How the Wolves new boy's brief but eventful debut unfolded". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ "Mir Departs Molineux On Loan". Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "Rafa Mir: Nottingham Forest sign Wolves striker on season-long loan". BBC. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Clapson, Sarah (14 January 2020). "Breaking: Flop leaves Nottingham Forest as loan spell is terminated". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ Puyuelo, Jorge (24 August 2020). "Rafa Mir será el '9' del Huesca" [Rafa Mir will be Huesca's '9']. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ Ralla, Emilio (12 February 2020). "La sanción a Rafa Mir se queda en un partido" [Rafa Mir's punishment stays at one match]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ Delgado, José Domingo (17 July 2020). "Rafa Mir lleva a la SD Huesca a Primera y hunde al Numancia" [Rafa Mir takes SD Huesca to Primera and sinks Numancia] (in Spanish). Be Soccer. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ "Rafa Mir Shines With Hat Trick To Give Huesca Win Over Valladolid". beIN Sports. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ "Spain Names Six From Euro Squad to Olympic Roster". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ "Rafa Mir scores hat-trick as Spain overpower Ivory Coast in extra time to reach semi-finals". Sky Sports. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Rafa Mir". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
External links
- 1997 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Murcia
- Footballers from the Region of Murcia
- Spanish footballers
- Association football midfielders
- La Liga players
- Segunda División players
- Segunda División B players
- Valencia CF Mestalla footballers
- Valencia CF players
- UD Las Palmas players
- SD Huesca footballers
- English Football League players
- Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
- Nottingham Forest F.C. players
- Spain under-21 international footballers
- Spanish expatriate footballers
- Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England
- Expatriate footballers in England
- Olympic footballers of Spain
- Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Olympic medalists in football
- Olympic silver medalists for Spain
- Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics