Manu Morlanes

Manuel "Manu" Morlanes Ariño (born 12 January 1999) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club Mallorca.

Manu Morlanes
Personal information
Full nameManuel Morlanes Ariño
Date of birth (1999-01-12) 12 January 1999 (age 25)
Place of birthZaragoza, Spain
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
Mallorca
Number8
Youth career
Zaragoza
2012–2015Villarreal
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2015–2017Villarreal C41(2)
2016–2019Villarreal B38(2)
2017–2023Villarreal23(0)
2020–2021Almería (loan)36(1)
2021–2022Espanyol (loan)27(2)
2023Mallorca (loan)12(1)
2023–Mallorca35(0)
International career
2015Spain U164(1)
2014–2016Spain U1725(3)
2016–2018Spain U199(0)
2019Spain U211(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 June 2024

Club career

Born in Zaragoza, Morlanes represented local Real Zaragoza as a youth before switching to Villarreal CF's academy in the summer of 2012.[1] He made his debut with the C-team in the 2015–16 Tercera División campaign.[2]

On 3 September 2016, Morlanes made his debut for the B-team in a 3–2 defeat against FC Barcelona B.[3] He suffered a knee injury during a match against CD Castellón in December,[4] returning to play in September 2017 in a 0–0 draw against UE Llagostera.[5]

Morlanes made his first-team debut on 8 December 2017, starting in a 1–0 defeat against Maccabi Tel Aviv in UEFA Europa League.[6] The following 13 June, he renewed his contract until 2023.[7]

Morlanes made his La Liga debut on 18 August 2018, starting in a 2–1 home loss against Real Sociedad. Ahead of the 2019–20 campaign, he was definitely promoted to the main squad.[8]

On 7 September 2020, Morlanes was loaned to Segunda División side UD Almería for one year, with a buyout clause.[9] After being a regular starter, Almería exercised the buyout clause on his contract, but Villarreal also activated the buy-back clause to retain the player.[10]

On 16 August 2021, Morlanes signed a new contract with the Yellow Submarine until 2026, and joined fellow top tier side RCD Espanyol on loan for the 2021–22 season.[11] Back to his parent club for the 2022–23 campaign, he featured rarely before moving to RCD Mallorca also in the top tier on 31 January 2023, also in a temporary deal.[12]

On 30 June 2023, Morlanes signed a permanent five-year deal with the Bermellones.[13]

Career statistics

As of 11 August 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Villarreal C2015–16[14]Tercera División280280
2016–17[14]Tercera División132132
Total412412
Villarreal B2016–17[14]Segunda División B3030
2017–18[14]Segunda División B2716[a]0331
2018–19[14]Segunda División B812[a]0101
Total38280462
Villarreal2017–18[15]La Liga00001[b]010
2018–19[15]La Liga100105[b]1161
2019–20[15]La Liga904000130
2021–22[15]La Liga0000001[c]010
Total190506110311
Almería (loan)2020–21[15]Segunda División361102[d]0391
Career total134560611101576

Honours

Spain U17

References