Mikel Villanueva

Mikel Villanueva Alvarez (born 14 April 1993) is a Venezuelan footballer who plays as a central defender for Portuguese club Santa Clara and the Venezuela national team.

Club Career

Born in San Cristobal, Tachira, Villanueva was a Deportivo Tachira youth graduate. On 3 March 2013 he made his professional debut, starting in a 0–1 away loss against Estudiantes de Merida.

After being rarely used, Villanueva moved to fellow Primera Division team ACD Lara in 2014. He scored his first professional goal on 25 January 2015, netting the game's only in an away win against Carabobo FC.

On 22 February 2015, Villanueva scored a brace in a 3–1 home win against Trujillanos FC. He finished the campaign with 20 appearances and four goals.

On 4 July 2015 Villanueva joined Malaga CF, being assigned to the reserves in Tercera Division. On 3 May 2016, he was bought outright by the club, signing a permanent three-year deal and being promoted to the main squad in La Liga.

Villanueva made his debut in the main category of Spanish football on 16 October 2016, starting in a 1–1 away draw against Deportivo Alaves. The following 10 August he renewed his contract until 2020, and was immediately loaned to Segunda Division club Cadiz CF for one year.

On 24 July 2018, Villanueva joined fellow second division side CF Reus Deportiu, on a season-long loan. On 28 December, he was one of the five players who left the club due to unpaid wages.

On 9 January 2019, Villanueva moved to Gimnastic de Tarragona still in the second tier, on loan until June.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Микель Вильянуэва (russian)