Jose Luis Mato Sanmartin, known as Joselu, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Espanyol and the Spain national team.
17 Facts About Joselu
2.
Joselu began his career with Celta de Vigo before being purchased by Real Madrid in the summer of 2009.
3.
Joselu was born in Stuttgart, West Germany, and attended school in the country for four years, when his family returned to Galicia, Spain.
4.
In late summer 2009, Joselu was purchased by Real Madrid, being immediately loaned to his former team for a further campaign.
5.
Joselu was relatively used during the division two campaign, but only scored four goals as the team finished in 12th position.
6.
On 20 December 2011, in his second official appearance for the main squad, Joselu replaced Benzema in the 77th minute of the home match against Ponferradina, for the season's Copa del Rey.
7.
Joselu said in 2015 that he did not regret his time at Real Madrid despite his limited first-team opportunities, due to his experiences training with its players and manager Jose Mourinho.
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Mark Hughes 8.
On 8 August 2012, Joselu signed a four-year contract with 1899 Hoffenheim for an undisclosed fee.
9.
Joselu played 25 times for 1899 Hoffenheim, scoring five goals as they finished in 16th position.
10.
Joselu rediscovered his form under Frankfurt manager Armin Veh at the Commerzbank-Arena, scoring 14 goals in 33 appearances as the club finished in 13th position and reached the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League.
11.
Towards the end of the campaign, Stoke manager Mark Hughes stated that Joselu had made a slow start to life in English football.
12.
On 31 August 2016, Joselu returned to Galicia to join Celta's rivals Deportivo de La Coruna on a season-long loan deal.
13.
Joselu scored six goals in 24 appearances for Deportivo before his season was ended due to an Achilles injury.
14.
Joselu ended up finishing the season as third highest top scorer behind Gayle and Ayoze Perez.
15.
On 27 June 2022, free agent Joselu signed a three-year deal with Espanyol.
16.
Joselu represented Spain at under-19, under-20 and under-21 level, but never received a call-up to the senior squad until he was nearly 33.
17.
On 17 March 2023, Joselu received his first call-up to the Spain national team for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Norway and Scotland.