Borja Mayoral

Real Madrid

Born in Parla, Madrid, Mayoral joined Real Madrid's youth setup in 2007, after starting out at his hometown club AD Parla. In 2014, he was included in the latter's Juvenil A squad, and also scored seven goals in the UEFA Youth League, including a hat-trick in a 6–0 group stage win over PFC Ludogorets Razgrad and the team's goal in their 1–1 draw with FC Porto Juniors in the last 16, being their only player to convert his opportunity in their penalty shootout exit.

On 18 January 2015, Mayoral made his senior debut for the reserves, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute for Álvaro Jiménez in a 1–0 Segunda División B win over Getafe CF B. As a half-time replacement for Cristian Benavente on 25 April, he scored his first goal for the team in a 2–2 draw with Sestao River Club at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano.

Four days later, having amassed 43 goals for different teams over the season, Mayoral was an unused substitute in the main team's 3–0 La Liga home win over UD Almería. On 4 May, he scored twice in a 3–1 win over Celta de Vigo in the quarter-finals of the División de Honor Juvenil, and thirteen days later he concluded his reserve season by scoring the only goal in Castilla's win over CD Toledo. He was sent off on 27 June at the end of the 2–1 loss to Rayo Vallecano in the final of the 2015 Copa del Rey Juvenil at the Estadio Alfonso Murube in Ceuta, for attacking an opponent.

On 22 August 2015, Mayoral opened the 2015–16 season with a brace in a 5–1 home routing of CD Ebro. On 31 October he finally made his first team debut, replacing Toni Kroos in the last minutes of a 3–1 home success over UD Las Palmas. Returning to the reserves, on the following 16 January he scored his first senior hat-trick in a 4–0 home rout of CF Rayo Majadahonda.

On 2 March 2016, due to injury to Karim Benzema, manager Zinedine Zidane gave Mayoral his first start for Real Madrid against Levante UD; he took a shot that went in as an own goal by goalkeeper Diego Mariño in a 3–1 win at the Estadi Ciutat de València. On the last day of the reserves' season, he scored twice in a 6–1 win against La Roda CF, winning the group at Barakaldo CF's expense.

Loan to VfL Wolfsburg

On 22 July 2016, Mayoral was loaned to Bundesliga team VfL Wolfsburg for the upcoming season. He made his debut on 20 August in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, replacing goalscorer Bas Dost for the final seven minutes of a 2–1 win at FSV Frankfurt. On 16 October, he played his first league game for the Wolves, entering in the 77th minute in place of Luiz Gustavo in a 0–1 home loss to RB Leipzig, and scored his first goal on 3 December to open a 3–2 home loss to Hertha BSC.

International career

Mayoral scored in each of Spain's three qualification matches for the 2015 European Under-19 Championship: two in a 5–0 rout of Turkey and other goals in victories over rivals Portugal and hosts Georgia. At the finals in Greece, he finished as top scorer with three goals, including one in the 2–0 final win over Russia as Spain sealed a seventh title in the category, and made the Team of the Tournament.

On 7 October 2015, Mayoral made his debut for the under-21 team in a qualification match away to Georgia for the 2017 European Championship; he replaced Samu Castillejo with an hour played, and nine minutes later converted Saúl Ñíguez's assist in a 5–2 comeback victory.

Style of play

ESPN writer Rob Train predicted in August 2015 that Mayoral could become the new Raúl, another forward produced at Real Madrid's academy. Richard Martin of UEFA.com described Mayoral as "an unapologetic scavenger". Zinedine Zidane complimented Mayoral as well, when he said, that "Mayoral's a striker who scores every time he has a shot".

Mayoral himself has cited Raúl and Benzema as his inspirations.

Career statistics

¹ Includes Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup matches.

International

Individual