Nery Castillo Professional Mexican football player Date of Birth: 13.06.1984 Country: Mexico

Neri Castillo - Professional Mexican Footballer

Neri Castillo is a professional Mexican footballer who began his career at the Uruguayan football club "Danubio." He then moved to Greece at the age of sixteen to play for the club "Olympiacos." Castillo was born in the Mexican city of San Luis Potosi, where his father, a professional Uruguayan footballer, played for the club "San Luis." The Castillo family moved to South America when he was a young child, and there he started playing for the youth team of "Danubio." He went on a youth tournament in Brazil with this team, where scouts from European clubs noticed him. Castillo went on a trial at "Manchester United," but he was unable to obtain a work permit, and his hopes of playing in the English Premier League were dashed. At the age of 16, Castillo went to the Greek club "Olympiacos" with the permission of his father. Three years later, he became a regular player and played not only in Greece but also on the international stage. However, not everything went smoothly in his career. The highly anticipated move to Italian club "AC Milan" never materialized. "Olympiacos" underwent a change in leadership, and the legendary Brazilian player Rivaldo joined the team - all of this was a real test for the young Mexican. Castillo had to sit on the bench again, and in 2006, his father and agent began negotiations with the Mexican club "Guadalajara." However, the negotiations fell through because "Olympiacos" refused to let go of the young talent. Shortly before this, Castillo scored a free-kick in a match that he considered to be his last in the shirt of the Greek club. He literally "stole" the ball from his teammate who was supposed to take the free-kick and threw his shirt to the fans after scoring the goal. He himself looked slightly awkward after his actions.
Success in Greece

In the 2006-2007 season, Castillo hit top form. It was evident that he had greatly improved and matured in terms of football. His game made the bosses of the Greek club consider extending his contract and improving the financial side. In the pre-season matches of 2006-2007, the Mexican became the top scorer of the club, scoring seven goals in friendly matches. However, he continued to gain form and started regularly scoring goals in both the UEFA Champions League and the Greek league. At the end of the season, Castillo finished second in goals scored and assists, just behind Brazilian player Rivaldo. On July 31, 2007, Castillo signed a five-year contract with Donetsk's "Shakhtar" for a sum of 20 million euros. This transfer became the most expensive in the history of Ukrainian football.
Move to Manchester City

Castillo scored his first goal for his new team in a match against Austrian club "Salzburg" in the Champions League. However, he didn't get many opportunities to play for "Shakhtar." He only played a couple of matches, including the last game against "Neftyanik-Ukrnafta." "Shakhtar" earned a penalty, but Castillo refused to give the ball to the designated penalty taker Cristiano Lucarelli and took the shot himself. The opposition goalkeeper saved the shot, and Castillo was immediately substituted. On December 18, 2007, it was announced that Castillo would join "Manchester City" for at least a year.
His first match took place on January 5, 2008, in the third round of the FA Cup against "West Ham United." However, in the replay on January 16, he got injured and had to leave the field in the 32nd minute of the match.
Throughout the season, he only appeared on the field nine times. During this time, he failed to score any goals in England.
With the arrival of Brazilian player Jo, the return to form of Valeri Bojinov, and the presence of many forwards, Castillo's chances of securing a place in the starting lineup significantly decreased.
In August 2008, the likelihood of Castillo leaving "Manchester City" increased. On August 12, his agent Juan Carlos Padilla admitted that they had already received offers from "Real Betis." On August 14, Sven-Göran Eriksson, now the head coach of the Mexican national team, decided not to call up Castillo for the World Cup qualifying matches, explaining that Castillo needed to sort out his own future first. On August 17, the Italian club "Roma" also entered the race for the Mexican player's signature, although Juan Carlos Padilla stated that "Real Betis" had a better chance since they were the first club to express their interest. On August 25, it was announced that Castillo would join "Real Betis," who had reached an agreement with "Shakhtar." However, in the end, no deal was signed, and Castillo was forced to stay in Manchester for at least the first half of the 2008-2009 season. After Mark Hughes stated that Castillo was not part of his plans, "Guadalajara" made another attempt to sign Castillo to strengthen their team for the upcoming South American Cup.
Castillo almost signed a contract, but "Shakhtar" intervened again, stating that they had no intention of letting go of their player.
On January 7, 2009, Castillo returned to Ukraine. While playing for the Mexican national team against the United States, he sustained a hamstring injury and was sidelined for approximately three to four weeks. On July 30, 2009, a one-year loan deal for Neri Castillo to Dnipro was officially completed, with an option to buy. He will play for the team with the number 99. Castillo had the right to play for four different countries: Uruguay because his father was from there, Italy due to his relatives on his mother's side, Greece because he spent more than six years there, and Mexico, where he was born.
He gained his first international experience after being called up to the Uruguayan U-17 national team. However, he was not given the opportunity to play. Later, the Greek national team coach Otto Rehhagel tried to attract Castillo to the Greek national team, but Castillo ultimately chose to represent his native Mexico. Castillo made his debut for the national team on June 2, 2007, against Iran. The game took place in his hometown and ended with Mexico's 4-0 victory. He played in the Gold Cup CONCACAF 2007, where he scored his first goal for the national team against Cuba.
Castillo was included in the Mexican national team squad for the Copa America. An injury to Jared Borgetti ensured Castillo a place in the starting lineup, and he proved that he was chosen for a reason. He excelled in the matches against Brazil and Ecuador. As a result, he finished as the tournament's third top scorer, behind Juan Roman Riquelme and Robinho. He is a four-time Greek champion (2000/01, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07), winner of the Greek Cup twice (2005, 2006), and winner of the UEFA Cup (2008/2009).