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 name Manuel Morlanes Ariño
Date of birth (1999-01-12) 12 January 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Zaragoza, Spain
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
Mallorca
Number 8
Youth career
Zaragoza
2012–2015 Villarreal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Villarreal C 41 (2)
2016–2019 Villarreal B 38 (2)
2017–2023 Villarreal 23 (0)
2020–2021Almería (loan) 36 (1)
2021–2022Espanyol (loan) 27 (2)
2023Mallorca (loan) 12 (1)
2023– Mallorca 4 (0)
International career
2015 Spain U16 4 (1)
2014–2016 Spain U17 25 (3)
2016–2018 Spain U19 9 (0)
2019 Spain U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 September 2023

Club career edit

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 edit

As of 11 August 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Villarreal C 2015–16[14] Tercera División 28 0 28 0
2016–17[14] Tercera División 13 2 13 2
Total 41 2 41 2
Villarreal B 2016–17[14] Segunda División B 3 0 3 0
2017–18[14] Segunda División B 27 1 6[a] 0 33 1
2018–19[14] Segunda División B 8 1 2[a] 0 10 1
Total 38 2 8 0 46 2
Villarreal 2017–18[15] La Liga 0 0 0 0 1[b] 0 1 0
2018–19[15] La Liga 10 0 1 0 5[b] 1 16 1
2019–20[15] La Liga 9 0 4 0 0 0 13 0
2021–22[15] La Liga 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[c] 0 1 0
Total 19 0 5 0 6 1 1 0 31 1
Almería (loan) 2020–21[15] Segunda División 36 1 1 0 2[d] 0 39 1
Career total 134 5 6 0 6 1 11 0 157 6
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Segunda División B promotion play-offs
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  4. ^ Appearance(s) in La Liga play-offs

Honours edit

Spain U17

References edit

  1. ^ "A bordo del 'Submarino'" ['On board the 'Submarine'] (in Spanish). El Periódico. 3 December 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Manu Morlanes, la alternativa a Guerra en el Villarreal B" [Manu Morlanes, the alternative to Guerra in Villarreal B] (in Spanish). Levante EMV. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  3. ^ "FC Barcelona B v Villarreal B: Late goal earns third straight win (3-2)". FC Barcelona. 3 September 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  4. ^ "Grave lesión de rodilla de Manu Morlanes" [Serious knee injury from Manu Morlanes] (in Spanish). Levante-EMV. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Manu Morlanes está de vuelta en el Villarreal B" [Manu Morlanes is back in Villarreal B] (in Spanish). Golsmedia. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Un zaragozano debuta con el Villarreal CF en la Europa League" [A Zaragozan debuts with Villarreal CF in the Europa League] (in Spanish). Espiritu Deportivo. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Ata a las perlas de la cantera" [Tie up the pearls of the youth setup] (in Spanish). Marca. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Villarreal: Morlanes se gana ficha con el primer equipo" [Villarreal: Morlanes earn a first team place] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 23 June 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Morlanes jugará cedido en la UD Almería" [Morlanes will play on loan at UD Almería] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Almería and Villarreal reach agreement on Morlanes' transfer". UD Almería. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Manu Morlanes, loaned to RCD Espanyol". Villarreal CF. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Manu Morlanes, loaned to RCD Mallorca". Villarreal CF. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  13. ^ "El Mallorca oficializa a Morlanes hasta junio de 2028" [Mallorca turn official Morlanes until June 2028] (in Spanish). Diario de Mallorca. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Manu Morlanes" (in Spanish). La Preferente. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Manu Morlanes". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  16. ^ "España pierde la final ante Portugal en la tanda de penaltis (1–1 /5–4)" [Spain lose final against Portugal on penalty shootout (1–1 /5–4)] (in Spanish). Eurosport. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2019.

External links edit