Rafa Mir

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mir and the second or maternal family name is Vicente.
Rafa Mir
Personal information
Full name Rafael Mir Vicente[1]
Date of birth (1997-06-18) 18 June 1997 (age 24)
Place of birth Cartagena, Spain
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Sevilla
Number 12
Youth career
2004–2006 Javalí Nuevo
2006–2007 ElPozo Murcia
2007–2009 Ranero
2009–2011 Barcelona
2011–2012 Murcia
2012–2015 Valencia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Valencia B 60 (25)
2015–2018 Valencia 2 (0)
2018–2021 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 (0)
2018–2019 → Las Palmas (loan) 30 (7)
2019–2020 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 11 (0)
2020–2021 → Huesca (loan) 56 (22)
2021– Sevilla 26 (8)
National team‡
2018–2019 Spain U21 10 (5)
2021 Spain U23 7 (3)
Honours
Men's football
Representing  Spain
UEFA Euro U-21
Gold medal – first place 2019 Italy Team
Representing  Spain
Summer Olympics
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Team
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:53, 13 March 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:01, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

Rafael Mir Vicente (born 18 June 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Sevilla.

He has played in La Liga for Valencia, Huesca and Sevilla, as well as in the Segunda División for Las Palmas and Huesca. Abroad, he had spells in England with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest.

Mir won the 2019 European Championship with the Spain national under-21 football team, and a silver medal with the Olympic team at the 2020 tournament.

Club career[]

Early career[]

Born in Murcia, Mir began his career playing futsal with CD Javalí Nuevo. After a 120-goal spell at ElPozo Murcia FS he began playing full football with Ranero CF, scoring 57 and 84 goals in his respective seasons before joining FC Barcelona.[2]

Valencia[]

Mir's 32 goals at La Masia earned him a return to his native region and Real Murcia, where a 45-goal haul led to the attention of Valencia CF.[2] He made his senior debut for the reserves on 1 March 2015, as an 88th-minute substitute for Wilfried Zahibo in a 2–1 Segunda División B loss at CE L'Hospitalet.

Mir scored his first senior goal on 7 March 2015, netting the last in a 2–0 win over CF Badalona at the Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna.[3] He finished the campaign with four appearances, as his side narrowly avoided relegation.

The following season, Mir excelled in the UEFA Youth League, scoring consecutive braces in victories over Gent.[4][5] On 14 November 2015, he was given his first start for the B-side, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–2 loss at another reserve team, Villarreal CF B.[6]

On 24 November 2015, Mir was called up to the main squad by manager Nuno Espírito Santo for a La Liga game against UD Las Palmas;[7] he was an unused substitute in the 1–1 draw at the Mestalla Stadium.[8] He made his professional debut on 25 November, starting in a UEFA Champions League group stage match away to Zenit Saint Petersburg,[9] being substituted for Santi Mina in the 56th minute of an eventual 2–0 defeat.[10]

Mir made his top-flight debut against Las Palmas on 28 August 2016, replacing Enzo Pérez for the final four minutes of a 4–2 home loss.[11] He began the first half of the 2017–18 season for Valencia B in good form, scoring 15 goals in 19 games, attracting interest from Real Madrid and Wolverhampton Wanderers.[12]

Wolverhampton Wanderers[]

On 3 January 2018, Mir joined Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with the club and taking the number 9 shirt. He linked up with former Valencia boss Nuno Espírito Santo, who gave him his first team debut at the club.[13] He made his debut three days later in the FA Cup third round at home to Swansea City, playing the last 13 minutes of a goalless draw in place of Léo Bonatini.[14]

On 23 July 2018, Mir joined Segunda División side UD Las Palmas on loan for one season.[15] A year later, he returned to the Championship, on loan to Nottingham Forest.[16] After struggling for both minutes and goals with Forest, Mir and Forest agreed for him to return to his parent club on 14 January 2020.[17]

Immediately following his departure from Nottingham, Mir was loaned to Segunda División side SD Huesca for 18 months.[18] He was sent off on 8 February 2020 in a 1–0 loss at Girona FC for elbowing Álex Granell and banned for one match.[19] On 17 July, he scored twice in a 3–0 home win over CD Numancia to win promotion to the top flight with a game remaining.[20]

On 15 December 2020, Mir scored a hat-trick in a 3–2 extra-time win over CD Marchamalo in the first round of the Copa del Rey.[21] The following 29 January, he netted another treble in a 3–1 victory at Real Valladolid.[22] He ended the league season with 13 goals, joint eighth-best.[23]

Sevilla[]

On 20 August 2021, Mir signed a six-year contract with Sevilla.[24]

International career[]

On 29 June 2021, Mir was named in the 22-man squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics by manager Luis de la Fuente.[25] On 31 July, he scored an injury-time equaliser against the Ivory Coast to take their quarter-final to extra-time, in which he added two further goals to complete a hat-trick as Spain won 5–2 .[26]

Personal life[]

Mir, who idolised German forward Mario Gómez, is the son of former defender Magín Mir, whose clubs included RCD Mallorca and Murcia.[2]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of match played 17 March 2022[27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Valencia B 2014–15 Segunda División B 4 1 — — — 4 1
2015–16 Segunda División B 2 0 — — — 2 0
2016–17 Segunda División B 35 9 — — — 35 9
2017–18 Segunda División B 19 15 — — — 19 15
Total 60 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 60 25
Valencia 2015–16 La Liga 0 0 1 0 — — 1 0
2016–17 La Liga 2 0 3 0 — — 5 0
Total 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2017–18 Championship 2 0 2 0 — — 4 0
2018–19 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Las Palmas (loan) 2018–19 Segunda División 30 7 0 0 — — 30 7
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2019–20 Championship 11 0 0 0 2 0 — 13 0
Huesca (loan) 2019–20 Segunda División 18 9 0 0 — — 18 9
2020–21 La Liga 38 13 1 3 — — 39 16
Total 56 22 1 3 0 0 0 0 57 25
Sevilla 2021–22 La Liga 26 8 4 2 — 9 1 39 11
Career total 187 62 11 5 2 0 9 1 209 68

Honours[]

Huesca

Spain U21

Spain U23

References[]

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Nottingham Forest" (PDF). English Football League. p. 49. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Rafa Mir, el ´gigante´ de los mil goles del Valencia CF" [Rafa Mir, Valencia CF's 1000-goal 'giant'] (in Spanish). Superdeporte. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. ^ "El Mestalla sufre pero se impone" [Mestalla suffer but impose themselves] (in Spanish). Levante EMV. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Perfect Arsenal forge on in Youth League". UEFA. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Holders Chelsea assured of top-two finish". UEFA. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  6. ^ "El Valencia Mestalla naufraga ante el Villarreal B" [Valencia Mestalla sink against Villarreal B] (in Spanish). Super Deporte. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  7. ^ Gimeno, Manu (20 November 2015). "Nuno se lleva a Rafa Mir y recupera a pesos pesados" [Nuno brings in Rafa Mir and regains heavyweights] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Viera gets the point for Las Palmas as Valencia are left frustrated". ESPN. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  9. ^ Rocha Rodrigues, Luís; Sousa, Vasco (24 November 2015). "Para sacudir a crise, Nuno estreia Rafa Mir, de 18 anos" [To end the crisis, Nuno chooses, Rafa Mir, 18] (in Portuguese). ZeroZero. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Zenit stay perfect at Valencia's expense". UEFA. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  11. ^ "El Las Palmas desnuda al Valencia" [Las Palmas expose Valencia] (in Spanish). El Periódico. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Wolves close to signing Rafa Mir from Valencia". Sky Sports. 3 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Welcome Rafa". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 3 January 2018.
  14. ^ Dicken, Alex (10 January 2018). "Rafa Mir scouting report: How the Wolves new boy's brief but eventful debut unfolded". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Mir Departs Molineux On Loan". Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Rafa Mir: Nottingham Forest sign Wolves striker on season-long loan". BBC. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  17. ^ Clapson, Sarah (14 January 2020). "Breaking: Flop leaves Nottingham Forest as loan spell is terminated". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  18. ^ Puyuelo, Jorge (24 August 2020). "Rafa Mir será el '9' del Huesca" [Rafa Mir will be Huesca's '9']. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  19. ^ Ralla, Emilio (12 February 2020). "La sanción a Rafa Mir se queda en un partido" [Rafa Mir's punishment stays at one match]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  20. ^ Delgado, José Domingo (17 July 2020). "Rafa Mir lleva a la SD Huesca a Primera y hunde al Numancia" [Rafa Mir takes SD Huesca to Primera and sinks Numancia] (in Spanish). Be Soccer. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  21. ^ Añover Ortiz, Antonio (15 December 2020). "CD Marchamalo 2-3 SD Huesca: Rafa Mir evita la sorpresa del Marchamalo" [CD Marchamalo 2-3 SD Huesca: Rafa Mir avoids Marchamalo surprise] (in Spanish). Grada 3. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  22. ^ "Rafa Mir Shines With Hat Trick To Give Huesca Win Over Valladolid". beIN Sports. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Por quinto año, Messi se corona como el goleador liguero" [For fifth year, Messi is crowned league top scorer]. El Nuevo Siglo (in Spanish). 28 May 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Rafa Mir, nuevo refuerzo para la parcela ofensiva del Sevilla FC" [Rafa Mir, new addition for the offensive parcel of Sevilla FC] (in Spanish). Sevilla FC. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Spain Names Six From Euro Squad to Olympic Roster". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  26. ^ "Rafa Mir scores hat-trick as Spain overpower Ivory Coast in extra time to reach semi-finals". Sky Sports. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  27. ^ "Rafa Mir". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 January 2018.

External links[]

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