José Callejón

Footballer

Birthday February 11, 1987

Birth Sign Aquarius

Birthplace Motril, Spain

Age 37 years old

Nationality Spain

Height 1.78 m

#39446 Most Popular

1909

Callejón scored in his Serie A debut on 25 August, netting the opener in a 3–0 home win over Bologna F.C. 1909, and went on to find the net a further seven times in his first 20 official appearances.

On 22 October, he scored his first goal in Europe for his new team, grabbing his team's first in a 2–1 victory at Olympique de Marseille in the Champions League group stage.

1987

José María Callejón Bueno (born 11 February 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for La Liga club Granada.

He began his career with the reserve teams of Real Madrid, but made a name for himself at Espanyol.

2007

He made his professional debut for the reserves in May 2007, and played five games in that season's Segunda División without scoring a goal.

In the 2007–08 campaign, Callejón appeared in 37 matches and netted 21 times, finishing as team top scorer but in the Segunda División B.

At the end of the season, Callejón left Real Madrid (with twin brother Juanmi) and signed a four-year contract with RCD Espanyol.

2008

He made his La Liga debut on 20 September 2008, as a late substitute in a 1–1 home draw against Getafe CF.

2009

On 15 March 2009, as Espanyol struggled immensely in the league – eventually ranking in tenth position – Callejón scored his first goal for the Catalans in a 3–3 home draw to RCD Mallorca.

He continued to be an undisputed starter under Mauricio Pochettino the following campaigns, operating mainly as a winger.

2011

In 2011 he returned to his previous club and, two years later, left for Napoli, where he won two Coppa Italia tournaments and the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana while appearing in 349 competitive matches (82 goals scored).

On 15 January 2011, Callejón scored twice to help to a 2–1 away defeat of Sevilla FC.

He only missed one league game and netted six times for the Pericos, who finished comfortably in mid-table.

On 23 May 2011, Callejón re-joined Real Madrid on a five-year deal effective as of 1 July, for a reported fee of €5.5 million.

On 2 October 2011, Callejón netted his first official goal for Real Madrid after coming on midway through the second half of an away fixture against former club Espanyol; he scored from a Cristiano Ronaldo assist in an eventual 4–0 win but did not celebrate the goal, instead raising his arms in the air in a mark of respect for his former employer.

Profiting from the fact that his team had already qualified from the UEFA Champions League group stage as leaders, Callejón was handed a rare start by manager José Mourinho on 22 November 2011, and responded by scoring a brace in a 6–2 home rout of NK Dinamo Zagreb.

He added another two in the last round, at AFC Ajax (3–0).

As a starter, Callejón continued with his impressive scoring form: he scored once in a 6–2 away win over Sevilla on 17 December 2011, and in the tie against SD Ponferradina for the season's Copa del Rey he netted three of his team's seven aggregate goals, one away and two at home.

2012

On 14 January 2012, Callejón scored the winner in a 2–1 defeat of Mallorca, helping the visitors come from behind with his 84th-minute long-range strike.

He added another the following matchday, closing the score in a 4–1 home victory against Athletic Bilbao.

2013

On 9 July 2013, Italian club SSC Napoli announced that they had reached an agreement for the transfer of Callejón for €10 million.

The four-year deal was confirmed two days later.

2014

An under-21 international, Callejón made his senior debut for Spain in 2014.

A product of Real Madrid youth ranks, Callejón was born in Motril, Granada, Andalusia.

On 3 May 2014, Callejón set up Dries Mertens for the third goal in a 3–1 win against ACF Fiorentina in the final of the Coppa Italia.

Callejón netted his first goal of 2014–15 on the opening day of the campaign, the opener in a 2–1 win over Genoa CFC.

His second came on 24 September, as he scored at the stroke of half-time to put his side up 3–2 against U.S. Città di Palermo in an eventual 3–3 home draw.

On 19 October, he scored twice in a 2–2 draw at Inter Milan, with all four of the game's goals coming in the last 11 minutes.

In the Derby del Sole match against A.S. Roma on 2 November 2014, Callejón hit the post and had a shot saved off the line before eventually finding the net late on in the 2–0 victory.

The strike took his league goal tally to eight on the season, two more than his closest competitors, and he was included in the Serie A Team of the Week lineup.

2015

On 17 September 2015, Callejón scored twice in Napoli's first game of the UEFA Europa League group stage, a 5–0 home rout of Club Brugge KV.

For the same competition, away to FC Midtjylland on 22 October, he volleyed a long pass from Kalidou Koulibaly to open a 4–1 victory; UEFA dubbed the latter effort an "early contender for goal of the group stage".

2016

On 16 July, he played his first match for them in a 4–1 friendly victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy, scoring the first goal of the game in the 30th minute.

2017

Callejón marked his 200th appearance for the Azzurri with his 57th goal on 9 April 2017, in a 3–0 league win against S.S. Lazio.

2018

He scored once in the final game of the season, a 5–1 home rout of Hellas Verona F.C. on 18 May; his strike after five minutes was Napoli's 100th goal in all competitions that season, and his 20th overall.

2019

His 300th came on 28 April 2019, in the 2–0 away victory over Frosinone Calcio.

2020

In August 2020, the 33-year-old Callejón left the Stadio San Paolo after his contract expired.

On 5 October 2020, Callejón agreed to a deal with Fiorentina.

He scored twice in competitive matches during his spell, once in the league against U.C. Sampdoria (3–1 home win) and once in the domestic cup to help beat Calcio Padova 2–1 also at home.

Callejón returned to Spain on 25 July 2022 after nine years away, signing a one-year contract with Granada CF with the option of an extension based on sporting performance.