Nico González (footballer, born 2002)

For other uses, see Nicolás González.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is González and the second or maternal family name is Iglesias.
Nico González
González playing for Barcelona in 2021
Personal information
Full name Nicolás González Iglesias[1]
Date of birth (2002-01-03) 3 January 2002[2]
Place of birth A Coruña, Spain[3]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Manchester City
Number 14
Youth career
2009–2013 Montañeros
2013–2020 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2022 Barcelona B 26 (0)
2021–2023 Barcelona 27 (2)
2022–2023 → Valencia (loan) 26 (1)
2023–2025 Porto 42 (7)
2025– Manchester City 27 (2)
International career
2018–2019 Spain U17 8 (0)
2021–2024 Spain U21 11 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 December 2025 (UTC)

Nicolás González Iglesias (born 3 January 2002), sometimes known mononymously as Nico, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City.

Club career

Barcelona

González was born in A Coruña, Galicia, and started his career with local side Montañeros at the age of seven. In December 2012, he agreed to a move to Barcelona, effective as of the following July.[4]

On 19 May 2019, aged just 17, González made his senior debut for the reserves, coming on as a late substitute for Kike Saverio in a 2–1 Segunda División B away loss against Castellón.[5] In the 2020–21 season, he was initially a member of the Juvenil A before starting to feature regularly for the reserve team from November 2020 onwards.

On 12 May 2021, González renewed his contract until 2024, with a €500 million buyout clause.[6] After featuring in the main squad during the pre-season, he made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 15 August, replacing Sergio Busquets in the opening game of the 2021–22 La Liga season, a 4–2 victory against Real Sociedad.[7][8]

González scored his first professional goal on 12 December 2021, netting the opener in a 2–2 away draw against Osasuna.[9]

Loan to Valencia

On 13 August 2022, González renewed his contract until 2026 and signed with Valencia on a season-long loan.[10]

Porto

On 29 July 2023, González signed a five-year contract with Primeira Liga club Porto, for a reported fee of €8.5 million, with Barcelona having a buy-back clause.[11][12]

González made his debut for the Portuguese side on 14 August, coming off the bench to replace Romário Baró in the 70th minute of a 2–1 win away at Moreirense in the Primeira Liga.[13] One week later, he made his first start for Porto in a 2–1 home victory against Farense.[14]

Manchester City

On 3 February 2025, in the final hour of the winter transfer window, Premier League club Manchester City announced the signing of Nico on a four-and-a-half-year deal for a reported fee of £50 million.[15][16]

On 8 February 2025, González debuted a 2–1 away victory against League One club Leyton Orient in the fourth round of the FA Cup, before coming off as a substitute with an injury 22 minutes into the first half.[17] On 19 February, he scored his first goal for the club and in the UEFA Champions League, getting on the scoresheet in a 3–1 loss against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, as City got knocked out of the tournament.[18] Three months later, on 20 May, González scored his first Premier League goal in a 3–1 victory against Bournemouth.[19]

On 9 November 2025, Nico scored his first goal of the 2025–26 season, which was the second goal against Liverpool, his second ever Premier League goal and third in total of his Manchester City career during their 3–0 win at home. [20]

Personal life

He is the son of former Spanish footballer and Deportivo La Coruña legend Fran González and the nephew of José Ramón.[21]

Career statistics

As of match played 20 December 2025[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona B 2018–19 Segunda División B 1 0 — — — — 1 0
2019–20 Segunda División B 0 0 — — — 0 0 0 0
2020–21 Segunda División B 23 0 — — — 1[c] 0 24 0
2021–22 Primera División RFEF 2 0 — — — 0 0 2 0
Total 26 0 — — — 1 0 27 0
Barcelona 2021–22 La Liga 27 2 2 0 — 7[d] 0 1[e] 0 37 2
Valencia (loan) 2022–23 La Liga 26 1 0 0 — — 0 0 26 1
Porto 2023–24 Primeira Liga 25 2 7 0 1 0 6[f] 0 0 0 39 2
2024–25 Primeira Liga 17 5 2 0 2 0 7[g] 1 1[h] 1 29 7
Total 42 7 9 0 3 0 13 1 1 1 68 9
Manchester City 2024–25 Premier League 11 1 4 0 — 1[f] 1 1[i] 0 17 2
2025–26 Premier League 16 1 0 0 3 0 6[f] 0 — 25 1
Total 27 2 4 0 3 0 7 1 1 0 42 3
Career total 148 12 15 0 6 0 27 2 4 1 200 15
  1. ^ Includes Copa del Rey, Taça de Portugal, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Taça da Liga, EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearance in Segunda División B play-offs
  4. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearance in Supercopa de España
  6. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  7. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  8. ^ Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  9. ^ Appearance in FIFA Club World Cup

Honours

Porto

Manchester City

Individual

References

  1. ^ "2024/25 Updated Premier League squad lists". Premier Leagues. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Nico González". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  3. ^ Nico González at WorldFootball.net
  4. ^ "Nicolás, rumbo a La Masía" [Nicolás, towards La Masía]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 11 December 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Nico, el hijo de Fran, debuta con el Barça B" [Nico, the son of Fran, debuts with Barça B]. Sport (in Spanish). Grupo Zeta. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Nico González renews through to 2024". FC Barcelona. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Braithwaite 9/10, De Jong and Depay 8/10 as Barcelona win to begin post-Messi era". ESPN. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Nico and Gavi, latest Masía debutants". FC Barcelona. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Nico and Ez Abde score first goals for FC Barcelona". FC Barcelona. 12 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Nico renews contract to 2026, loaned to Valencia". FC Barcelona. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Nico González é Dragão até 2028". FC Porto (in Portuguese). 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Agreement for the transfer of Nico to Porto". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Moreirense ainda assustou, mas o FC Porto deu a volta em sete minutos" [Moreirense still scared, but FC Porto turned it around in seven minutes]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Global Media Group. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  14. ^ "Marcano, goleador dos últimos minutos. FC Porto vence Farense na compensação" [Marcano, last-minute goalscorer. FC Porto beats Farense in extra-time]. TSF (in Portuguese). 20 August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Gonzalez becomes City's fourth winter signing". Manchester City F.C. 3 February 2025. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  16. ^ Jackson, Bobbie (3 February 2025). "Gonzalez takes Man City's spend to £180m – how they dominated window". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  17. ^ Stone, Simon. "FA Cup fourth round: Man City come from behind to beat Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  18. ^ McNulty, Phil (19 February 2025). "Real Madrid 3–1 Manchester City (Agg 6–3): Kylian Mbappé's stunning hat-trick dumps City out". BBC Sport. BBC. Archived from the original on 19 February 2025. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
  19. ^ Brown, Paul (20 May 2025). "Perfect Etihad ending for De Bruyne after vital Bournemouth victory". Manchester City F.C.
  20. ^ "Man City 3-0 Liverpool: Jeremy Doku steals the show in Pep Guardiola's 1,000th game as City go second". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  21. ^ "El Barça atará al hijo de Fran" [Barça will tie the son of Fran down]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 15 April 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  22. ^ Nico González at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
  23. ^ "Taça de Portugal. Sérgio Conceição é o terceiro treinador a vencer quatro finais" [Portugal Cup. Sérgio Conceição is the third manager to win four finals] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  24. ^ "Porto pull off stunning comeback to beat Sporting in seven-goal Super Taça thriller". PortuGOAL. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Crystal Palace 1–0 Manchester City: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 17 May 2025. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
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