Mariano Díaz

Mariano Díaz Mejía was born on August 1, 1993, in Premià de Mar, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. His youth football career began at RCD Espanyol, followed by stints at CE Premià and Fundació Sánchez Llibre. In 2009, he joined CF Badalona, where he made his senior debut on August 21, 2011, in a Segunda División B match against CD Teruel. He scored his first senior goal in the Copa del Rey against RB Linense in the same year. Shortly after, Mariano signed with Real Madrid, joining their youth system.

Mariano was promoted to Real Madrid’s C-team in August 2012, playing in the third tier. He became a regular in his second season, scoring 15 goals in 26 matches during the 2013–14 Segunda División B season. He made his professional debut with Real Madrid Castilla, the club’s reserve team, in January 2014. In the 2014–15 season, he scored five goals in ten appearances for Castilla. The 2015–16 season marked a significant achievement, as he became the Segunda División B top scorer with 25 goals, helping Castilla secure the group title. His performance led to his promotion to Real Madrid’s first team.

In August 2016, Mariano was definitively promoted to Real Madrid’s senior squad. He made his senior debut later that month and scored his first goal for the club in October 2016 during a Copa del Rey match against Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, where he later scored a hat-trick. He contributed to Real Madrid’s success, winning La Liga, the UEFA Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup in the 2016–17 season. Following a productive period with Olympique Lyonnais in France, where he scored 18 goals in the 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, Mariano returned to Real Madrid in August 2018. He continued his career by joining Sevilla FC in 2023 and then Deportivo Alavés in 2025.