Jaime Mata

Jaime Mata Arnaiz (born 24 October 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker or a winger for La Liga club Las Palmas.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mata and the second or maternal family name is Arnaiz.

Jaime Mata

Mata with Girona in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Jaime Mata Arnaiz[1]
Date of birth	(1988-10-24) 24 October 1988 (age 35)[1]
Place of birth	Madrid, Spain
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s)	Striker, winger
Team information
Current team	Las Palmas
Number	17
Youth career
1998–2000	Tres Cantos
2000–2007	Galáctico Pegaso
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2008	Pegaso B
2008–2010	Galáctico Pegaso	42	(17)
2010–2012	Rayo Vallecano B	37	(9)
2010	→ Socuéllamos (loan)	20	(9)
2010–2011	→ Móstoles (loan)	37	(25)
2012–2014	Lleida Esportiu	70	(29)
2014–2016	Girona	76	(19)
2016–2018	Valladolid	67	(38)
2018–2024	Getafe	176	(37)
2024–	Las Palmas	6	(0)
International career
2019	Spain	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:14, 21 September 2024 (UTC)

Club career

Early years

Born in Madrid, Mata finished his youth career with local Galáctico Pegaso, making his senior debut with the reserves in 2007. After appearing with the main squad in Tercera División, he moved to neighbouring Rayo Vallecano in December 2009, being immediately loaned to UD Socuéllamos in the same level.^[2][3]

Mata was subsequently loaned to CD Móstoles of the same league in August 2010, in a season-long deal.^[4] He returned to Rayo in summer 2011, being assigned to the B team in the Segunda División B.^[3]

On 5 July 2012, Mata signed for Lleida Esportiu also in the third division.^[5]

Girona

After scoring 32 goals over two seasons, Mata moved to Segunda División after agreeing to a two-year deal with Girona FC on 18 June 2014.^[6] He played his first match as a professional on 24 August 2014, starting in a 1–0 home win against Racing de Santander.^[7] He scored his first goal six days later, the winner in a 2–1 away victory over AD Alcorcón.^[8]

On 11 June 2015, in the first leg of the promotion playoffs' semi-finals, Mata scored a brace in a 3–0 away defeat of Real Zaragoza.^[9] On 30 June 2016, after again being knocked out in the playoffs, he signed a two-year contract with Real Valladolid also of the second tier.^[10]

Mata scored a career-best 36 goals in his second season at the Estadio José Zorrilla, notably netting a hat-trick in a 5–1 away rout of Lorca FC on 19 May 2018.^[11][12][13]

Getafe

On 2 July 2018, Mata signed a three-year contract with La Liga club Getafe CF as a free agent,^[14] making his debut in the competition on 24 August at the age of 29 years and ten months in a 2–0 home win against SD Eibar where he played 79 minutes.^[15] He scored his first top-flight goal on 1 October 2018, the equaliser in a 1–1 away draw with RC Celta de Vigo.^[16]

In the following year, Mata scored braces against Deportivo Alavés, Celta and SD Huesca, being also named the competition's best player for the month of February.^[17] On 17 October 2020, he scored a penalty in a 1–0 victory over FC Barcelona, the club's first against that opponent since 2011.^[18] He totalled 14 league goals in his first season^[19] and 11 in the second,^[20] but featured more often than not as a winger in his later years; after manager José Bordalás' departure in May 2021 and until his return in April 2023, he struggled to get playing time.^[21]

Later career

On 27 June 2024, the 35-year-old Mata signed a one-year contract with UD Las Palmas also in the top tier.^[22]

International career

On 15 March 2019, Mata was called up by Spain national team manager Luis Enrique for two UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Norway and Malta.^[23] He won his first cap against the former, after coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for Álvaro Morata in the 2–1 win in Valencia.^[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 May 2024^[25][26]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Copa del Rey		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rayo Vallecano B	2011–12	Segunda División B	37	9	—		—		—		37	9
Lleida Esportiu	2012–13	Segunda División B	34	14	0	0	—		4[lower-alpha 1]	3	38	17
	2013–14	Segunda División B	36	15	4	2	—		4[lower-alpha 1]	0	44	17
	Total		70	29	4	2	—		8	3	82	31
Girona	2014–15	Segunda División	38	10	1	0	—		2[lower-alpha 1]	2	41	12
	2015–16	Segunda División	38	9	0	0	—		3[lower-alpha 1]	0	41	9
	Total		76	19	1	0	—		5	2	82	21
Valladolid	2016–17	Segunda División	28	5	3	1	—		—		31	6
	2017–18	Segunda División	39	33	2	0	—		4[lower-alpha 1]	2	45	35
	Total		67	38	5	1	—		4	2	76	41
Getafe	2018–19	La Liga	34	14	4	2	—		—		38	16
	2019–20	La Liga	34	11	0	0	7[lower-alpha 2]	3	—		41	14
	2020–21	La Liga	33	5	2	0	—		—		35	5
	2021–22	La Liga	22	1	2	3	—		—		24	4
	2022–23	La Liga	18	1	2	0	—		—		20	1
	2023–24	La Liga	35	5	3	1	—		—		38	6
	Total		176	37	13	6	7	3	—		196	46
Career total			426	132	23	9	7	3	17	7	473	151

1. Appearances in promotion playoffs
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[27]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Spain	2019	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

Individual

• Segunda División top scorer: 2017–18^[28]
• Segunda División Player of the Month: September 2017^[29]

References

1. "Mata" (in Spanish). Getafe CF. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
2. "El Socuéllamos contrata a Lui" [Socuéllamos sign Lui]. ABC (in Spanish). 2 December 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
3. Martínez, Antonio (16 March 2019). "El 'Socu' tiene su trocito en la Selección española gracias a Jaime Mata" ['Socu' are part of the Spain national team thanks to Jaime Mata] (in Spanish). Lanza Digital. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
4. "El C.D. Móstoles continúa su puesta a punto sobre los campos "Iker Casillas"" [C.D. Móstoles continue with preparations in "Iker Casillas" camps] (in Spanish). Móstoles. 16 August 2010. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
5. "El Lleida Esportiu incorpora al davanter centre Jaime Mata" [Lleida Esportiu add centre forward Jaime Mata] (in Catalan). Lleida Esportiu. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
6. Danés, Jordi (18 June 2014). "El delantero Jaime Mata ya es el primer fichaje del Girona" [Forward Jaime Mata is already Girona's first signing]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 April 2015.
7. "Un gol de Felipe Sanchón le basta al Girona" [A goal from Felipe Sanchón is enough for Girona]. Marca (in Spanish). 25 August 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
8. "El Girona remonta el partido en diez minutos" [Girona complete comeback in ten minutes]. Marca (in Spanish). 30 August 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
9. Ballesteros, Cristian (11 June 2015). "El Girona Mata en La Romareda" [Girona Kill ("Mata" in English) at La Romareda]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 June 2015.
10. "Mata, primer delantero para el nuevo Pucela" [Mata, first forward for the new Pucela] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
11. Pérez Baraja, Jesús (3 April 2018). "Mata, con cifras de hace 30 años" [Mata, with numbers from 30 years ago]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 June 2018.
12. "Jaime Mata se reafirma en el liderato con un triplete" [Jaime Mata consolidates first place with a triple]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 20 May 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
13. "Mata alarga su cuenta y sentencia la presencia del Valladolid en promoción" [Mata extends his tally and confirms Valladolid's presence in promotion] (in Spanish). Eurosport. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
14. "Mata es azulón" [Mata is blue] (in Spanish). Getafe CF. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
15. Rincón, Jaime (24 August 2018). "Getafe ease to victory over an Eibar side without bite". Marca. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
16. Rodríguez, Ángel (1 October 2018). "Jaime ya 'mata' en Primera" [Jaime already 'kills it' (pun on his surname) in Primera]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 March 2019.
17. "Jaime Mata, LaLiga Santander Player of the Month for February". La Liga. 7 March 2019. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
18. Allen, William (17 October 2020). "Getafe 1–0 Barcelona: Mata scores from spot as Barça beaten". Diario AS. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
19. "Jaime Mata vuelve a 'morder' y a sonreir" [Jaime Mata 'bites' and smiles again]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 24 March 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
20. "10 – Getafe are one of the three LaLiga teams to see two of their players scoring 10 goals this season (Ángel Rodríguez and Jaime Mata, 10 each) alongside Alavés (Lucas Pérez, 11, and Joselu, 10) and Barcelona (Leo Messi, 21, and Luis Suárez, 13). Top". Twitter. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
21. María, Iñaki (4 June 2023). "Jaime Mata a la imagen y semejanza de Pepe Bordalás" [Jaime Mata just like Pepe Bordalás] (in Spanish). Legal Sport. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
22. "Jaime Mata, new player for UD Las Palmas". UD Las Palmas. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
23. "OFFICIAL | Call-up for the first two EURO Qualifier matches". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 15 March 2019. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
24. "Spain edges Norway 2–1 in first Euro 2020 qualifier". Associated Press. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
25. Jaime Mata at BDFutbol
26. Jaime Mata at Soccerway
27. "Jaime Mata". European Football. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
28. Pacheco, Isabel (3 May 2024). "Jaime Mata, el delantero al que le curtieron los 'noes' y que ya es historia del Getafe: "En el Rayo se le dio la espalda"" [Jaime Mata, the forward 'no' helped to grow who is already history at Getafe: "Rayo turned their backs on him"] (in Spanish). Relevo. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
29. "Jaime Mata, el mejor del mes de septiembre" [Jaime Mata, best in month of September] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2024.

External links

• Jaime Mata at BDFutbol
• Jaime Mata at National-Football-Teams.com