Martín Montoya

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

Martín Montoya Torralbo (born 14 April 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Super League Greece club Aris.

Martín Montoya

Montoya warming up with Barcelona in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Martín Montoya Torralbo[1]
Date of birth	(1991-04-14) 14 April 1991 (age 33)[2]
Place of birth	Gavà, Spain
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s)	Right-back
Team information
Current team	Aris
Number	33
Youth career
1998–1999	Gavà
1999–2009	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2012	Barcelona B	74	(0)
2011–2016	Barcelona	45	(1)
2015–2016	→ Inter Milan (loan)	3	(0)
2016	→ Betis (loan)	13	(0)
2016–2018	Valencia	54	(2)
2018–2020	Brighton & Hove Albion	52	(0)
2020–2023	Betis	17	(0)
2023–	Aris	39	(0)
International career
2008	Spain U17	8	(0)
2009	Spain U18	3	(0)
2009–2010	Spain U19	9	(0)
2010–2013	Spain U21	22	(1)
2012	Spain U23	5	(0)
2011–2019	Catalonia	6	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:00, 7 December 2024 (UTC)

He started his career with Barcelona, making his first appearance for the first team in 2011 and going on to win seven major titles as a backup. In La Liga, he also represented Betis (two spells) and Valencia, totalling 129 matches and three goals over 11 seasons. In addition, he spent two years in the Premier League with Brighton & Hove Albion.

With Spain, Montoya won two European Under-21 Championships.

Club career

Barcelona

Born in Gavà, Barcelona, Catalonia, Montoya started playing football for hometown club CF Gavà, moving to FC Barcelona's youth system, La Masia, at the age of 8. After progressing through its ranks, he was promoted to the B team in 2009.^[3]

In the 2009–10 season, Montoya contributed 23 games as the Luis Enrique-led side returned to the Segunda División after an 11-year absence.^[4] He made his debut for the main squad on 26 February 2011, coming on as a substitute for Adriano in the last five minutes of a 3–0 away win against RCD Mallorca.^[5]

Towards the end of March 2011, rumours surfaced linking Montoya with Valencia CF, who was willing to pay the €3 million buy-out clause of the player.^[6][7] On 30 April, he made his first start for Barcelona in a 2–1 La Liga loss at Real Sociedad, suffering a broken clavicle in the early minutes of the match and being sidelined for the rest of the campaign.^[8]

Montoya again spent the vast majority of 2011–12 with the reserves. His first start for the first team occurred on 12 January 2012, in a 2–1 away victory over CA Osasuna in the Copa del Rey (6–1 on aggregate).^[9] Due to injury to Dani Alves he played in the final of the domestic cup, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 defeat of Athletic Bilbao;^[10] he had previously scored his first official goal on 6 December 2011, helping the hosts beat FC BATE Borisov 4–0 in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.^[11]

Montoya scored his second goal as a professional on 1 June 2013, netting the third in a 4–1 home win against Málaga CF.^[12] He finished the season with 24 appearances in all competitions, totalling 1,678 minutes of action.^[13]

Montoya expressed his desire to leave the Camp Nou in December 2014, after the signing of another player for his position, also-Brazilian Douglas.^[14][15] He eventually stayed until the end of the campaign, which ended in treble conquest, his only major contribution being playing 80 minutes in a 3–1 victory at Paris Saint-Germain F.C. in the Champions League quarter-finals.^[16][17]

In July 2015, Montoya joined Inter Milan on a season-long loan for €1.3 million, with the option of extending the deal for another year pending appearances.^[18][19][20] The Italian club also had an obligation to buy him for €6 million, if he played 33% of all competitive matches during his tenure and each appearance amounted to at least 30 minutes.^[18][21]

On 1 February 2016, still owned by Barcelona, Montoya signed with Real Betis until 30 June.^[22]

Valencia

On 1 August 2016, Montoya signed a four-year deal with Valencia following the expiration of his contract with Barcelona.^[23] He played 29 matches^[24] and scored twice in his first season,^[25][26] with his team finally ranking in 12th place.^[27]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 9 August 2018, Montoya signed with English club Brighton & Hove Albion for €7 million, subject to international clearance.^[28] He made his debut in the Premier League ten days later, playing 90 minutes in the 3–2 home win over Manchester United.^[29][30] He added four appearances in their run in the FA Cup, including the semi-final loss to Manchester City at Wembley;^[31] he played 25 league games during the season, as the team secured their division status for the second time a row.^[32]

Return to Betis

Montoya returned to Spain and Betis on 25 August 2020, after agreeing to a four-year contract.^[33][34] His spell at the Estadio Benito Villamarín was marred by injury problems.^[35][36][37]

On 8 August 2023, Montoya left by mutual consent.^[38]

Aris

The same day he left Betis, Montoya signed for Super League Greece club Aris Thessaloniki F.C. on a two-year deal.^[39]

International career

In 2011, Montoya earned his first cap for the Spain under-21 team. He was picked by manager Luis Milla to the squad that competed in that year's UEFA European Championship, and started in all the games as the national side won the tournament in Denmark.^[40]

On 25 August 2011, Montoya was selected for the first time to the full side by coach Vicente del Bosque, for fixtures against Chile and Liechtenstein;^[41] however, he did not take the field on either match.^[42] He then played twice at the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[43]

Montoya also represented Catalonia, making his debut in 2011. On his sixth cap, on 25 March 2019, he helped them to a 2–1 friendly win over Venezuela.^[44]

Personal life

Montoya lost his mother Rosa María at the age of 17, to breast cancer. He stated that this event helped shape his career as a footballer.^[45][46]

Career statistics

As of match played 25 May 2024^[47]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Barcelona B	2008–09	Segunda División B	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2009–10	Segunda División B	22	0	—		—		1[b]	0	23	0
	2010–11	Segunda División	30	0	—		—		—		30	0
	2011–12	Segunda División	21	0	—		—		—		21	0
	Total		74	0	—		—		1	0	75	0
Barcelona	2010–11	La Liga	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2011–12	La Liga	7	0	2	0	1[c]	1	0	0	10	1
	2012–13	La Liga	15	1	5	0	3[c]	0	1[d]	0	24	1
	2013–14	La Liga	13	0	4	0	2[c]	0	0	0	19	0
	2014–15	La Liga	8	0	3	0	1[c]	0	—		12	0
	Total		45	1	14	0	7	1	1	0	67	2
Inter Milan (loan)	2015–16	Serie A	3	0	1	0	—		—		4	0
Betis (loan)	2015–16	La Liga	13	0	0	0	—		—		13	0
Valencia	2016–17	La Liga	29	2	2	0	—		—		31	2
	2017–18	La Liga	25	0	6	0	—		—		31	0
	Total		54	2	8	0	—		—		62	2
Brighton & Hove Albion	2018–19	Premier League	25	0	4	0	—		—		29	0
	2019–20	Premier League	27	0	0	0	—		—		27	0
	Total		52	0	4	0	—		—		56	0
Betis	2020–21	La Liga	5	0	3	1	—		—		8	1
	2021–22	La Liga	6	0	0	0	4[e]	0	—		10	0
	2022–23	La Liga	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
	Total		17	0	3	1	4	0	0	0	24	1
Aris	2023–24	Super League Greece	31	0	6	0	2[f]	0	—		39	0
Career total			289	3	36	1	13	1	2	0	340	5

1. Includes Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia, FA Cup
2. Appearance in Segunda División B play-offs
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Appearance in Supercopa de España
5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
6. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Barcelona B

• Segunda División B play-offs: 2010^[48]

Barcelona

• La Liga: 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15^[47]
• Copa del Rey: 2011–12, 2014–15^[47]
• Supercopa de España: 2013^[47]
• UEFA Champions League: 2014–15^[47]

Spain U19

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship runner-up: 2010^[49]

Spain U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2011, 2013^[50]

References

1. "Acta del partido celebrado el 20 de mayo de 2018, en Valencia" [Minutes of the match held on 20 May 2018, in Valencia] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
2. "Martín Montoya". Premier League. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
3. "El Barcelona, con once canteranos" [Barcelona, with eleven youth players]. ABC (in Spanish). 25 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
4. "¿Qué pasa con Martín Montoya?" [What's the matter with Martín Montoya?]. Sport (in Spanish). 4 December 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
5. "Barcelona too strong for Mallorca". ESPN Soccernet. 26 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
6. Coerts, Stefan (29 March 2011). "Valencia keen on Barcelona's Martin Montoya". Goal. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
7. San Antonio, Iván (18 April 2011). "Montoya, ¿renovación o al Valencia?" [Montoya, renewed or to Valencia?]. Sport (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 January 2018.
8. "Milito, Montoya out for six weeks". FIFA. 1 May 2011. Archived from the original on 4 May 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
9. Aldunate, Ramiro (13 January 2012). "Messi enciende las antiniebla" [Messi turns fog lamps on]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2012.
10. "Barca say goodbye in style". ESPN Soccernet. 25 May 2012. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
11. "Barcelona 4–0 BATE Borisov". Sky Sports. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
12. "Barca bring up century in style". ESPN FC. 1 June 2013. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
13. Chamorro, David (14 September 2015). "El Inter de Milán insiste en reemplazar a Martín Montoya" [Inter Milan insist on replacing Martín Montoya] (in Spanish). Fichajes. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
14. Short, Joe (10 December 2014). "Juventus to scupper Arsenal and Liverpool bids for Barcelona full-back Martin Montoya". Daily Express. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
15. Roden, Lee (22 January 2015). "The wantaway Barcelona starlet who could be the perfect option for Liverpool". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
16. Dawkes, Phil (15 April 2015). "Paris St G 1–3 Barcelona". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
17. Pettigrove, Jason (17 April 2015). "Martin Montoya is not good enough for Barcelona". Give Me Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
18. "Martín Montoya joins Inter Milan on loan". FC Barcelona. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
19. "Martin Montoya joins Inter". Inter Milan. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
20. F.C. Internazionale Milano S.p.A. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2015 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
21. "Inter, da Kondogbia a Montoya: ecco le cifre ufficiali del mercato" [Inter, from Kondogbia to Montoya: here are the official market figures]. Inter Live. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
22. "Martín Montoya loaned to Real Betis". FC Barcelona. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
23. "Martín Montoya joins Valencia CF". Valencia CF. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
24. "El reencuentro de Martín Montoya con el Betis" [Martín Montoya meets Betis again] (in Spanish). Valencia CF. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
25. "3–3. Osasuna y Valencia empatan en un partido con tres remontadas locales" [3–3. Osasuna and Valencia draw in match with three local comebacks] (in Spanish). EFE. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
26. Pi, Joan (15 January 2017). "Balsámica victoria del Valencia a costa del Espanyol" [Balsamic Valencia win at the expense of Espanyol]. Sport (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 August 2018.
27. Villena, Juan Carlos (14 January 2021). "Año y medio sin fichajes en el Valencia" [One year and a half without signings at Valencia]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 October 2022.
28. "Seagulls swoop for Montoya". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
29. Anderson, Jamie (19 August 2018). "Brighton 3–2 Man Utd RESULT: Jose Mourinho delivers verdict after shock defeat". Daily Express. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
30. Rose, Gary (19 August 2018). "Brighton 3–2 Man Utd: Brighton score three first-half goals to stun visitors". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
31. Barnes, Dan (6 April 2019). "Gabriel Jesus heads Manchester City into their 14th FA Cup final". The Football Association. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
32. Pritchard, Dafydd (4 May 2019). "Cardiff 2–3 Crystal Palace: Bluebirds relegated from Premier League after defeat". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
33. "Montoya completes Betis switch". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
34. "Martín Montoya, first Real Betis signing of the season". Real Betis. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
35. "Los problemas de tobillo de Montoya y la opción del quirófano" [Montoya's ankle problems and surgery option] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
36. "El Betis pierde a Montoya durante varias semanas" [Betis lose Montoya for several weeks]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 4 January 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
37. Pérez, Marc (19 April 2023). "Montoya se sincera: "Es el peor momento que he pasado en mi carrera"" [Montoya opens up: "This is my worst career moment"]. Sport (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
38. Santamaría, Jordi (8 August 2023). "El Betis hace oficial el adiós de Martín Montoya" [Betis make Martín Montoya departure official]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 August 2023.
39. García, Basilio (8 August 2023). "Oficial: Martín Montoya ya es jugador del Aris de Salónica" [Official: Martín Montoya is already a Aris Thessaloniki player] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
40. Myson, Chris (19 June 2013). "Euro Under-21 Team of the Tournament: Thiago & Isco star as Spain dominate". Goal. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
41. Amaro, Javier (25 August 2011). "Domínguez, Montoya y Botía, novedades de la lista de Del Bosque" [Domínguez, Montoya and Botía, news in Del Bosque's list]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 August 2011.
42. "Martín Montoya vuelve con la sub'21" [Martín Montoya returns to the under'21s]. Sport (in Spanish). 30 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
43. "Euro 2012 trio Mata, Alba & Martinez in Spain Olympic squad". BBC Sport. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
44. "Gerard Pique plays for Catalonia in a friendly against Venezuela". BBC Sport. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
45. Carter, Ben (29 September 2018). "Martin Montoya reveals how mother's death pushed him to succeed ahead of reunion with Guardiola". 90 Min. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
46. "La superación de Montoya tras perder a su madre por cáncer" [Montoya's overcoming after losing his mother to cancer]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 19 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
47. "Martín Montoya". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
48. "Sergi Roberto, Thiago, Bartra y el último Barcelona B que ascendió a Segunda A" [Sergi Roberto, Thiago, Bartra and the last Barcelona B who promoted to Segunda A] (in Spanish). One Football. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
49. Haslam, Andrew (30 July 2010). "France fight back to claim U19 crown". UEFA. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
50. Estepa, Javier (1 July 2017). "¿Cómo les cambió la vida a los últimos sub21?" [How has life changed for the last under21s?]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 May 2019.

External links

• Martín Montoya at BDFutbol
• Martín Montoya at Soccerbase
• Martín Montoya – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Martín Montoya at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)