The first title of Diego Mariño Villar’s career came in June 2011, when Spain won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Denmark with him as David de Gea’s backup goalkeeper. Born in Vigo on 9 May 1990, Mariño is a goalkeeper who came through Villarreal’s academy and has played in the Spanish first and second divisions for Real Valladolid, Levante, Sporting de Gijón, Almería, Granada and Albacete Balompié, where he has played since July 2025.
From Vigo to Vila-real
Mariño went through four youth sides in his home city before moving on: Santa Mariña, Rápido de Bouzas, Sárdoma and Areosa. In 2004 Villarreal signed him after a trial and he moved to Castellón, where he finished his youth development. In 2008 he stepped up to Villarreal C, in the regional and fourth tiers, and in 2010 he was promoted to the reserve team. With Villarreal B he made his professional debut in the 2010-11 Spanish second division season, playing 38 matches. He stayed with the reserves until 2012, totalling 72 league games over two seasons.
Villarreal’s relegation from the top flight in 2012 opened the door to the first team. In the 2012-13 second division season he started for much of the campaign, and the club won back its top-flight place at the end of it. In July 2013 he left: on 5 July he signed a five-year deal with Real Valladolid, with Villarreal keeping a €300,000 buy-back option. He made his La Liga debut on 17 August 2013 in a 1-2 home defeat to Athletic Club at the José Zorrilla and finished the season with 28 appearances. Valladolid were relegated in 2014.
Levante and Sporting de Gijón
On 8 August 2014 Levante took him on a season-long loan, during which he played 32 league games. On 31 August 2015 the Valencian club signed him permanently on a three-year contract, but the team dropped to the second division in 2016. On 1 July that year he joined Sporting de Gijón. His first game for the Asturian side came on 26 November 2016, a 2-1 loss away to Real Madrid, and Sporting were also relegated at the end of that season. In the second tier he became the regular starter: between 4 February and 1 April 2018 he went 764 minutes without conceding, and he was named Sporting’s player of the season for 2017-18. He stayed in Gijón until January 2023, with more than 200 league appearances across seven and a half seasons.
Almería, Granada and Albacete
On 26 January 2023 he terminated his Sporting contract and joined top-flight Almería on an 18-month deal. He debuted on 4 March 2023, coming on at half-time for the injured Fernando in a 0-2 defeat to Villarreal. He played little at Almería, who went down in 2024, and he left the club in July of that year. Without a club at the start of 2024-25, he signed a one-year deal with Granada on 10 September 2024 and made 23 second division appearances. In July 2025 he joined Albacete Balompié, also in the second tier.
International career
Mariño represented Spain at youth level. He was part of the squad that finished runners-up at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea, as third goalkeeper behind Yelco Ramos and De Gea. He won six Under-19 caps in 2008 and 2009 and played once for the Under-20s in 2009. With the Under-21s he earned six caps between 2011 and 2013 and was in both European Championship squads Spain won in that period: Denmark 2011, under Luis Milla, and Israel 2013, under Julen Lopetegui, whose final was played on 18 June. In 2012 he was called up for the London Olympics, where Spain went out in the group stage. He also played for Galicia in a 1-1 friendly against Venezuela at Riazor on 20 May 2016.
Honours
With Spain’s Under-21 side he won the European Championship in 2011 and in 2013. With the Under-17s he was a World Cup runner-up in 2007. At club level he won promotion to the top flight with Villarreal in 2013, and individually he was voted Sporting de Gijón’s player of the 2017-18 season. His most recent move came in July 2025, when he joined Albacete Balompié.
AlbaceteGoalkeeperMarket value €156.0K