Juanmi · Biography

On 12 September 2010, at La Romareda, a 17-year-old Málaga forward scored twice in a 5-3 win over Real Zaragoza. He was Juan Miguel Jiménez López, known as Juanmi, born on 20 May 1993 in Coín, in the province of Málaga, and that brace made him the youngest player to score two goals in a single La Liga match. A quick striker who plays mostly in and around the box, he built his career at Málaga, Southampton, Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Getafe, with loan spells at Racing de Santander, Saudi side Al-Riyadh and Cádiz.

Málaga academy and an early debut

Juanmi came through Málaga’s youth system and played for Atlético Malagueño, the reserve team, between 2009 and 2011. His first-team chance came early. On 13 January 2010, aged 16, he made his debut in the Copa del Rey away to Getafe and scored in a 5-1 defeat, becoming the club’s youngest official goalscorer. Four days later he played his first eight minutes in La Liga, again against Getafe, in a 1-0 home win at La Rosaleda. In December 2011 he scored decisive goals in consecutive matches, one of them salvaging a draw that kept the side in the European places.

In January 2013 he was loaned to Racing de Santander in the Spanish second division. He made 19 appearances without scoring and the Cantabrian club were relegated. Back at Málaga, he won a place in the rotation from the summer of 2013, and 2014-15 was his best season there: 8 goals in 34 league games. He left with 21 goals in 99 matches for the club.

Spain national team

Juanmi represented Spain at under-16, under-17 and under-19 level. With the under-19s he won the European Championship in 2011 in Romania and retained the title in 2012 in Estonia. His form at Málaga earned him a senior call-up from Vicente del Bosque in March 2015. He made his debut on 31 March that year, starting a friendly at the Amsterdam Arena that the Netherlands won 2-0, and was replaced by Álvaro Morata. It remains his only senior cap.

A spell in England

In June 2015 Southampton paid his €7 million release clause and handed him a four-year contract. He made his debut on 30 July 2015 in a Europa League qualifier against Vitesse, a 3-0 win in which he set up Shane Long. He never settled in the Premier League, making 19 appearances across all competitions without scoring.

Real Sociedad

On 9 June 2016 he returned to Spain, joining Real Sociedad for around €4 million. He made his debut against Real Madrid at Anoeta on 21 August 2016 and scored his first goal six days later in a 2-0 win at Osasuna. That first season was his most productive in San Sebastián, with 15 goals in 41 games. In 2017-18, a campaign that included the Europa League, he scored 10 in 38, and in 2018-19 he added 6 in 34. He left with 31 goals in 113 matches.

Real Betis and the 2022 Copa del Rey

Real Betis signed him in June 2019 for €8 million on a five-year deal. A left-foot injury kept him out for much of his first season, and his first competitive goal for the club did not arrive until 28 June 2020, against Levante in Valencia. His best season was 2021-22: he scored a hat-trick against Levante on 28 November 2021, was named La Liga Player of the Month for December 2021 and finished the campaign with 20 goals, 16 of them in the league. In the Copa del Rey he scored twice against Real Sociedad in the quarter-finals and played in the final on 23 April 2022 in Seville, where Betis beat Valencia on penalties after a 1-1 draw to lift the Copa del Rey.

In September 2022 he tore ankle ligaments during a Europa League match in Helsinki and was not fully fit again until January 2023. In August 2023 he was loaned to Al-Riyadh in the Saudi Pro League, scoring once in 17 games, and in February 2024 he returned to La Liga on loan at Cádiz. On 9 March 2024 he scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Atlético Madrid that ended a 23-match winless run for the Andalusian side; he finished the loan with 3 goals in 16 league games. Back at Betis, in November 2024 he scored a last-minute winner against Celje in the Conference League.

Getafe

On 31 January 2025, after 120 games and 31 goals for Betis, he was loaned to Getafe with an option to buy. The Madrid club took up that option on 11 June 2025, and Juanmi became a permanent Getafe player.