Francisco Casilla Cortés, known as Kiko Casilla, was born on 2 October 1986 in Alcover, in the province of Tarragona. He is a 1.91-metre goalkeeper who came through the youth systems of his home-town club, Gimnàstic de Tarragona and Real Madrid. He played in La Liga for Espanyol and Real Madrid and in English football for Leeds United. He also spent time at Cádiz, Cartagena, Elche and Getafe, and won one senior cap for Spain.
From Alcover to the Real Madrid academy
He started out at C.E. Alcover. As a cadet he moved to Gimnàstic de Tarragona, and in 2000 Real Madrid signed him. He spent around five seasons in their youth teams. In 2004 he made his senior debut for Real Madrid C, where he stayed until 2006, and he then moved up to Real Madrid Castilla, making five appearances in the Spanish second division. He also played three times for Spain's under-19 side in 2005.
Espanyol and the loans to Cádiz and Cartagena
In the summer of 2007 he joined Espanyol on a free transfer and spent the 2007-08 season with the reserve team, making 25 appearances in the Spanish third tier. On 20 January 2008 he made his La Liga debut at the Nuevo Zorrilla. He came on after half-time for the injured Iñaki Lafuente in a 2-1 defeat to Real Valladolid. He made four league appearances for the first team that season.
To get him regular football, Espanyol loaned him to Cádiz from 2008 to 2010. He was their first choice for two seasons, playing 35 games in the third tier in 2008-09 and 31 in the second division in 2009-10. In 2010-11 he joined Cartagena on loan, also in the second division, and played 35 league matches.
He returned to Espanyol in 2011, won the Catalonia Cup that year and gradually established himself in goal. He was the first-choice keeper in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and he made more than a hundred league appearances for the club in total. He also played five times for Catalonia between 2010 and 2014.
Back at Real Madrid (2015-2019)
On 17 July 2015 Real Madrid bought him back for €6 million. His first competitive game came on 31 October 2015, a 3-1 win over Las Palmas. In three and a half seasons at the club he was the backup to Keylor Navas, making 25 league appearances and 43 in all competitions.
He played little, but he was part of the squad that won three straight Champions League titles, in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The squad also won La Liga in 2016-17, the 2017 Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup in 2016 and 2017 and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
On 17 January 2019 he joined Leeds United, then managed by Marcelo Bielsa. Nine days later he made his debut in a 2-1 win over Rotherham United, and he played 19 Championship games that season. In 2019-20 he started 36 league matches as Leeds became Championship winners, which earned them promotion to the Premier League.
During that season the Football Association charged him with racially abusing Charlton Athletic's Jonathan Leko in a match in September 2019. On 28 February 2020 an independent commission gave him an eight-match ban and a £60,000 fine. He played little in the Premier League. His debut there came on 16 January 2021 in a 1-0 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, and he made three appearances in 2020-21.
Elche and Getafe
On 12 July 2021 Elche announced they had signed him on loan for the 2021-22 La Liga season. He began as the starter but lost his place to Edgar Badía, and he finished with 14 league appearances. On 31 July 2022 he and Leeds agreed to end his deal by mutual consent, after 56 league games for the English club. On 10 August 2022 he signed a one-year deal with Getafe and made only two Copa del Rey appearances there. He left the club on 30 June 2023, when his deal expired.
Spain national team
He played once for Spain's under-21 side in 2008: 29 minutes of a friendly that Spain lost 2-0 to France in Benidorm. In August 2014 Vicente del Bosque called him up to the senior squad as third-choice goalkeeper, behind Iker Casillas and David de Gea. On 18 November 2014 he made his senior Spain debut at Balaídos in Vigo. He replaced Casillas for the last fourteen minutes of a friendly that Spain lost 1-0 to Germany. It was his only international cap.
Honours
With Espanyol he won the 2011 Catalonia Cup. With Real Madrid he won La Liga in 2016-17, the 2017 Spanish Super Cup, the Champions League in 2016, 2017 and 2018, the UEFA Super Cup in 2016 and 2017 and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2016, 2017 and 2018. With Leeds United he won the 2019-20 Championship.
