The first trophy of Mario Hermoso Canseco’s career came in May 2021, when Atlético de Madrid won the 2020-21 La Liga title. Born in Madrid on 18 June 1995, he is a centre-back who came through Real Madrid’s academy, established himself in the Spanish top flight with Espanyol and spent five seasons at Atlético. He has played for Roma since 2024 and won five caps for the Spain national team.
Real Madrid academy
He started out at the Escuela de Fútbol Concepción in Madrid, where he played from 2002. From there he joined Real Madrid’s youth system and worked his way through the alevín, cadete and juvenil age groups. In September 2012, while still a youth player, he appeared for the first team in a friendly against Millonarios. With Spain’s under-19 side he played five matches and scored two goals between 2013 and 2014. In the summer of 2014 he moved up to Real Madrid C in the Tercera División, making 34 appearances and scoring twice in 2014-15.
Valladolid, Castilla and the step up
On 16 July 2015 Real Valladolid announced his arrival on a season-long loan. He made his professional debut in the Spanish second division on 22 August 2015, a 1-0 defeat away to Córdoba, and finished the campaign with 31 appearances. On his return he joined Real Madrid Castilla in Segunda División B, playing 33 matches and scoring once in 2016-17. On 12 July 2017 he signed a three-year contract with RCD Espanyol.
Two seasons at Espanyol
His top-flight debut came on 9 September 2017 at the Camp Nou, a 5-0 defeat to FC Barcelona in which he played the full 90 minutes. On 28 January 2018 he scored his first La Liga goal, away to Leganés, in a game Espanyol lost 3-2. He became a regular at the heart of the defence and in 2018-19 made 35 appearances with three goals. In all he played 59 competitive matches for the Barcelona club and scored four times.
Five seasons at Atlético de Madrid
On 18 July 2019 Atlético de Madrid confirmed his signing on a five-year deal. The fee was around €25 million plus €4 million in add-ons; Espanyol kept 20% of any future sale, and half of the money went to Real Madrid, which still held part of his rights. He made his debut for Diego Simeone’s side on 18 August 2019 in a 1-0 win over Getafe. His first league goal for the club came on 22 December 2020 in a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad in San Sebastián. That was the title-winning season, in which he played 38 matches across all competitions. His busiest campaign was 2023-24, with 45 appearances. He left in June 2024 when his contract expired, after 174 matches and ten goals.
Spain national team
Luis Enrique called him up for the first time in November 2018 for the matches against Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He made his debut on 18 November 2018 at the Estadio de Gran Canaria, starting and playing the full 90 minutes of a 1-0 friendly win over Bosnia. He played once in 2018 and four times in 2019, for a total of five senior caps without scoring.
Roma and the Leverkusen loan
A free agent after leaving Atlético, he signed for AS Roma on 2 September 2024. His first goal for the Italian club came on 12 December 2024, completing a 3-0 Europa League win over Braga. On 31 January 2025 he was loaned to Bayer Leverkusen until the end of the 2024-25 season and played seven matches in Germany. He returned to Roma for 2025-26 and on 29 October 2025 scored his first Serie A goal in a 2-1 win over Parma.
Roma