Enner Valencia facts for kids
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Valencia with Fenerbahçe in 2021
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Enner Remberto Valencia Lastra | ||
| Date of birth | 4 November 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | San Lorenzo, Ecuador | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward, winger | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Internacional | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2008 | Caribe Junior | ||
| 2008–2010 | Emelec | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2013 | Emelec | 130 | (27) |
| 2013–2014 | Pachuca | 23 | (18) |
| 2014–2017 | West Ham United | 54 | (8) |
| 2016–2017 | → Everton (loan) | 21 | (3) |
| 2017–2020 | Tigres UANL | 95 | (21) |
| 2020–2023 | Fenerbahçe | 90 | (48) |
| 2023– | Internacional | 78 | (22) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012– | Ecuador | 98 | (46) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:31, 24 July 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:16, 10 June 2025 (UTC) |
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Enner Remberto Valencia Lastra (born 4 November 1989) is a professional footballer from Ecuador. He plays as a forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Internacional. He is also the captain of the Ecuador national team.
Valencia has played for several clubs, including Emelec in Ecuador, Pachuca in Mexico, and West Ham United in England. He also played for Everton on loan. Later, he joined Tigres UANL in Mexico and Fenerbahçe in Turkey. In mid-2023, he moved to Internacional in Brazil.
He has won several awards, including the Golden Boot in the Copa Sudamericana and Liga MX. He also helped his teams win league titles in Ecuador and Mexico, and the Turkish Cup. For his country, Valencia has played in the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2022. He is Ecuador's all-time top scorer with 46 goals. He has also scored a record six World Cup goals for Ecuador.
Club Journey
Starting at Emelec
Enner Valencia joined Emelec in 2008 from a youth team called Caribe Junior. He didn't play much at first. But when coach Jorge Sampaoli arrived, Valencia started getting chances. In 2010, Emelec finished second in the league.
In 2011, Valencia scored nine goals in 30 league games. In 2012, he scored 13 goals in 40 matches. This was his best season yet. Emelec finished second in the league for the third year in a row.
On 7 August 2013, Valencia scored his first hat-trick (three goals in one game). This happened in a 4–0 win against Sport Huancayo in the 2013 Copa Sudamericana. That season, Emelec won the league title. It was their first league win since 2002.
Moving to Pachuca
After his success in Ecuador, Valencia moved to the Mexican club Pachuca. He joined them in 2014.
On 18 January 2014, Valencia scored his first goal for Pachuca. It was in a 2–1 win against Tijuana. The next week, he scored two goals against Club León. He finished the regular season as the top goal-scorer with 12 goals. Valencia also scored another hat-trick against UNAM. This helped Pachuca move forward in the 2014 Liga MX Clausura play-offs.
Playing for West Ham United
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In July 2014, Valencia joined Premier League club West Ham United. He signed a five-year contract. The transfer fee was about £12 million. He made his debut on 16 August 2014. He came on as a substitute in a match against Tottenham Hotspur.
Valencia scored his first goal for West Ham on 15 September 2014. It was in a 2–2 draw against Hull City. His shot was from about 25 yards away. He scored two more goals in the following weeks. These included a header against Burnley and a goal against Stoke City.
His second season started on 30 July 2015. He scored a header in a UEFA Europa League match. However, he got injured in that game. He returned later in the season. On 12 January 2016, he scored two goals against AFC Bournemouth. One of these was a powerful free-kick.
Loan to Everton
On 31 August 2016, Valencia went on loan to Everton for one season. He scored his first league goal for Everton on 2 January 2017. It was in a 3–0 win against Southampton.
Time at Tigres UANL
On 13 July 2017, Valencia moved to Tigres UANL in Mexico. He signed for a fee of 4.2 million. He continued to score goals for Tigres.
Success at Fenerbahçe
On 28 August 2020, Valencia joined Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe in Turkey. He joined them for free. In his first year, he scored 12 goals in 34 league matches.
On 26 August 2021, he scored his first hat-trick for Fenerbahçe. This was against HJK Helsinki in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League. Fenerbahçe won the game 5-2. He scored 13 goals in all competitions that season.
He had a very strong start to the 2022–23 season. He scored two goals in each of his first three matches. On 9 October 2022, he scored another hat-trick in a league match. This was against Karagümrük, and Fenerbahçe won 5–4. On 29 January 2023, he scored four goals against Kasımpaşa. This helped Fenerbahçe win 5–1.
Valencia scored 29 goals in total that season. He became the top scorer in the Süper Lig. He also won the Turkish Cup with Fenerbahçe in his final season.
Joining SC Internacional
On 12 June 2023, Valencia signed a three-year contract with Brazilian club Internacional. He made his debut on July 9, 2023. His first goal for the club came on August 1st. It was in a Copa Libertadores match against River Plate.
He scored an important goal against Bolívar in the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals. This helped Internacional win the game.
International Career
Playing for Ecuador
Valencia first played for Ecuador's under-22 team in 2011. He made his debut for the senior Ecuador team on 12 February 2012. This was in a friendly match against Honduras.
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He started his career as a winger. But his coach at Emelec, Gustavo Quinteros, changed him to a striker. He scored his first international goal on 19 November 2013. It was in a 2–2 draw against Honduras. In 2014, he scored in three of Ecuador's friendly matches before the World Cup.
World Cup Appearances
In June 2014, Valencia was chosen for Ecuador's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He made his World Cup debut on 15 June. He scored the first goal for Ecuador in a 2–1 loss to Switzerland. In Ecuador's second match, Valencia scored both goals. This helped them beat Honduras 2–1.
Valencia also played in the Copa América in 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, and 2024.
On 8 October 2021, Valencia scored his 32nd and 33rd international goals. This made him the all-time top goal scorer for the Ecuador national team.
Valencia was part of Ecuador's team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In the opening game, he scored the first goal of the tournament from a penalty. He scored both of Ecuador's goals in their 2–0 win over hosts Qatar. This made him Ecuador's record goalscorer at World Cups, with five goals. On 25 November 2022, Valencia scored in a 1–1 draw against the Netherlands. He became the first South American player to score six goals in a row at the World Cup. He scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Peru on 10 September 2024 for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Career Stats
Club Matches
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Emelec | 2010 | Ecuadorian Serie A | 25 | 1 | — | — | 11 | 1 | — | 36 | 2 | |||
| 2011 | 30 | 9 | — | — | 5 | 0 | — | 35 | 9 | |||||
| 2012 | 40 | 13 | — | — | 14 | 0 | — | 54 | 13 | |||||
| 2013 | 35 | 4 | — | — | 11 | 5 | — | 46 | 9 | |||||
| Total | 130 | 27 | — | — | 41 | 6 | — | 171 | 33 | |||||
| Pachuca | 2014 | Liga MX | 23 | 18 | 2 | 0 | — | —!!colspan="2"|—!!25!!18 | ||||||
| West Ham United | 2014–15 | Premier League | 32 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | —!!colspan="2"|—!!37!!5 | |||||
| 2015–16 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | —!!24!!5 | |||||
| 2016–17 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | —!!7!!0 | |||||||
| Total | 54 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 68 | 10 | |||
| Everton (loan) | 2016–17 | Premier League | —!!colspan="2"|—!!23!!3 | |||||||||||
| Tigres UANL | 2017–18 | Liga MX | —!!3!!2!!1!!0!!42!!17 | |||||||||||
| 2018–19 | —!!8!!7!!colspan="2"|—!!45!!15 | |||||||||||||
| 2019–20 | —!!4!!1!!colspan="2"|—!!31!!2 | |||||||||||||
| Total | 95 | 21 | 7 | 3 | — | 15 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 118 | 34 | |||
| Fenerbahçe | 2020–21 | Süper Lig | —!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!35!!13 | |||||||||||
| 2021–22 | —!!6!!5!!colspan="2"|—!!33!!13 | |||||||||||||
| 2022–23 | —!!12!!3!!colspan="2"|—!!48!!33 | |||||||||||||
| Total | 90 | 48 | 8 | 3 | — | 18 | 8 | — | 116 | 59 | ||||
| Internacional | 2023 | Série A | 22!!9 | — | — | 6!!4 | —!!28!!13 | |||||||
| 2024 | 24!!3!!3!!4 | — | 2!!0 | 11!!4!!40!!11 | ||||||||||
| 2025 | 11!!1!!1!!0 | — | 4!!1 | 10!!5!!26!!7 | ||||||||||
| Total | 57 | 13 | 4 | 4 | — | 12 | 5 | 21 | 9 | 94 | 31 | |||
| Career total | 470 | 138 | 30 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 89 | 29 | 22 | 9 | 615 | 188 | ||
International Matches
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecuador | 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 10 | 10 | |
| 2015 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 12 | 6 | |
| 2017 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 5 | 6 | |
| 2019 | 8 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 11 | 3 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 4 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 12 | 4 | |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | |
| Total | 98 | 46 | |
Scores and results list Ecuador's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Valencia goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 November 2013 | BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States | 7 |  Honduras |
2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 5 March 2014 | The Den, London, England | 8 |  Australia |
3–3 | 4–3 | |
| 3 | 31 May 2014 | AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States | 9 |  Mexico |
1–3 | 1–3 | |
| 4 | 4 June 2014 | Sun Life Stadium, Miami, United States | 10 |  England |
1–0 | 2–2 | |
| 5 | 15 June 2014 | Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília, Brazil | 11 |  Switzerland |
1–0 | 1–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup |
| 6 | 20 June 2014 | Arena da Baixada, Curitiba, Brazil | 12 | Honduras |
1–1 | 2–1 | |
| 7 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 8 | 6 September 2014 | Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States | 14 |  Bolivia |
3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 9 | 10 October 2014 | Rentschler Field, East Hartford, United States | 16 |  United States |
1–1 | 1–1 | |
| 10 | 14 October 2014 | Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States | 17 |  El Salvador |
2–0 | 5–1 | |
| 11 | 4–1 | ||||||
| 12 | 15 June 2015 | Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, Valparaíso, Chile | 21 | Bolivia |
1–3 | 2–3 | 2015 Copa América |
| 13 | 19 June 2015 | Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua, Chile | 22 | Mexico |
2–0 | 2–1 | |
| 14 | 24 March 2016 | Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador | 23 |  Paraguay |
1–0 | 2–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 15 | 8 June 2016 | University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, United States | 27 |  Peru |
1–2 | 2–2 | Copa América Centenario |
| 16 | 12 June 2016 | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States | 28 |  Haiti |
1–0 | 4–0 | |
| 17 | 11 October 2016 | Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia | 33 | Bolivia |
1–2 | 2–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 18 | 2–2 | ||||||
| 19 | 15 November 2016 | Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador | 34 |  Venezuela |
3–0 | 3–0 | |
| 20 | 13 June 2017 | Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States | 38 | El Salvador |
2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 21 | 5 September 2017 | Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador | 40 | Peru |
1–2 | 1–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 22 | 7 September 2018 | Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States | 42 |  Jamaica |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 23 | 11 September 2018 | Toyota Park, Bridgeview, United States | 43 |  Guatemala |
1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 24 | 12 October 2018 | Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar | 44 |  Qatar |
1–2 | 3–4 | |
| 25 | 2–4 | ||||||
| 26 | 15 November 2018 | National Stadium of Peru, Lima, Peru | 45 | Peru |
2–0 | 2–0 | |
| 27 | 20 November 2018 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | 46 |  Panama |
2–1 | 2–1 | |
| 28 | 1 June 2019 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, United States | 47 | Venezuela |
1–1 | 1–1 | |
| 29 | 21 June 2019 | Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil | 50 |  Chile |
1–1 | 1–2 | 2019 Copa América |
| 30 | 14 November 2019 | Estadio Reales Tamarindos, Portoviejo, Ecuador | 53 |  Trinidad and Tobago |
2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 31 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 32 | 7 October 2021 | Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, Guayaquil, Ecuador | 65 | Bolivia |
2–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 33 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 34 | 10 October 2021 | Estadio Olímpico de la UCV, Caracas, Venezuela | 66 | Venezuela |
1–0 | 1–2 | |
| 35 | 29 March 2022 | Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, Guayaquil, Ecuador | 70 |  Argentina |
1–1 | 1–1 | |
| 36 | 20 November 2022 | Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar | 75 | Qatar |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup |
| 37 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 38 | 25 November 2022 | Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar | 76 |  Netherlands |
1–1 | 1–1 | |
| 39 | 17 June 2023 | Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States | 78 | Bolivia |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 40 | 20 June 2023 | Subaru Park, Chester, United States | 79 |  Costa Rica |
1–0 | 3–1 | |
| 41 | 12 June 2024 | Subaru Park, Chester, United States | 85 | Bolivia |
1–0 | 3–1 | |
| 42 | 10 September 2024 | Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito, Ecuador | 91 | Peru |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 43 | 14 November 2024 | Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, Guayaquil, Ecuador | 94 | Bolivia |
1–0 | 4–0 | |
| 44 | 19 November 2024 | Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia | 95 |  Colombia |
1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 45 | 21 March 2025 | Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito, Ecuador | 96 | Venezuela |
1–0 | 2–1 | |
| 46 | 2–0 |
Awards and Achievements
Emelec
- Ecuadorian Serie A: 2013
Tigres UANL
- Liga MX: Apertura 2017, Clausura 2019
- Campeones Cup: 2018
Fenerbahçe
- Turkish Cup: 2022–23
Internacional
- Campeonato Gaúcho: 2025
Individual Awards
- Ecuadorian Serie A Best Player: 2013
- Copa Sudamericana Top scorer: 2013
- Liga MX Top scorer: Clausura 2014
- Liga MX Best XI: Apertura 2017
- CONCACAF Champions League Golden Boot: 2019
- CONCACAF Champions League Team of the Tournament: 2019
- Süper Lig Top scorer: 2022–23
- Süper Lig Team of the Season: 2022–23
See also
In Spanish: Enner Valencia para niños
- List of top international men's football goal scorers by country
