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Iván Cuéllar
Real Valladolid - CD Leganés 2018-12-01 (39) (cropped) 2.jpg
Cuéllar with Leganés in 2018
Personal information
Full name Iván Cuéllar Sacristán
Date of birth (1984-05-27) 27 May 1984 (age 41)
Place of birth Mérida, Spain
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Mallorca
Number 25
Youth career
Real Madrid
2001–2002 Mérida
2002–2003 Atlético Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002 Mérida 1 (0)
2003–2005 Atlético Madrid B 17 (0)
2005–2008 Atlético Madrid 8 (0)
2007–2008 → Eibar (loan) 38 (0)
2008–2017 Sporting Gijón 199 (0)
2017–2021 Leganés 123 (0)
2021–2023 Sporting Gijón 35 (0)
2023– Mallorca 1 (0)
International career
2006 Spain U21 4 (0)
2005 Spain U23 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:44, 26 May 2024 (UTC)

Iván Cuéllar Sacristán (born on May 27, 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He is often called Pichu, a nickname he got from his cousin. Currently, he plays for the La Liga club Mallorca.

Iván Cuéllar started his football journey at Atlético Madrid. He spent a big part of his career playing for Sporting de Gijón, where he played in 247 matches in total.

Iván Cuéllar's Football Journey

Starting Out at Atlético Madrid

Iván Cuéllar was born in Mérida, Spain. He began his football training at Real Madrid before moving to his hometown club, Mérida UD. He made his first professional appearance at just 17 years old. After finishing his youth training at Atlético Madrid, he played his first game for their main team in May 2005.

In the 2006–07 season, Iván played seven more games for Atlético Madrid. This happened because the main goalkeeper, Leo Franco, was unable to play.

His Time at Sporting Gijón

After playing for SD Eibar on loan for a season, Iván Cuéllar joined Sporting de Gijón in August 2008. He signed a four-year contract with the team. He became the main goalkeeper after the first few games of the 2008–09 season. However, he suffered a serious ankle injury in December, which kept him from playing for four months.

In November 2009, Iván faced another tough injury. He hurt his knee during training, which meant he missed most of the 2009–10 season. He returned to play in September 2010.

In January 2013, Iván became the main goalkeeper for Sporting Gijón. This happened after Juan Pablo left the team. In the 2014–15 season, he won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for being the best goalkeeper in the Segunda División (Spain's second-highest league). He only let in 21 goals in 36 games, helping Sporting Gijón return to La Liga, the top league. After this successful season, he extended his contract until 2018.

Moving to Leganés

In July 2017, after nine years with Sporting Gijón, Iván Cuéllar moved to CD Leganés, another team in the top league. He was 33 years old at the time. He became the team's number one goalkeeper because Jon Ander Serantes was injured. He set a new record for the club and himself by keeping a clean sheet (not letting any goals in) for over 500 minutes!

Returning to Sporting

On August 29, 2021, Iván Cuéllar returned to Sporting de Gijón with a two-year contract. He was the second-choice goalkeeper behind Diego Mariño. He started playing regularly again in March 2022 when Mariño got injured. He played ten games in a row, helping the team avoid being moved down to a lower league.

Joining Mallorca

On August 28, 2023, Iván Cuéllar signed a one-year deal with RCD Mallorca, a team in the top league. He joined to add more competition for the other goalkeepers, Dominik Greif and Predrag Rajković.

Achievements and Awards

Spain U23

  • Mediterranean Games: Gold Medal in 2005

Individual Awards

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Iván Cuéllar para niños

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