José Gayà facts for kids
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Gayà playing for Valencia in 2019
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Luis Gayà Peña | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 25 May 1995 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pedreguer, Spain | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Left-back | |||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Valencia | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 14 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2012 | Valencia | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Valencia B | 65 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2012– | Valencia | 311 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Spain U17 | 2 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2013 | Spain U18 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Spain U19 | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2013 | Spain U20 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Spain U21 | 15 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2018– | Spain | 22 | (3) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:36, 24 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:51, 19 November 2023 (UTC) |
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José Luis Gayà Peña (born on May 25, 1995) is a Spanish professional footballer. He plays as a left-back for La Liga club Valencia. He is also the captain of his club team. Gayà also plays for the Spain national team.
He grew up playing in Valencia's youth academy. He made his first team debut in 2012. Since then, he has played over 375 matches for Valencia. He helped the team win the Copa del Rey in 2019. Gayà has been the captain of Valencia for six seasons in a row. This makes him one of the longest-serving captains in La Liga. He first played for the Spanish national team in 2018. He was chosen to play in UEFA Euro 2020.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting in Youth Football
José Gayà was born in Pedreguer, Spain. He joined the Valencia CF youth system when he was young. He started as a striker and scored many goals. Later, he changed his position to left-back.
He played his first senior game for Valencia's reserve team in 2012. He was not yet 17 years old. His first official game for the main Valencia team was in October 2012. He played a full match in the Copa del Rey tournament. In December 2013, he played his first game in the UEFA Europa League.
Making His Mark in La Liga
Gayà played his first game in La Liga in April 2014. He became a regular starter for Valencia in the 2014–15 season. He scored his first professional goal in September 2014. This goal helped Valencia win a home game against Córdoba CF. He scored another goal in the Copa del Rey in January 2015. In May 2015, he signed a new contract with Valencia.
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In May 2018, Gayà signed another contract extension. His contract was set to last until 2023. In October of that year, he was named in the Champions League Best XI by ESPN FC. This was after Valencia kept a clean sheet against Manchester United. He won his first major trophy with Valencia in 2019. He helped his team beat FC Barcelona in the 2019 Copa del Rey final.
Becoming Team Captain
In March 2020, Gayà tested positive for COVID-19 virus. This happened during the coronavirus pandemic. Later that year, due to the economic effects of the pandemic, most players were available for transfer. However, Gayà was one of the few players the club wanted to keep. He had already filled in as captain sometimes. After the previous captain left, Gayà took on the role permanently.
Gayà led Valencia as captain in the 2022 Copa del Rey final. He scored a goal in the penalty shootout. However, his team lost the match to Real Betis. He was suspended for four games at the start of the next league season. This was because he had criticized a referee's decisions. His appeal against the suspension was not successful. In October 2022, he extended his contract with Valencia until 2027.
International Career
Playing for Spain's Youth Teams
José Gayà played many games for Spain's national youth teams. He earned 34 caps across different age groups. In May 2015, he was called up to the senior Spanish national team. This was for a friendly game and a qualifying match. However, he did not play in either of those games.
Debuting for the Senior Team
Gayà played his first match for the senior national team on September 11, 2018. He played the entire game as Spain beat Croatia 6–0. In September 2020, he scored an important goal against Germany. His goal came in the last minute of the game, making it a 1–1 draw.
In May 2021, Gayà was chosen for Spain's squad for UEFA Euro 2020. He played in the exciting 5–3 extra-time victory against Croatia. He was also called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. However, he got an ankle injury during training before the tournament. He had to be replaced in the squad by another player.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Valencia B | 2011–12 | Segunda División B | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2012–13 | 36 | 2 | — | — | — | 36 | 2 | |||||
| 2013–14 | 28 | 1 | — | — | — | 28 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 65 | 3 | — | — | — | 65 | 3 | |||||
| Valencia | 2012–13 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 37 | 2 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | |||
| 2016–17 | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 35 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | 49 | 1 | |||
| 2019–20 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 1 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 24 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 2 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 34 | 1 | |||
| 2023–24 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 27 | 2 | ||||
| 2024–25 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 311 | 8 | 34 | 3 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 376 | 11 | ||
| Career total | 376 | 11 | 34 | 3 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 441 | 14 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | |||
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 3 | |
Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Gayà goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 June 2019 | Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands |  Faroe Islands |
4–1 | 4–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying |
| 2 | 3 September 2020 | Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart, Germany |  Germany |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A |
| 3 | 5 September 2021 | Nuevo Vivero, Badajoz, Spain |  Georgia |
1–0 | 4–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours and Achievements
With Valencia
- Copa del Rey: 2018–19
With Spain U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 2017
See also
In Spanish: José Luis Gayà para niños
