Dani Ceballos


Daniel Ceballos Fernández is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Arsenal, on loan from Real Madrid of La Liga, and the Spain national team.
Ceballos started his career at Spanish club Real Betis where he helped them win the Segunda División. He was signed by Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2017, and two years later he signed for English side Arsenal on loan.
Ceballos won his first cap for Spain on 11 September 2018, playing the entire 6–0 home rout of Croatia for the UEFA Nations League.

Club career

Real Betis

Ceballos was born in Utrera, Province of Seville. He joined Sevilla's youth system in 2004 at the age of eight, but was released in 2009 due to a chronic bronchitis problem. He subsequently played for hometown club Utrera, and completed his development in Real Betis after signing in 2011; he signed a professional contract with the latter club on 22 February 2014, while still a junior.
On 26 April 2014, without even appearing for the B-team, Ceballos played his first official game with the Andalusians' main squad, coming on as a late substitute in a 0–1 La Liga home loss against Real Sociedad. He scored his first professional goal on 21 December, netting the first of a 2–0 home win over Racing Santander for the Segunda División championship; he featured in 33 matches and netted five times for the Verdiblancos during the campaign, as they returned to the top level at the first attempt.
training ground, 2015
On 15 October 2015, after lengthy negotiations, Ceballos renewed his contract until 2020. He scored his first goal in the Spanish top flight on 16 April 2017, netting the last in a 2–0 home win against Eibar.

Real Madrid

On 14 July 2017, Ceballos signed for Real Madrid on a six-year contract, for a transfer fee of around €18 million. He made his competitive debut on 16 August, replacing Toni Kroos on the 80th minute of the second leg of the Supercopa de España, a 2–0 home victory over Barcelona. On 23 September, in his first start, he scored a brace in a 2–1 away win over Deportivo Alavés.
Ceballos made four appearances during the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, as Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall title in the tournament. On 13 January 2019, after only 15 minutes on the pitch and having been constantly booed by his former club's supporters, he scored from a free kick in the last minute of a 2–1 defeat of Betis at the Estadio Benito Villamarín.

Arsenal (loan)

On 25 July 2019, Ceballos joined English Premier League club Arsenal on a season-long loan. He made his first start for Arsenal on 17 August in a 2–1 victory over Burnley, providing two assists in a man-of-the-match performance. On 3 October, Ceballos scored his first goal for Arsenal in a 4–0 home victory against Standard Liège in the group stage of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League. On 28 June 2020, he scored his second ever Arsenal goal against Sheffield United in stoppage time to secure a 1–2 win in the quarter-final of the 2019–20 FA Cup.

International career

On 5 November 2014, Ceballos was called up to the Spain under-19 side, appearing against Germany, France and Greece in a tournament played in the latter nation. He made his debut for the under-21s on 26 March 2015, replacing Samu Castillejo at half-time of a 2–0 friendly win over Norway in Cartagena, Murcia; four days later, in León, he made his first start, in a 4–0 defeat of Belarus.
Despite beginning the competition in Poland on the bench, Ceballos' performances at the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship led Spain to the second place. Subsequently, he was named the player of the tournament.
With the U21 side he also took part in the victorious 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Spain team. He was named in the UEFA ‘Team of the Tournament’ for the second successive European U-21 Championship.
Ceballos won his first cap for the full team on 11 September 2018, playing the entire 6–0 home rout of Croatia for the UEFA Nations League. He scored his first goal for his country on 15 November, but in a 2–3 loss in Zagreb against the same opponent and for the same competition.

Career statistics

Club

1 Includes Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, FA Cup and EFL Cup matches.

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
115 November 2018Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia1–12–32018–19 UEFA Nations League A

Honours

Real Betis
Real Madrid
Arsenal
Spain U19
Spain U21
Individual