Valentín ‘Taty’ Castellanos has had a good debut season in LaLiga Santander, but it reached a new peak on Tuesday night when he scored four goals against Real Madrid to lead Girona FC to a historic 4-2 victory. This was the first time since 1947 that a player had netted four against Real Madrid in a league match. He is the man of the moment and has been linked with a €15m summer move to the Premier League - and here are five things that you might not know about his journey so far.
He has never played in Argentina
Although he was born in Mendoza, Argentina, Castellanos has never played for an Argentine club at senior level. His professional career kicked off in neighbouring Chile with Universidad de Chile, then to Uruguay with Montevideo City Torque before reaching the United States with New York City FC and then joining Girona FC in the summer of 2022.
The story behind his nickname
The player has embraced the nickname of Taty, which he has had since he was very young because that was his first spoken word. He said it to copy the sound of the trolly that his mother used to use to go to the shops and it soon became his personal and sporting nickname.
His love of Messi
Like most Argentines of his age, Castellanos grew up watching and admiring Lionel Messi’s exploits in LaLiga Santander. The 24-year-old has stated that Messi remains his idol, while he has also said he is a fan of what Lautaro Martínez is doing.
His mother’s surprise
After he won the top scorer prize for the 2021 MLS season, NYCFC got in touch with his family to organise a special presentation of the award. The club flew his mother in from Argentina to surprise her son with the trophy, when he thought she was at home in Buenos Aires.
It’s time for Catalan lessons
Even though he is Argentine and already speaks Spanish, Castellanos has said he wants to take the time to learn some Catalan now that he has signed for Girona FC, so that he can better connect with the city, the region and the fanbase.
