Players - Javier Manquillo

Javier Manquillo
Birthdate: 5 May 1994
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain
Other clubs: Atletico Madrid (2011-), Marseille (loan 2015-16), Sunderland (loan 2016-17), Newcastle United (2017-24), Celta Vigo (2024-)
Signed from: on loan
Signed for LFC: 06.08.2014
Liverpool debut: 17.08.2014
Last appearance: 26.02.2015
Contract expiry: 08.07.2015
Win ratio: 47.37% W:9 D:4 L:6
Games/assists ratio: 19
Total games/goals opposite LFC: 6 / 0
League games / goals / assists: 10 / 0 / 0
Total games / goals / assists: 19 / 0 / 1

Player Profile

It wasn’t a secret that both full-back positions in the Liverpool team needed looking at. Brendan Rodgers knew this when he arrived at the club in the middle of 2012. Personnel-wise he seemed to have almost an embarrassment of riches for these two important defensive positions. However, it isn’t ideal to have predominantly right-footed footballers playing on the left as both Glen Johnson and Jon Flanagan have done in recent times; and it certainly isn’t ideal to have men who are described as centre-backs playing at full-back as Daniel Agger, Kolo Touré and Mamadou Sakho have been asked to do. Plus injury and loss of form have restricted a real left-back, José Enrique, to appearances in just 63% of the club’s Premier League matches since he arrived from Newcastle in August 2011.

Enrique, Jack Robinson, Martin Kelly, Touré and Johnson shared full-back duties competently enough during the club’s North American tour in the summer of 2014. But it wasn’t a surprise that Rodgers moved swiftly into action soon after returning to England. Enrique seemed to have made a good recovery from injury but Johnson was now inside the final 12 months of his current contract and Robinson, who seems to have spent more time on loan than at Anfield/Melwood despite being only 20 years old, showed previously unknown disciplinary traits by being sent off three times for Blackpool during the 2013/14 season. Touré, now in his 34th year, was never seen as a permanent full-back solution anyway; and Kelly, like Enrique, had been out for spells due to injury.

Manquillo was born in the Spanish capital in 1994 and played youth football for Real Madrid in the same team as his brother, Victor. When Real released his brother Javier left as well and the 13-year-old twins were quickly snapped up by Real’s city rivals Atlético. The full-back made his senior competitive debut shortly before Christmas 2011 in a 2-1 Copa del Rey defeat at Albacete when he was still several months short of his 18th birthday. In the following season he was again used in a few domestic cup matches but most of his appearances came while representing his club’s Segunda División B team, while at the same time he was playing for his country at different levels from Under-16 to Under-20 inclusive.

As David Villa was transferred to Atletico in the summer of 2013, Barcelona wanted to make Marquillo a part of the deal, but could not reach an agreement. Even though Atlético won their domestic title for the first time since 1996 in the 2013/14 season, the youngster can hardly claim to have made a significant contribution to that success as he only featured in three top division league matches, bringing his league total to six. Former Spanish international Juanfran had made the right-back position at Atletico his own and Marquillo did not play from February onwards as he fell awkwardly on his neck after a collision with Cristiano Ronaldo as Atlético lost to Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. The harsh landing caused a fractured vertebra.

It is often hard to assess the form and potential of loan-signings especially if, as in Manquillo's case, the loan-period agreed is for two years instead of the more usual one. The young Spanish defender only appeared in ten Premier League matches in the 2014/15 season, although he was also called on in nine cup-ties with the first of those; the opening Champions League match against Ludogorets at Anfield, bringing him the main moment he will be remembered for in his first season in England. With a near-capacity home crowd stunned by a late equaliser from the visitors Manquillo almost immediately galloped into the opposition penalty-area and was brought down by the Bulgarians' goalkeeper for a penalty-kick which Steven Gerrard scored competently. But Manquillo only made one start after the turn of the year, at Wimbledon in the FA Cup. Manquillo was on the substitutes' bench more times than he actually played and unsurprisingly he was recalled from his loan by Atletico in the summer of 2015 as he wasn't getting enough playing time to serve his development and evident that Brendan Rodgers was unimpressed by his progress. He was loaned to Marseille for 2015-2016, where he played 31 times and was reportedly subject to interest from Juventus in March 2016, with Atletico putting a £30 million price on him.That move never materialised and he was back in the Premiership for 2016/17, joining Sunderland on loan for the season.

After twenty games on loan with Sunderland who were relegated, he found himself back in the North East for 2017, this time following a transfer to Newcastle for £4.5 million. He was a regular in Rafa Benitez's side for the first half of 2017-18, but over the next eighteen months he was used much more sparingly. In the summer of 2019 Benitez left and Steve Bruce took over. Manquillo featured more often and in June 2020 agreed a new four year deal, but was in and out of the side for the next three seasons. In 2022/23 Manquillo made only four league appearances, all from the bench. After making just one league matchday squad in the first half of 2023/24 he returne to Spain in the January transfer window, joining Celta Vigo.
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 10 2 2 5 0 19
2014-2015 10 2 2 5 0 19
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
2 180 Swansea City
2 180 Ludogorets
1 120 Middlesbrough
1 90 Hull City
1 90 Everton
1 90 Aston Villa
1 90 Southampton
1 90 Tottenham
1 90 Crystal Palace
1 90 Real Madrid
1 90 Basel
1 71 AFC Wimbledon
1 68 Bolton Wanderers
1 64 WBA
1 46 Leicester City
1 44 Besiktas
1 22 West Ham United
Total Started/substitutions
18 Started
20 On the bench
1 Substitute
5 Substituted
Total Venue
10 Home
9 Away
Total Competition
10 Premier League
4 Champions League
2 FA Cup
2 League Cup
1 Europa League
Total W D L Win % Manager
19 9 4 6 47.4% Brendan Rodgers
Assists per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 0 1 0 0 0 1
2014-2015 0 1 0 0 0 1
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Total Opponent
1 AFC Wimbledon
Total Competition
1 FA Cup
Total For player
1 Steven Gerrard
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 17.08.2014 Southampton Anfield League
Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Atletico Madrid 2011-2012 La Liga, Spain 0 0 1 0
Atletico Madrid 2012-2013 La Liga, Spain 3 0 8 0
Atletico Madrid 2013-2014 La Liga, Spain 3 0 7 0
Marseille 2015-2016 Ligue 1, France 31 0 43 0
Sunderland 2016-2017 Premier League 20 1 22 1
Newcastle United 2017-2018 Premier League 21 0 23 0
Newcastle United 2018-2019 Premier League 18 0 21 0
Newcastle United 2019-2020 Premier League 21 0 24 0
Newcastle United 2020-2021 Premier League 13 0 15 0
Newcastle United 2021-2022 Premier League 19 1 21 1
Newcastle United 2022-2023 Premier League 4 0 6 0
Total 153 2 191 2