Real Oviedo: start of career Born near
Llanera,
Asturias, Cazorla grew up supporting local team
Real Oviedo, as did his whole family and surroundings. aged 8.
Villarreal Cazorla progressed through
Villarreal's reserve side in the
Third Division, before making his debut with the first team on 30 November 2003 in a 1–0
La Liga win at
Deportivo de La Coruña, playing one minute in place of
Roger, making one more appearance off the bench over
the season. He scored his first goal in a 3–0 win at
Odense Boldklub in the
2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup, which the "Yellow Submarine" went on to win. Established in the main squad in the 2004–05 campaign, Cazorla scored four goals in a run to the quarter-finals of
the season's
UEFA Cup. On 1 May 2005, given an opportunity due to
Juan Román Riquelme's suspension, he scored his first league goal in a 4–0 win over
Getafe at
El Madrigal, and followed it a week later with a strike in a 2–0 victory at
Málaga. After contributing to an eventual fourth-place finish, he also made two goalless appearances in
the following season's
UEFA Champions League, where Villarreal were semi-finalists.
Recreativo On 7 July 2006, newly promoted
Recreativo de Huelva signed Cazorla for
€600,000 on a four-year deal, with a clause in his contract whereby he could return to Villarreal (for €1.2 million), going on to score in his official debut, a 1–1 home draw with
Mallorca, on 27 August. The following 22 April, he dedicated a goal to his father, José Manuel, who had died recently, in a 4–2 home win against
Racing de Santander; in the penultimate fixture on 10 June, he struck twice in a 5–2 win at
Deportivo de La Coruña. His performances helped the
Andalusians
finish eighth, and he was named Spain's Player of the Year according to
Don Balón, a member of
European Sports Magazines, after topping its rating list.
Return to Villarreal The following year, Villarreal took advantage of the clause in Cazorla's contract and bought him back, as the team believed he had proven himself. In
his first season in his second spell, he was instrumental in Villarreal's final runner-up placing, providing
assists for
Nihat Kahveci and
Giuseppe Rossi and netting five goals himself. On 26 August 2008, Cazorla announced that
Real Madrid were interested in signing him. He then went on to cause a stir in the media by rejecting the team, announcing that, "There are many other things in football besides Real Madrid. It's clear that it is possible to say 'no' to them, there is no doubt that they are a great team, but I also feel very satisfied and valued at my club." He added, "I hope I can continue growing at Villarreal because I am young and I’m only starting off with the national team." During a league game against
Almería in early April 2009, Cazorla injured his right
fibula after suffering a challenge from two opponents. He missed several games but
el Submarino Amarillo still managed to
qualify for the Europa League, as the player made his comeback earlier than expected in the side's final match, a 3–2 win at Mallorca, and finished the league campaign with a career-high eight goals. Cazorla struggled heavily with injury in the
2009–10 season, going on to miss the
2010 World Cup. He returned to full fitness in
the following campaign, only missing one game and scoring five times as Villarreal finished fourth and
qualified to the Champions League.
Málaga On 26 July 2011, Cazorla left Villarreal and returned to
Andalusia to join high-spending Málaga for a fee of €21 million. He scored on his official debut on 28 August, netting from a superbly taken
free kick in a 1–2 away loss against neighbouring
Sevilla. On 12 September, he scored a brace and gave an assist in another
local derby, a 4–0 home win against
Granada, and netted his fourth in only four games nine days later – again from a free kick – in a 1–0 home success over
Athletic Bilbao. On 18 March 2012, Cazorla scored from an injury-time free kick in a 1–1 away draw against Real Madrid, and finished
the season as the team's second top scorer (only behind
Salomón Rondón) as Málaga finished fourth and
qualified for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.
Arsenal On 7 August 2012, it was officially announced that Cazorla had signed a long-term deal with
Premier League club
Arsenal, worth £10 million. He became
Arsène Wenger's third major signing of the summer after the arrivals of German attacker
Lukas Podolski and French striker
Olivier Giroud. Cazorla picked up the man of the match award on his debut for the club against
Sunderland. for Arsenal He scored his first Arsenal goal in a 2–0 win against
Liverpool at
Anfield and scored his first hat-trick for the club against
Reading, a performance that saw him pick up another man of the match award. Despite his successful start to the campaign, Cazorla was mired in controversy during the match against
West Bromwich Albion, as he earned a
penalty upon apparently being tripped by
Steven Reid, which was converted to make it 1–0 in an eventual 2–0 home success. Television replays, however, showed that there had been no contact between Reid and Cazorla; this led to Wenger issuing an apology for Cazorla being awarded a penalty and suggesting that the Spaniard could face disciplinary action for going to ground too easily; the manager also revealed that the playmaker had told him that he "was touched, lost his balance". On 14 May 2013, Cazorla assisted all four of Arsenal's goals in a vital 4–1 win over
Wigan Athletic, which relegated their opponents and kept the Gunners in fourth place, with the eventual
qualification to the Champions League. Cazorla finished an exceptional first season in England as the only Arsenal player to feature in all 38 league games, and on 31 May 2013, he was named Arsenal's Player of the Season for
2012–13. He ended his first season at Arsenal with 12 goals and 14 assists from 49 appearances. in a Premier League match on 22 February 2014 Cazorla returned to pre-season training a few weeks later than normal after his involvement in the
Confederations Cup for
Spain. He started from the bench against Aston Villa but was introduced at half-time after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's injury. He played in every minute of Arsenal's games after that and played an important part in the side's three-straight wins early on in the season. The Spaniard picked up an ankle injury in September before the Sunderland game that kept him out of action for the rest of the month. On 30 November 2013, Cazorla made his 300th career top-flight league appearance, when he started for Arsenal in a 3–0 win against
Cardiff City. Cazorla produced a string of sparkling performances in January. He thumped home Arsenal's first against Tottenham before scoring a
brace in the win at home to
Fulham. The goals kept coming for the 29-year-old with further strikes against
Coventry City and
Southampton. Cazorla played every minute of Arsenal's seven fixtures in March and committed his long-term future to Arsenal by signing a new contract. Cazorla tucked home the winning penalty in the shootout against Wigan to send Arsenal to the final of the
FA Cup at
Wembley Stadium. The Spaniard also added to his assist tally when his corner was headed home by Giroud against West Brom and scored Arsenal's first goal – a direct free-kick – as the team came from 2–0 down to defeat
Hull City 3–2 in the
2014 FA Cup Final, winning his first piece of silverware with the club. He finished the campaign with 7 goals and 47 appearances in all competitions. Cazorla began the 2014–15 campaign with another goal at Wembley, slotting home Arsenal's opener against Manchester City in the
2014 FA Community Shield. On 30 May 2015, Cazorla was selected to start in the
2015 FA Cup Final, playing the full 90 minutes and being voted man of the match in a 4–0 defeat of Aston Villa at Wembley. He finished the Premier League season with 11 assists, the second-highest in the League behind Chelsea's
Cesc Fàbregas, and seven goals. Cazorla began the
2015–16 season strongly, featuring in every match for Arsenal from the start of the campaign, with analysis showing him to be the league's busiest and most accurate passer. However, on 30 November 2015 he suffered a knee injury in a match against
Norwich City and was ruled out for at least three months. At the outset of
2016–17 Cazorla was once again an important player for Arsenal, making 11 appearances and scoring twice, before he injured his right
Achilles tendon during a
Champions League fixture against
Ludogorets Razgrad on 19 October 2016, sustaining the injury from a challenge while providing an assist for a Mesut Özil goal in the 6–0 victory. Standard rehabilitation did not prove effective and in December it was confirmed that he would require surgery. He eventually endured eight operations on the problem (the ankle originally having been damaged playing for Spain in 2013), and contracted
gangrene on the affected area with the infection 'eating' part of the tendon. It had been feared that he could be unable to walk again or could even lose the affected leg. The condition required antibiotic treatment and a
skin graft, with the skin sourced from Cazorla's left forearm where a tattoo of his daughter's name had featured. He temporarily relocated to
Salamanca to complete a further recovery programme, with the aim of returning to play football in 2018; With his contract ending at the end of the
2017–18 season, it was announced that Cazorla would be leaving Arsenal. In 2020, he voiced his desire to return to Arsenal for a farewell match.
Second return to Villarreal After his departure from Arsenal, Cazorla spent a brief period training with the youth team at
Alavés. He then returned to former club
Villarreal in order to train with them during the rest of the pre-season period and prove his fitness. He played his first game in 636 days when he appeared in a friendly against
Hércules. He came on as a substitute in the 57th minute to a standing ovation. On 9 August 2018, his signing was officially announced by the club. Cazorla scored his team's second goal in a 5–1 thrashing of
Real Betis on 27 September 2019. With this goal, he became the highest-scoring midfielder in Villarreal's history with 46 goals, a record previously held by
Juan Román Riquelme. He ended the season with 10 assists, the third-most in the league. On 19 July 2020, Cazorla made his last appearance for Villarreal, in a 4–0 league win over
Eibar. Before being substituted in the 82nd minute of the match, he assisted the opening goal, which was scored by
André-Frank Zambo Anguissa. He ended the season with 11 goals (joint 10th most) and 9 assists (the third-most) in the league. Cazorla was given a
guard of honour by teammates and opponents as he exited the pitch. Across his three spells at the club he made 334 appearances (251 in the league) and scored 57 goals (40 in the league).
Al Sadd On 20 July 2020,
Al Sadd confirmed that Cazorla joined the club to play under his former teammate
Xavi. On 30 August, Cazorla scored on his debut match in a
Qatari Stars Cup semi-final win against
Al Ahli. This followed with a
brace four days later on the
2020–21 QSL matchday one fixture against
Al-Kharaitiyat. He was released on a free transfer after the 2022–23 season, having won 6 trophies and being their player of the season in the
2020–21 QSL season.
Return to Real Oviedo On 16 August 2023, Cazorla returned to his first club,
Real Oviedo, on a one-year contract. Initially wanting to play for free, he was prevented from doing so by employment rules, therefore it was announced that he would receive the
minimum salary, 91,000 euros a season. He also stipulated that all proceeds from 10% of all his shirt sales go to the club's academy. In the final against
Mirandés, he converted a penalty in a 3–1 extra-time victory in the second leg, playing a key role in securing his team's return to the top division after 24 years. On 12 July 2025, 40-year-old Cazorla signed a new one-year deal with the
Carbayones. ==International career==