Oviedo and Celta Michu was born in
Oviedo,
Asturias. After beginning with local
Real Oviedo in the lower leagues, he moved to
Celta de Vigo B of
Segunda División B in the middle of 2007; midway through his
first season he received his maiden
first-team callup, eventually finishing in the starting XI of the
Segunda División side. In mid-January 2010, a transfer to
La Liga with
Sporting de Gijón in order to replace
Birmingham City-bound
Míchel was almost arranged, but it eventually fell through and Michu stayed at Celta. In his last two second-tier campaigns, he totalled 12 goals for the
Galicians. On 8 June 2011, after helping the club to
sixth position in the
regular season, Michu netted the game's only goal in the first leg of the
promotion play-offs against
Granada CF, at home; in the second leg, however, he missed his
penalty shootout attempt and his team was eliminated (5–4).
Rayo Vallecano in March 2012 On 27 July 2011, after his contract with Celta expired, Michu signed a two-year deal with
Rayo Vallecano, newly promoted to the top division. He made his debut in the competition on 28 August, in a 1–1 away draw with
Athletic Bilbao. Michu was one of the best national scorers in his
first season (joint-ninth overall, best in the midfielder position), notably scoring braces against
Real Sociedad (4–0 home win),
Racing de Santander (4–2, home),
CA Osasuna (6–0, home) and
Real Madrid, the latter albeit in a 6–2 away loss.
Swansea City On 20 July 2012, Michu signed a three-year contract with
Premier League side
Swansea City for a fee of
£2 million. Following the departure of
Gylfi Sigurðsson, the club was looking for someone to fill the gap
behind the striker in their
4–2–3–1 formation. He was given the number 9 shirt upon his transfer, and subsequently began featuring as a
striker. On his league debut on 18 August 2012, Michu scored twice and provided an
assist for
Scott Sinclair in a 5–0 away victory over
Queens Park Rangers at
Loftus Road. The first of his goals was also the first scored in the
new top-flight season, and he later described his debut as "incredible". Michu stayed atop the scoring charts by netting the second in a 3–0 home defeat of
West Ham United on 25 August, and the second in the 2–2 draw against
Sunderland the following matchday. Michu scored his first
FA Cup goal on 6 January 2013, coming off the bench in an eventual 2–2 home draw against Arsenal in the
third round and finding the net a mere 73 seconds after entering the pitch. He followed this with another in his team's 2–0 win at
Chelsea in
the semi-finals of the
Football League Cup. On 23 January 2013, Michu signed a new four-year contract. On 24 February he scored the second in a
5–0 victory over
Bradford City to help the side to win the League Cup for the first time in their history, in what was his 19th official goal of the campaign. he was subsequently named the team's Player of the Year, as well as the supporters Player of the Year. Michu scored Swansea's first goal of
2013–14 on 1 August 2013, in the club's 4–0 home win against
Malmö FF in the
third qualifying round of the
UEFA Europa League. In the play-off tie against
FC Petrolul Ploiești later that month, he netted the second in a 5–1 victory, also at home. However, injuries limited his impact for much of the season.
Loan to Napoli and injuries On 17 July 2014, Michu moved on loan to
SSC Napoli of
Serie A, with the option of a permanent move. He made his debut for his new team on 31 August, coming on as an 85th-minute
substitute for
Lorenzo Insigne in a 2–1 win at
Genoa. A recurrence of his ankle injury meant that Michu could only play six competitive matches for the Italians, and having not appeared for Swansea since April 2014, he was released on 9 November 2015 through a financial settlement, with his contract due to expire the following summer.
Later career Immediately after leaving Swansea, Michu joined Asturian amateurs
UP Langreo. On 19 August 2016, he returned to his first club Oviedo, signing a one-year deal. Michu officially announced his retirement from professional football on 25 July 2017 at the age of 31, due to the 'situation of [his] right ankle'. The previous week, he commented that he would like to stay connected with football. Along with players such as
Roque Santa Cruz and
Amr Zaki, Michu was described as a 'one-season wonder' by sports outlets due to his performances in 2012–13 followed by his rapid decline thereafter. ==International career==