Real Madrid Born in
Valencia, Soldado joined
Real Madrid at the age of 15 from native region small club CF Don Bosco. After years of prolific goalscoring with
the former's reserves, he made his first-team debut on 23 October 2005 against
Valencia, playing 18 minutes in a 1–2 home loss. Previously, on 28 September, he had scored an 86th-minute winner after just six minutes on the pitch in the
group stage of the
UEFA Champions League against
Olympiacos (2–1 home win), adding a late equaliser against
Osasuna and another in a 3–2 victory at
Racing de Santander as Real finished second in
the league, also netting in the
4–0 defeat of
Athletic Bilbao in the
Copa del Rey. In
2005–06, with Castilla, Soldado scored 19 goals in
Segunda División – two
penalties – to become joint-second highest goalscorer alongside
Ciudad de Murcia's
José Juan Luque, one behind
Ikechukwu Uche of
Recreativo de Huelva. On 24 July 2006, he officially became the first member of Real Madrid to leave under new manager
Fabio Capello and new president
Ramón Calderón, moving to fellow
La Liga side Osasuna on a
season-long
loan; he stated: "The idea is to leave and have a good season with a first division team scoring goals, and to develop as a footballer". His new team had finished fourth the previous campaign to earn themselves a place in the
third qualifying round of the Champions League, hence he chose them over a number of other Spanish clubs competing for his presence. "The following year I want to return to the Real first team. I chose Osasuna because it gives me the chance to play in the Champions League", he said to Real Madrid's website after his signing; he finished with a total of 13 goals in all competitions, making him the
Navarrese's top scorer. Soldado returned to Real Madrid where, on 11 July 2007, he renewed his contract until 30 June 2012. In a 21 July interview with Spanish newspaper
Diario AS, he revealed that he would be wearing number 9 shirt in his second stint: "During the preseason I'll be number 9, the number I've always dreamed of. When I step onto the pitch at the Bernabéu I'll remember all the hard work it took to get here". However, he finished
the season with just five league appearances (one start, at
Deportivo de La Coruña), the second with fewer minutes for the league champions.
Getafe In late July 2008, Soldado was sold to
Getafe for €4 million, signing a four-year deal with the club from the
Madrid outskirts. He scored his first goal for them on 19 October in a 2–1 away loss against
Málaga, adding two in another away defeat, with Osasuna (5–2), two months later; in between, he was
sent off in a 0–3 home loss to Valencia for a
headbutt on
Carlos Marchena. On 25 January 2009, Soldado scored a
hat-trick as an early
substitute, in a 5–1 home win over
Sporting de Gijón. On 22 March, as Getafe struggled in
the league, he scored twice to secure another home victory, 2–1 against Recreativo. The following month, he opened the 3–2 away defeat against his first employers. Soldado started
2009–10 in impressive fashion, putting three goals past Racing Santander in a 4–1 away win. After a long scoring drought, he added three more against newly promoted
Xerez in a 5–1 home victory. On 19 December 2009, Soldado took his league tally to ten after scoring twice in a 2–1 defeat of
Sevilla; with this achievement, he became Getafe's best ever scorer in the first division, surpassing
Manu del Moral and
Dani Güiza. He missed one month of competition due to injury but, in his return to action, scored from a
bicycle kick, earning his side a point in the 1–1 home draw with Gijón.
Valencia in 2011 In early June 2010, after a successful year – 16 league goals, and
qualification for the
UEFA Europa League – Soldado returned to his hometown and signed for Valencia for €10 million, replacing
Barcelona-bound
David Villa. In his first official game, on 14 September, in the
Champions League group phase, he contributed one goal in the
Che's 4–0 win at
Bursaspor. When the two teams met at the
Mestalla Stadium in November, he netted two more in a 6–1 victory. On 2 April 2011, Soldado scored all of Valencia's goals in a 4–2 away defeat of former club Getafe. In the next fixture, a
local derby against
Villarreal, he scored two more in a 5–0 home win. He finished
the season as joint-fourth top scorer as his team ranked third and
qualified for the Champions League. In his first game of
2011–12, Soldado scored four goals against Racing Santander (one in his
own net) in an eventual 4–3 home win – his last two arrived in the final three minutes. In late November 2011, in two home games separated by only five days, he added five more: two in a 2–3 home loss to Real Madrid and three in a 7–0 Champions League rout of
Genk. Soldado scored his 25th competitive goal of the campaign on 18 March 2012, netting all of his team's in a 3–0 win at Bilbao. In late June, he extended his contract until 2017. On 23 October 2012, Soldado
scored a hat-trick against
BATE Borisov in a 3–0 victory in the
Champions League group stage in
Minsk.
Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 Valencia agreed a deal with
Tottenham Hotspur for the transfer of Soldado on 1 August 2013, for a fee of £26 million, which would break the English club's previous record of £17 million paid for
Paulinho earlier in the summer; the transfer was completed four days later after a successful medical. On his
Premier League debut on 18 August, he scored through a penalty in a 1–0 win against
Crystal Palace at
Selhurst Park. Four days later, he netted a brace in a 5–0 victory at
Dinamo Tbilisi in the
playoff round of the Europa League. On 20 October 2013, Soldado scored his first Premier League goal from open play, in a 2–0 victory against
Aston Villa at
Villa Park. Two months later, he netted his first hat-trick for the Spurs, against
Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League group stage (4–1). Soldado scored the only goal against relegation-threatened
Cardiff City on 2 March 2014, his first in nine games. He netted just six times in the league in his
debut season, only two of which came from open play, and was included in
The Daily Telegraph website's list of the "10 worst buys of the Premier League season". On 18 October 2014, making his first league start of
the campaign, Soldado set up
Christian Eriksen's goal during the match against
Manchester City, also having a penalty saved by
Joe Hart in an eventual 4–1 away loss. His first goal came on 30 November, the decisive in a 2–1 home defeat of
Everton.
Villarreal On 14 August 2015, Soldado returned to his country's top flight, signing a three-year contract with Villarreal for a reported £10 million. He scored in his very first appearance, helping to a 1–1 draw at
Real Betis in which he started and retired injured midway through the second half. On 13 December 2015, Soldado netted the game's only goal to help defeat his former club Real Madrid at the
Estadio El Madrigal. He missed the vast majority of
2016–17, due to an
anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee contracted in pre-season.
Fenerbahçe On 11 August 2017,
Fenerbahçe announced the signing of Soldado. After failing to find the net in his first ten games, he scored a hat-trick as a 61st-minute substitute on 19 November in a 4–1 home win over
Sivasspor. Soldado announced that he would not renew his contract on 2 June 2019.
Granada On 15 July 2019, Soldado signed a one-year contract with recently promoted
Granada, making him
Diego Martínez's fourth signing of the summer transfer window. He made his competitive debut on 17 August, starting and scoring in a 4–4 draw against Villarreal, and remained a starter as the side qualified for Europe for the first time after a
seventh-place finish. In April 2020, the club activated prematurely the contract clause that would keep him for another season. On 17 September 2020, Soldado scored the first goal in the
Andalusians' European history, in a 4–0 win at Albania's
Teuta Durrës in the
second qualifying round. He netted twice more in their run to the quarter-finals, one in each leg of a 3–2 aggregate victory over Norwegians
Molde in the last 16.
Levante Soldado joined
Levante on 28 June 2021, on a two-year contract. He scored 11 times during his spell, also appearing in the unsuccessful
2023 promotion play-offs. On 3 August 2023, Soldado announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 38. ==International career==