Racing Santander Born in
Santander,
Cantabria, Canales was a product of hometown
Racing de Santander's youth ranks. In 2006, 50% of his playing rights were bought by
Deportivo de La Coruña as part of the deal that saw
Pedro Munitis return to Racing with
Dudu Aouate and
Antonio Tomás moving in the opposite direction. Canales made his first-team debut on 18 September 2008, playing in a
UEFA Cup home tie against
FC Honka of
Finland, a
1–0 win. Roughly two weeks later he first appeared in
La Liga, with the same result happening at
CA Osasuna. Having gradually received more playing time with the main squad, Canales scored twice against
RCD Espanyol in a 4–0 away win on 6 December 2009, and repeated the feat at
Sevilla FC on 9 January 2010 (2–1 at the
Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium), receiving
Player of the match honors in the latter game. The following week, as Racing drew at home to
Real Valladolid 1–1, he also found the net, and eventually finished his
first full season with six goals and four
assists to help his team narrowly avoid relegation.
Real Madrid On 12 February 2010,
Real Madrid announced the signing of Canales on a six-year deal for a fee believed to be around
€4.5 million plus incentives. He made his debut on 4 August, scoring a goal in a 3–2
friendly win over
Club América. His first
league appearance came on 29 August, in a 0–0 draw against
RCD Mallorca. Canales totalled 518 minutes of action in his
only year with the club, which included three appearances in
the victorious run in the
Copa del Rey.
Valencia On 4 August 2011, Valencia announced Canales would join the club on a two-year loan. After that time, they retained the option of purchasing the player whilst Real Madrid had the possibility of recalling him during that timeframe. Canales scored his first goal for his new side on 1 October, the game's only in a home fixture against
Granada CF. Late into the month, he had to be stretchered off during a league home match against
Athletic Bilbao and, the following day, he was diagnosed with a torn
cruciate ligament, being sidelined for six months. On 26 April 2012, in only his fifth appearance since returning, against
Atlético Madrid in the
Europa League semi-finals' second leg, Canales relapsed from his injury early into the second half of an eventual 0–1 home loss (5–2 aggregate defeat), going on to miss a further six months of action. On 19 July 2012, Canales moved permanently to Valencia for €7.5 million and five years, alongside Madrid teammate
Fernando Gago. The latter also reserved an option to buy back the player during the next two seasons.
Real Sociedad Canales was deemed surplus to requirements after the arrival of new Valencia coach
Juan Antonio Pizzi, in December 2013. In late January of the following year, he signed for four and a half years and €3.5 million with fellow top-division side
Real Sociedad. Canales scored four goals from 36 appearances in his
first full season, as the
Txuriurdin finished in 12th position. On 30 December 2015, however, during the first half of a match at former club Real Madrid, he suffered another serious knee injury, now in the left leg. On 24 May 2018, Real Sociedad confirmed that Canales would be leaving the
Anoeta Stadium on 30 June.
Betis On 3 July 2018,
free agent Canales signed a four-year contract with
Real Betis. In the
2020–21 campaign, he scored a career-best eight goals.
Monterrey In July 2023, Canales moved abroad for the first time in his career to join
Liga MX club
Monterrey. He left the club after his contract expired at the end of the 2026 Clausura tournament. ==International career==