*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:54, 26 May 2024 (UTC)
Mariano DíazMejía (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈɾjano ˈði.aθ meˈxi.a]; born 1 August 1993), better known as Mariano, is a professional footballer who plays as forward. He is currently a free agent.
Mariano was born in Spain to a Spanish father and a mother from the Dominican Republic. He played and scored in a friendly match for the Dominican Republic national team in 2013. He then retired from the Dominican Republic team in the hopes of representing Spain.[3]
In 2014–15, with Castilla now in the third tier, Mariano was indefinitely promoted to the team. He made ten appearances, six from the bench, and scored five times. On 29 March, he entered late in De Tomás' place again and scored twice to cap a 5–1 home win over UD Las Palmas B,[8] while one week later, he was given a start at lowly UB Conquense and struck both goals in a seven-minute span.[9] On 24 October 2015, Mariano scored all of his team's goals in a 3–1 home win over Socuéllamos,[10] and repeated this on 8 November in a 3–2 win against Fuenlabrada.[11] The following 17 April, he scored his third treble of the season, scoring all of the goals – two penalties – in a home win over Gernika Club which put Castilla top.[12] He scored his 25th goal of the season in a 6–1 win over La Roda CF on the last day of the season, making him the season's top scorer and winning the group at the expense of Barakaldo.[13]
2016–17: Entrance in the first squad
Mariano was definitively promoted to the main squad by manager Zinedine Zidane on 20 August 2016, after a back injury to striker Karim Benzema.[14] One week later, Mariano made his senior debut during a 2–1 win over Celta de Vigo, replacing Álvaro Morata in the 77th minute.[15] On 26 October, again from the bench, he scored his first goal for the Merengues to conclude a 7–1 win at Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa in the Copa del Rey.[16] In the second leg, he added a hat-trick for a 13–2 aggregate win, including a 23rd-second goal that was his team's fastest goal in the competition.[17] Mariano scored his first top-flight goal on 10 December, equalising in a 3–2 comeback victory at home to Deportivo de La Coruña.[18] Later that month, he was part of the squad that won the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, but did not appear in either of Real Madrid's matches.[19][20] Mariano made eight appearances when Madrid won the 2016–17 La Liga.[21][22] He was a back-up when Madrid won the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League.[23]
Lyon
On 30 June 2017, Mariano signed for Olympique Lyonnais.[24][25] The fee was reported as €8 million plus 35% interest on the capital gain of a potential future transfer.[26][27] He made his debut on 5 August in the first match of the 2017–18 Ligue 1 season against Strasbourg, scoring twice in a 4–0 home win.[28] He totalled 18 goals for the league season, forming a prolific attacking trio alongside Memphis Depay and Nabil Fekir (19 and 18 goals respectively).[29]
Return to Real Madrid
On 29 August 2018, Real Madrid announced they had signed Mariano on a five-year contract. As the Spanish club already owned 35% of his playing rights, the fee was reduced to €23 million.[30][31] He was given the number 7 shirt, previously worn by Cristiano Ronaldo.[32][33] His second debut was on 19 September, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute against Roma in the first fixture of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage, and he scored the last goal of a 3–0 victory with a curved shot from outside the penalty area.[34] On 1 March 2020, having just came off the bench for his first league appearance of the season, he scored with his first touch of the ball in the 90th minute of a 2–0 El Clásico victory.[35] He made five appearances during the league season, as Real Madrid won the 2019–20 La Liga.[36] In July 2020, Mariano tested positive for COVID-19.[37]
On 3 June 2023, Real Madrid announced that Mariano would leave the club at the expiration of his contract on 30 June 2023.[38]
Mariano is eligible for the Dominican Republic through his mother, a native of San Juan de la Maguana.[41] He made his international debut on 24 March 2013 in a friendly against neighbours Haiti, and scored the last goal of a 3–1 victory.[42] He later retired from the national team to focus on his career at Real Madrid and also avoid being cap-tied with the Dominican Republic, in view of a possible call up for the Spain national team.[3][43] In December 2017, Spain manager Julen Lopetegui said he was monitoring Mariano for a call-up.[44]
^ abAndreu, Héctor (24 August 2016). "Mariano puede jugar con España" [Mariano can play with Spain] (in Spanish). Fichajes.net. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
^Martín, Iván (8 November 2013). "El Castilla baila al ritmo de Mariano" [Castilla dance to Mariano's rhythm]. Marca (in Spanish). Spain. Retrieved 16 March 2016.