Rafa Mir

Rafael "Rafa" Mir Vicente (born 18 June 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Huesca on loan from English club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mir and the second or maternal family name is Vicente.
Rafa Mir
Personal information
Full name Rafael Mir Vicente[1]
Date of birth (1997-06-18) 18 June 1997
Place of birth Murcia, Spain
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Huesca
(on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Number 24
Youth career
Javalí Nuevo
2006–2007 ElPozo Murcia
2007–2009 Ranero
2009–2011 Barcelona
2011–2012 Murcia
2012–2015 Valencia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Valencia B 60 (25)
2015–2018 Valencia 2 (0)
2018– Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 (0)
2018–2019 → Las Palmas (loan) 30 (7)
2019–2020 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 11 (0)
2020– → Huesca (loan) 40 (15)
National team‡
2018–2019 Spain U21 10 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 February 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 June 2019

Club career

Youth career / Valencia

Born in Murcia, Mir began his career playing futsal with CD Javalí Nuevo. After a 120-goal spell at ElPozo Murcia FS he began playing full football with Ranero CF, scoring 57 and 84 goals in his respective seasons before joining FC Barcelona.[2]

Mir's 32 goals at La Masia earned him a return to his native region and Real Murcia, where a 45-goal haul led to the attention of Valencia CF.[2] He made his senior debut for the reserves on 1 March 2015, as an 88th-minute substitute for Wilfried Zahibo in a 2–1 Segunda División B loss at CE L'Hospitalet.

Mir scored his first senior goal on 7 March 2015, netting the last in a 2–0 win over CF Badalona at the Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna.[3] He finished the campaign with four appearances, as his side narrowly avoided relegation.

The following season, Mir excelled in the UEFA Youth League, scoring consecutive braces in victories over K.A.A. Gent.[4][5] On 14 November 2015, he was given his first start for the B-side, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–4 loss at another reserve team, Villarreal CF B.[6]

On 24 November 2015, Mir was called up to the main squad by manager Nuno Espírito Santo for a La Liga game against UD Las Palmas;[7] he was an unused substitute in the 1–1 draw at the Mestalla Stadium.[8] He made his professional debut on 25 November, starting in a UEFA Champions League group stage match away to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg,[9] being substituted for Santi Mina in the 56th minute of an eventual 2–0 defeat.[10]

He made his top-flight debut against Las Palmas on 28 August, replacing Enzo Pérez for the final four minutes of a 2–4 home loss.[11]

Mir began the first half of the 2017–18 season for Valencia B in good form, scoring 15 goals in 19 games, attracting interest from Real Madrid and Wolverhampton Wanderers.[12]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 3 January 2018, Mir joined Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with the club and taking the number 9 shirt. He linked up with former Valencia boss Nuno Espírito Santo, who gave him his first team debut at the club.[13] He made his debut three days later in the FA Cup third round at home to Swansea City, playing the last 13 minutes of a goalless draw in place of Leo Bonatini.[14]

On 23 July 2018, Mir joined Segunda División side UD Las Palmas on loan for one season.[15] A year later, he returned to the Championship, on loan to Nottingham Forest.[16] After struggling for both minutes and goals with Forest, Mir and Forest agreed for him to return to his parent club on 14 January 2020.[17]

Immediately following his departure from Nottingham, Mir was loaned to Segunda División side SD Huesca for 18 months.[18] He was sent off on 8 February in a 1–0 loss at Girona FC for elbowing Álex Granell and banned for one match.[19] On 17 July, he scored twice in a 3–0 home win over CD Numancia to win promotion to the top flight with a game remaining.[20] The following 29 January, he scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 victory at Real Valladolid.[21]

Personal life

Mir, who idolised German forward Mario Gómez, is the son of former defender Magín Mir, whose clubs included RCD Mallorca and Murcia.[2]

Career statistics
As of match played 20 July 2020[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League National Cup EFL Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Valencia B 2014–15 Segunda División B 41——41
2015–16 Segunda División B 20——20
2016–17 Segunda División B 359——359
2017–18 Segunda División B 1915——1915
Total 602500006025
Valencia 2015–16 La Liga 0010—10
2016–17 La Liga 2030—50
Total 20400060
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2017–18 Championship 2020—40
2018–19 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 0 2 0 0 0 4 0
Las Palmas (loan) 2018–19 Segunda División 30 7 0 0 — 30 7
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2019–20 Championship 9 0 0 0 2 0 11 0
SD Huesca (loan) 2019–20 Segunda División 18 9 0 0 — 18 9
2020–21 La Liga 21 6 0 0 — 21 6
Career Total 14547602015047

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Nottingham Forest" (PDF). English Football League. p. 49. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. "Rafa Mir, el ´gigante´ de los mil goles del Valencia CF" [Rafa Mir, Valencia CF's 1000-goal 'giant'] (in Spanish). Superdeporte. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. "El Mestalla sufre pero se impone" [Mestalla suffer but impose themselves] (in Spanish). Levante EMV. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. "Perfect Arsenal forge on in Youth League". UEFA. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  5. "Holders Chelsea assured of top-two finish". UEFA. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  6. "El Valencia Mestalla naufraga ante el Villarreal B" [Valencia Mestalla sink against Villarreal B] (in Spanish). Super Deporte. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  7. Gimeno, Manu (20 November 2015). "Nuno se lleva a Rafa Mir y recupera a pesos pesados" [Nuno brings in Rafa Mir and regains heavyweights] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  8. "Viera gets the point for Las Palmas as Valencia are left frustrated". ESPN. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  9. Rocha Rodrigues, Luís; Sousa, Vasco (24 November 2015). "Para sacudir a crise, Nuno estreia Rafa Mir, de 18 anos" [To end the crisis, Nuno chooses, Rafa Mir, 18] (in Portuguese). ZeroZero. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  10. "Zenit stay perfect at Valencia's expense". UEFA. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  11. "El Las Palmas desnuda al Valencia" [Las Palmas expose Valencia] (in Spanish). El Periódico. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  12. "Wolves close to signing Rafa Mir from Valencia". Sky Sports. 3 January 2018.
  13. "Welcome Rafa". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 3 January 2018.
  14. Dicken, Alex (10 January 2018). "Rafa Mir scouting report: How the Wolves new boy's brief but eventful debut unfolded". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  15. "Mir Departs Molineux On Loan". Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  16. "Rafa Mir: Nottingham Forest sign Wolves striker on season-long loan". BBC. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  17. Clapson, Sarah (14 January 2020). "Breaking: Flop leaves Nottingham Forest as loan spell is terminated". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  18. Puyuelo, Jorge (24 August 2020). "Rafa Mir será el '9' del Huesca" [Rafa Mir will be Huesca's '9']. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  19. Ralla, Emilio (12 February 2020). "La sanción a Rafa Mir se queda en un partido" [Rafa Mir's punishment stays at one match]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  20. Delgado, José Domingo (17 July 2020). "Rafa Mir lleva a la SD Huesca a Primera y hunde al Numancia" [Rafa Mir takes SD Huesca to Primera and sinks Numancia] (in Spanish). Be Soccer. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  21. "Rafa Mir Shines With Hat Trick To Give Huesca Win Over Valladolid". beIN Sports. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  22. "Rafa Mir Statistics". soccerway. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
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