.jpg) Pérez withGalicia in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lucas Pérez Martínez[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1988-09-10)10 September 1988 (age 37)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | A Coruña, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3][2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Victoria | |||
| Atlético Arteixo | |||
| Alavés | |||
| Montañeros | |||
| Órdenes | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2009 | Atlético Madrid C | 55 | (18) |
| 2009–2011 | Rayo Vallecano B | 44 | (25) |
| 2010–2011 | Rayo Vallecano | 6 | (1) |
| 2011–2013 | Karpaty Lviv | 51 | (14) |
| 2013 | →Dynamo Kyiv (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2013–2015 | PAOK | 32 | (9) |
| 2014–2015 | →Deportivo La Coruña (loan) | 21 | (6) |
| 2015–2016 | Deportivo La Coruña | 37 | (18) |
| 2016–2018 | Arsenal | 11 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | →Deportivo La Coruña (loan) | 35 | (8) |
| 2018–2019 | West Ham United | 15 | (3) |
| 2019–2021 | Alavés | 62 | (15) |
| 2021–2022 | Elche | 18 | (2) |
| 2022 | Cádiz | 29 | (6) |
| 2023–2025 | Deportivo La Coruña | 69 | (24) |
| 2025 | PSV | 2 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016– | Galicia | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:09, 15 March 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:02, 24 February 2025 (UTC) | |||
Lucas Pérez Martínez (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈlukasˈpeɾeθmaɾˈtineθ]; born 10 September 1988) is a Spanish professionalfootballer who plays as aforward.
After spending the first years of his career in the lower leagues, only appearing sporadically for the first team ofRayo Vallecano in theSegunda División, he first made a name for himself withKarpaty Lviv in theUkrainian Premier League. In 2013, he signed withPAOK from Greece, and later returned toLa Liga withDeportivo, where he scored 32 goals in 93 matches.
Subsequently, he represented English clubsArsenal andWest Ham United in thePremier League, before rejoining Alavés where he had played as a youth.
Pérez was born inA Coruña,Galicia. After appearing for five clubs as a youth he moved toMadrid and joinedAtlético Madrid'sC team, playing two seasons in theTercera División. In summer 2009 he signed withRayo Vallecano, helpingthe reserves promote from the same level in hisfirst year.[4][5]
In the2010–11 season, Pérez contributed five games and one goal (in a 3–0 home win againstReal Valladolid on 6 November 2010)[6] as Rayo returned toLa Liga after eight years.[7] He continued to be mainly registered with the B side, however.[8][9]
On 17 January 2011,free agent Pérez joinedKarpaty Lviv on a three-year deal.[10] He scored his first goal for the team on 17 July, againstChornomorets Odesa in a 1–1Ukrainian Premier League draw.
Pérez netted ahat-trick on 4 November 2012 in a 4–0 home victory overKryvbas Kryvyi Rih, including a long-distance volley from acorner kick delivery.[11] In January 2013, he joined fellow top-division clubDynamo Kyiv on loan for the remainder ofthe campaign, and later labelled his experience as "a nightmare".[12]
On 5 July 2013, Pérez signed on a fee of€700,000 a three-year contract withSuper League Greece teamPAOK.[13] He scored his first competitive goal on 17 August, contributing to a 3–0 home defeat ofSkoda Xanthi, and on 24 November he equalised in a 3–1 win overAris in theDerby of Northern Greece.[14] He also helped to arunner-up run in thenational cup, losing the decisive match toPanathinaikos.[15]
On 18 July 2014, Pérez returned to Spain and joined hisnewly promoted hometown sideDeportivo de La Coruña in a one-year loan deal, with a buyout clause.[16] He scored in his first official appearance, having started in a 3–0 home victory againstValencia on 19 October which also marked his top-flight debut.[17] The following matchday, he was replaced in the 15th minute of a 0–0 draw atEspanyol due to a knee injury.[18][19]
Pérez only returned to action in January 2015,[20] appearing 12 minutes in a 0–4 home loss toBarcelona.[21] On 23 May, against the same opponent at theCamp Nou, he helpedDépor come from behind by scoring in the 67th minute of a 2–2 draw in the last round thatprevented relegation.[22]
On 23 July 2015, in his first competitive match upon his return to PAOK, againstNK Lokomotiva in thesecond preliminary round of theUEFA Europa League, Pérez scored the opener afterRóbert Mak's shot was saved, in an eventual 6–0 home rout.[23] One week later, againstSpartak Trnava in the same competition, he netted the game's only goal in the first leg.[24]
On 12 August 2015, Pérez signed a permanent four-year deal with Deportivo.[25] On 12 December, he took hisseason tally to 11 goals in only 15 games, helping to a 2–2 draw with Barcelona.[26]
Pérez totalled a career-best 17 goals at the end of the campaign, eventually helping his side to escape relegation again.[27]
On 27 August 2016,Arsène Wenger said that Pérez had completed a medical examination in order to joinArsenal after the paperwork was done;[28][29] three days later, the transfer was confirmed by the club for a reported fee of £17.1 million.[30] He made his competitive debut in the 2–1Premier League home win overSouthampton on 10 September, which coincided with both his birthday and that of teammateLaurent Koscielny, whom heassisted for his team's equaliser.[31]
On 20 September 2016, during anEFL Cup away match againstNottingham Forest, Pérez scored his first goals for the Gunners, grabbing a brace in an eventual 4–0 victory in thethird round.[32] On 6 December, he contributed three goals in 39 minutes to a 4–1 away defeat ofBasel in theUEFA Champions League'sgroup stage, helping them win the group.[33]
Pérez netted for the first time in the domestic league on 3 January 2017, helping his team come back from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 atBournemouth.[34] Towards the end of the month, he provided an assist toDanny Welbeck's first-ever brace for Arsenal, in a5–0 away win againstSouthampton in theFA Cup.[35]
On 31 August 2017, Pérez rejoined Deportivo on aseason-long loan.[36]
On 9 August 2018, Pérez signed a three-year contract withWest Ham United for a reported fee of £4 million.[37] He made his league debut for his new club nine days later, coming on as a 77th-minutesubstitute forMark Noble in a 1–2 home loss to Bournemouth.[38] He scored his first goal for them on 26 September, in their 8–0 demolition ofMacclesfield Town in theEFL Cup.[39]
On 4 December 2018, Pérez scored his first league goals for 700 days: coming on forMarko Arnautović, he scored twice in a 3–1 home victory againstCardiff City, becoming the first West Ham player to achieve the feat as a substitute sincePaulo Wanchope in 2000.[40]
In May 2019, West Ham accepted an offer fromAlavés for Peréz for a fee of €2.5m subject to a medical.[41] He officially signed for the club on 3 June,[42] making his league debut on 18 August by playing the last minutes of the 1–0 home victory overLevante.[43] He scored his first goal on 29 September, the first in a 2–0 win againstMallorca also at theMendizorrotza Stadium.[44]
On 29 October 2019, Pérez equalised in a 1–1 home draw with Atlético Madrid, becoming the first Alavés player to score in five consecutive La Liga games since 1955.[45] He repeated the feat the following match (atOsasuna, 4–2 loss), and in the process became their first player to achieve that in six consecutive fixtures.[46] He found the net for the seventh time on 9 November againstReal Valladolid, becoming the first player in the history of the competition to score in seven consecutive matches with two different teams, as he had done it before with Deportivo.[47]
Pérez terminated his contract on 18 August 2021.[48]
On 31 August 2021,free agent Pérez signed a one-year deal withElche, still in the top tier.[49] The following 31 January, he moved toCádiz of the same league on a 18-month contract.[50]
Pérez agreed to a return to Deportivo on 31 December 2022, with the deal being made effective at the opening of the Januarytransfer window;[51] the player himself paid €493,000 in order to be released.[52][53] He scored a brace on hisPrimera Federación debut eight days later, in a 3–0 win overSalamanca.[54]
On 12 May 2024, Pérez scored from adirect free kick in the 1–0 victory against second-placedBarcelona Atlètic, securing the club'sreturn toSegunda División after four years.[55] In theplay-off final, he added three goals over two legs in a 6–3 aggregate win overCastellón to claim the title.[56]
On 22 January 2025, Pérez terminated his contract after requesting to leave for "personal reasons".[57]
On 23 February 2025, aged 36, Lucas moved to the DutchEredivisie withPSV Eindhoven on a short-term deal.[58] He made his debut three days later, as a late replacement in the 2–1 home loss againstGo Ahead Eagles in thesemi-finals of theKNVB Cup.[59]
On 24 March 2025, it was reported that Pérez had contractedactive tuberculosis, potentially sidelining him for the remainder ofthe season.[60]
Pérez earned his firstcap for theGalicia autonomous team on 20 May 2016, appearing in the 2–2friendly withVenezuela.[61]
Pérez was abandoned by his parents at anorphanage at the age of two, being raised by his grandparents. His parents later returned to his life, asking him for large sums of money upon his success.[62]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rayo Vallecano | 2009–10 | Segunda División | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | Segunda División | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||||
| Rayo Vallecano B | 2009–10 | Tercera División | 30 | 20 | — | — | — | — | 30 | 20 | ||||
| 2010–11 | Segunda División B | 14 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 44 | 25 | — | — | — | — | 44 | 25 | ||||||
| Karpaty Lviv | 2010–11 | Ukrainian Premier League | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | Ukrainian Premier League | 26 | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 1 | — | 34 | 7 | |||
| 2012–13 | Ukrainian Premier League | 17 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 18 | 8 | ||||
| Total | 51 | 14 | 5 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | — | 60 | 15 | ||||
| Dynamo Kyiv (loan) | 2012–13 | Ukrainian Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| PAOK | 2013–14 | Super League Greece | 32 | 9 | 6 | 0 | — | 12[d] | 1 | — | 50 | 10 | ||
| 2015–16 | Super League Greece | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 2 | — | 2 | 2 | |||
| Total | 32 | 9 | 6 | 0 | — | 14 | 3 | — | 52 | 12 | ||||
| Deportivo La Coruña (loan) | 2014–15 | La Liga | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 6 | |||
| Deportivo La Coruña | 2015–16 | La Liga | 36 | 17 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 17 | |||
| 2016–17 | La Liga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 58 | 24 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 59 | 24 | |||||
| Arsenal | 2016–17 | Premier League | 11 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3[e] | 3 | — | 21 | 7 | |
| Deportivo La Coruña (loan) | 2017–18 | La Liga | 35 | 8 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 37 | 9 | |||
| West Ham United | 2018–19 | Premier League | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 19 | 6 | ||
| Alavés | 2019–20 | La Liga | 34 | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 11 | |||
| 2020–21 | La Liga | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 62 | 15 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 62 | 15 | |||||
| Elche | 2021–22 | La Liga | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 2 | |||
| Cádiz | 2021–22 | La Liga | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 16 | 4 | |||
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 14 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 15 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 29 | 6 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 31 | 8 | |||||
| Deportivo La Coruña | 2022–23 | Primera Federación | 19 | 8 | — | — | — | 2[f] | 1 | 21 | 9 | |||
| 2023–24 | Primera Federación | 31 | 12 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 2[f] | 3 | 35 | 16 | |||
| 2024–25 | Segunda División | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 20 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 69 | 24 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 4 | 4 | 76 | 29 | ||||
| PSV | 2024–25 | Eredivisie | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 432 | 132 | 25 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 489 | 153 | ||
PAOK
Arsenal
Deportivo La Coruña
PSV
