Miguel Pérez Cuesta (born 21 March 1986), known asMichu (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈmitʃu]), is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as aforward orattacking midfielder. He is the currentdirector of football ofBurgos CF.

Michu

Michu training withSwansea City in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Miguel Pérez Cuesta[1]
Date of birth	(1986-03-21)21 March 1986 (age 39)[2]
Place of birth	Oviedo, Spain
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s)	Forward,attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Burgos (director of football)
Youth career
1994–2003	Oviedo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2007	Oviedo	95	(13)
2007–2008	Celta B	28	(10)
2008–2011	Celta	101	(14)
2011–2012	Rayo Vallecano	37	(15)
2012–2015	Swansea City	52	(20)
2014–2015	→Napoli (loan)	3	(0)
2015–2016	Langreo	13	(10)
2016–2017	Oviedo	27	(1)
Total		356	(83)
International career
2013	Spain	1	(0)
Managerial career
2024	Burgos (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He started playing forReal Oviedo, subsequently representingCelta andRayo Vallecano, making hisLa Liga debut with the latter in2011–12. In 2012 he signed withSwansea City, scoring 22 goals in all competitions in hisfirst season andwinning the League Cup.

Despite performances that earned him an international debut forSpain in 2013, Michu fell out of favour at Swansea due to several injury problems, being loaned toNapoli and released in November 2015. He appeared forLangreo and Oviedo before retiring.

Michu was born inOviedo,Asturias.^[3] After beginning with localReal Oviedo in the lower leagues, he moved toCelta de Vigo B ofSegunda División B in the middle of 2007; midway through hisfirst season he received his maidenfirst-team callup, eventually finishing in the starting XI of theSegunda División side.^[4]

In mid-January 2010, a transfer toLa Liga withSporting de Gijón in order to replaceBirmingham City-boundMíchel was almost arranged, but it eventually fell through and Michu stayed at Celta.^[5] In his last two second-tier campaigns, he totalled 12 goals for theGalicians.^[6][7]

On 8 June 2011, after helping the club tosixth position in theregular season, Michu netted the game's only goal in the first leg of thepromotion play-offs againstGranada CF, at home;^[8] in the second leg, however, he missed hispenalty shootout attempt and his team was eliminated (5–4).^[9]

On 27 July 2011, after his contract with Celta expired, Michu signed a two-year deal withRayo Vallecano, newly promoted to the top division.^[10] He made his debut in the competition on 28 August, in a 1–1 away draw withAthletic Bilbao.^[11]

Michu was one of the best national scorers in hisfirst season (joint-ninth overall, best in the midfielder position),^[12] notably scoring braces againstReal Sociedad (4–0 home win),^[13]Racing de Santander (4–2, home),^[14]CA Osasuna (6–0, home)^[15] andReal Madrid, the latter albeit in a 6–2 away loss.^[16]

On 20 July 2012, Michu signed a three-year contract withPremier League sideSwansea City for a fee of£2 million.^[17] Following the departure ofGylfi Sigurðsson, the club was looking for someone to fill the gapbehind the striker in their4–2–3–1 formation.^[18] He was given the number 9 shirt upon his transfer, and subsequently began featuring as astriker.^[19]

On his league debut on 18 August 2012, Michu scored twice and provided anassist forScott Sinclair in a 5–0 away victory overQueens Park Rangers atLoftus Road.^[20] The first of his goals was also the first scored in thenew top-flight season,^[21] and he later described his debut as "incredible".^[22]

Michu stayed atop the scoring charts by netting the second in a 3–0 home defeat ofWest Ham United on 25 August,^[23] and the second in the 2–2 draw againstSunderland the following matchday.^[24]

Michu scored his firstFA Cup goal on 6 January 2013, coming off the bench in an eventual 2–2 home draw against Arsenal in thethird round and finding the net a mere 73 seconds after entering the pitch.^[25] He followed this with another in his team's 2–0 win atChelsea inthe semi-finals of theFootball League Cup.^[26]

On 23 January 2013, Michu signed a new four-year contract.^[27] On 24 February he scored the second in a5–0 victory overBradford City to help the side to win the League Cup for the first time in their history,^[28] in what was his 19th official goal of the campaign.^[29] he was subsequently named the team's Player of the Year, as well as the supporters Player of the Year.^[30]

Michu scored Swansea's first goal of2013–14 on 1 August 2013, in the club's 4–0 home win againstMalmö FF in thethird qualifying round of theUEFA Europa League.^[31] In the play-off tie againstFC Petrolul Ploiești later that month, he netted the second in a 5–1 victory, also at home.^[32] However, injuries limited his impact for much of the season.^[33][34]

On 17 July 2014, Michu moved on loan toSSC Napoli ofSerie A, with the option of a permanent move.^[35] He made his debut for his new team on 31 August, coming on as an 85th-minutesubstitute forLorenzo Insigne in a 2–1 win atGenoa.^[36]

A recurrence of his ankle injury meant that Michu could only play six competitive matches for the Italians,^[37][38] and having not appeared for Swansea since April 2014, he was released on 9 November 2015 through a financial settlement, with his contract due to expire the following summer.^[39]

Immediately after leaving Swansea, Michu joined Asturian amateursUP Langreo.^[40] On 19 August 2016, he returned to his first club Oviedo, signing a one-year deal.^[41]

Michu officially announced his retirement from professional football on 25 July 2017 at the age of 31, due to the 'situation of [his] right ankle'.^{[34][42][43][44]} The previous week, he commented that he would like to stay connected with football.^[45]

Along with players such asRoque Santa Cruz andAmr Zaki, Michu was described as a 'one-season wonder' by sports outlets due to his performances in 2012–13 followed by his rapid decline thereafter.^{[46][47][48][49][50]}

On 22 December 2012, courtesy of his performances with Swansea,Vicente del Bosque said that Michu would play forSpain for the first time in afriendly withUruguay on 6 February of the following year.^[51] However, he did not make the final squad for that match.^[52]

Michu was finally called up to the national team on 6 October 2013, as a replacement for the injuredDavid Villa.^[53] He made his debut five days later, starting in a2014 FIFA World Cupqualifier againstBelarus inPalma de Mallorca (2–1 win).^[54]

On 3 June 2018, Michu was appointed asdirector of football of Langreo, where his brother acted as head coach.^[55] He left the position on 3 April 2019, to become the technical secretary of Oviedo.^[56] In December that year, he agreed to terminate his contract to joinBurgos CF in the former capacity.^[57]

In October 2024, Michu named himselfcaretaker manager of Burgos in place of the sackedBolo. His only match in charge was a 5–2 away win overCD Móstoles URJC in thefirst round of theCopa del Rey.^[58]

In November 2012, along with fellow Premier League starsSanti Cazorla andJuan Mata, Michu bought shares in former club Oviedo as they struggled to raise €2 million to stay afloat in the Spanish third division.^[59] He spoke to the official Swansea website about his love for his former club and the decision saying, "It's my local club, a club I love, so I hope it will be enough."^[60] In 2022, he stated that he was still struggling with chronic pain after retirement, claiming that his 'ankle is that of a 90-year-old' despite undergoing several surgeries.^[61]

Michu's older brotherHernán was also a footballer. Amidfielder, he too was developed at Oviedo before playing for local sides and subsequently switching to a managerial role; both worked together at Langreo in 2015–16.^[62]

As of 1 November 2024

Swansea City

• Football League Cup:2012–13^[28]

Individual

• Swansea City Player of the Year:2012–13^[79]

• Michu at BDFutbol
• Michu at National-Football-Teams.com