PLAYER PROFILE

Nery Castillo

Position: Forward

Height: 5'8

Weight: 9st 8lbs

Date of Birth: 1984-06-13 San Luis Potosi, Mexico

Nery Castillo

Nery Castillo was born in Mexico to Uruguayan parents and grew up in Uruguay, so his first club was local side Danubio. Whilst still a youth, he was spotted by Manchester United scouts, and a move to Old Trafford only fell through due to work permit problems.

His move to Europe came soon after though, as he signed for Olympiakos in 2000 and quickly established himself as one of the hottest young properties in Greek football, though his international career stalled as he ponderered whether to play for Uruguay or Mexico.

His form at Olympiakos fluctuated, but in 2006/07 he was one of the star players at the club and earned a big-money move to Shakhtar Donetsk. However, an incident where he refused to allow the club's regular penalty-taker to take a spot kick failed to endear him to his new fans, particularly as he went on to miss.

Castillo was cast out of the first team squad by coach Mircea Lucescu and in December 2007 it was announced that he would join Manchester City from January 2008 for a year-long loan.