Dani Ceballos

Daniel Ceballos Fernández (born 7 August 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid.

Ceballos started his career at Spanish club Real Betis where he helped them win the Segunda División. He was signed by Real Madrid in 2017, and two years later signed for English Premier League club Arsenal on loan.

Ceballos won his first cap for Spain in September 2018, in 6–0 home win over Croatia in the UEFA Nations League.

Ceballos was born in Utrera, Andalusia. He joined Sevilla's youth system in 2004 at the age of eight, but was released in 2009 due to a chronic bronchitis problem. He subsequently played for hometown club Utrera, and completed his development with Real Betis after signing in 2011. He signed a professional contract with Betis on 22 February 2014, while still a junior.

On 26 April 2014, without even appearing for the B team, Ceballos played his first game with the club's main squad, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 La Liga home loss against Real Sociedad. He scored his first goal on 21 December, with the first of a 2–0 home win over Racing Santander in the Segunda División championship. He featured in 33 matches and scored 5 times during the 2014–15 Segunda División season, as Betis returned to La Liga at the first attempt.

On 15 October 2015, after lengthy negotiations, Ceballos renewed his contract until June 2020. He scored his first goal in the Spanish top flight on 16 April 2017, with the last goal in a 2–0 home win against Eibar.

On 14 July 2017, Ceballos signed for La Liga club Real Madrid on a six-year contract, for a transfer fee of around €18 million. He made his debut on 16 August, replacing Toni Kroos on the 80th minute of the second leg of the 2017 Supercopa de España, a 2–0 home victory over Barcelona. On 23 September, in his first start, he scored a two goals in a 2–1 away win over Deportivo Alavés.

Ceballos made four appearances during the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, as Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall title in the tournament. On 13 January 2019, after only 15 minutes on the pitch and having been constantly booed by his former club's supporters, he scored from a free kick in the last minute of a 2–1 victory against Betis at the Estadio Benito Villamarín.