Matías Nahuel Leiva Esquivel (born 22 November 1996), known as Nahuel, is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Malaysian football club Johor Darul Ta’zim. Born in Argentina, he has represented Spain at youth levels.
Club career Villarreal Born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, Nahuel moved to Spain at only 14, joining Villarreal CF's youth setup.Conociendo a Matías Nahuel Leiva (Knowing Matías Nahuel Leiva) ; Futbolistas Argentinos por el Mundo, 8 October 2013 He made his senior debut with the C-side in 2012–13, in Tercera División, and also appeared occasionally for the reserves during that first season.
Nahuel made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 13 January 2014, playing 23 minutes in a 5–1 home routing of Real Sociedad.Five-star Villarreal cruise to win ; ESPN FC, 13 January 2014 On 28 August he scored his first professional goal, netting the last in a 4–0 home win against FC Astana for the campaign's UEFA Europa League.¡Europa, ya estamos aquí! (4–0) (Europe, we have arrived! (4–0)) ; Villarreal CF, 28 August 2014
On 16 June 2016, Nahuel signed a two-year loan contract with Real Betis also of the top tier.Real Betis signs Nahuel for the next two seasons ; Real Betis, 16 June 2016Nahuel jugará cedido en el Real Betis (Nahuel will play on loan at Real Betis) ; Villarreal CF, 16 June 2016 On 30 January 2018, he was loaned to Segunda División team FC Barcelona B for six months.
Olympiacos On 31 August 2018, the last day of the summer transfer window, Olympiacos F.C. signed Nahuel for an undisclosed fee – Villarreal retained a buyback option on the player. The following 31 January, after being rarely used, he returned to Spain after agreeing to a six-month loan deal with Deportivo de La Coruña of the second division.
Tenerife On 30 August 2019, Nahuel joined CD Tenerife on a three-year contract. On 15 September, after scoring only one goal during the entire 2019–20 campaign, he was loaned to fellow second division side Real Oviedo, for one year.
Śląsk Wrocław On 9 July 2022, Nahuel moved to Ekstraklasa club Śląsk Wrocław, signing a four-year deal. On 11 January 2024, he extended his contract until the end of June 2027.
Maccabi Haifa On 18 September 2024, Nahuel moved to Israeli club Maccabi Haifa, signing a four-year deal.
Loan to Jagiellonia On 28 January 2026, Polish club Jagiellonia Białystok announced the signing of Leiva on loan for the remainder of the season.
JDT Recently signed
International career Nahuel was part of the Spain under-19 team which won the 2015 UEFA European Championship in Greece. He scored in a 3–0 group stage opening victory against holders Germany, adding the second goal in the 2–0 win over Russia in the decisive match in Katerini.
Honours Spain U19 UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2015
References
External links Villarreal official profile
La Liga official profile