Mention the name Michu and football fans immediately think of Swansea.
The Spaniard is an undisputed Premier League cult hero thanks to his 22 goals in a single season for the Welsh side.
Michu made a barnstorming start to life in the Premier League
The striker became a beloved figure not just at Swansea, but across Europe. Even Erling Haaland names him as his hero.
It was a career cruelly cut short by injury and by 31 he had already hung up his boots.
Michu began his career at his local Spanish side, Real Oviedo. That same Oviedo that became the hipsters favourite when thousands of football fans from across the globe purchased shares in the club to save them in 2012.
After playing more than 100 times for the third tier side he moved up to Celta in the Segunda Division.
He was not particularly prolific until joining Real Vallecano, who were newly promoted to LaLiga in 2011.
Michu formed a devastating partnership with Diego Costa, of Chelsea fame, and he fired in 15 top flight goals.
Michu had an impressive season in LaLiga with Rayo Vallecano
In the summer of 2012, there were some big name transfers in the Premier League. Robin van Persie swapped Arsenal for Manchester United, while Chelsea had won the race for Eden Hazard.
Swansea paying £2m for the unheard of Michu went largely unnoticed… but not for long.
On a lesser scale than Haaland is doing right now, the striker burst onto the scene in the Premier League when he scored six goals in his first eight games.
Michu also earned one Spain cap in 2013
It really was one of those 'the streets will never forget' type seasons for the Spaniard as he netted 18 times in the Premier League.
Not only that, but he helped Swansea sensationally win the League Cup, knocking out Liverpool and Chelsea along the way. They went on to beat Bradford in the final.
Those goals did not go unnoticed, with links of a sensational move to Real Madrid or Barcelona, but Michu himself felt he was more of an Arsenal man.
"That's what the press said," Michu told FourFourTwo. "I'm not sure I could have reached either Barcelona or Madrid's level.
"But at Arsenal, after 22 goals for Swansea, I could have offered something."
Michu was a snip for just £2m, but injury problems hampered his career
He continued: "In a footballing sense, that was the best year I could have had. I scored 22 goals and lifted a cup at Wembley, then in the league we beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and I scored twice. We also had a manager who was a legend, in Michael Laudrup."
Injury problems quickly in his second season, before he joined Napoli on loan, where he only played six times.
He left Swansea in 2015 where he headed back to Spain with Lagero and then back with Oviedo.
After officially hanging up his boots in 2017, he eventually became technical secretary of his boyhood club.
Haaland idolised Michu and the pair even swapped shirts
Although his career may not have reached the heights it perhaps could have done it certainly had an impact.
Man City star Haaland counts Michu as his idol and used to tag himself as the Spaniard on Instagram.
He even swapped shirts with the Norwegian striker back in 2020 when he learned of this.
Michu said: "I gave him a Burgos shirt and he gave me a Borussia shirt.
"I'm glad he's having that impact in England, he's going to be a star at European level with Mbappe. They're going to reign like Messi and Cristiano did.
Haaland has copied Michu's iconic ear cupping celebration in the past
"For me it is an honour that a footballer of this level had me as a reference when I was younger.
"If he doesn't have any serious injuries, he could be playing 13 or 15 more seasons at the highest level.
"If all goes well, he will score more than 300 goals."
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