Rafa Mujica
Personal information
Full name Rafael Sebastián Mujica García
Date of birth (1998-10-29) 29 October 1998
Place of birth Las Palmas, Spain
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward, winger
Team information
Current team
 Arouca
Number 19
Youth career
Las Palmas
2015–2017 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Barcelona B 60 (10)
2018 → Cornellà (loan) 16 (6)
2019–2021 Leeds United 0 (0)
2019–2020 → Extremadura (loan) 7 (0)
2020 → Villarreal B (loan) 4 (3)
2020–2021 → Oviedo (loan) 4 (0)
2021 → Las Palmas (loan) 13 (1)
2021–2022 Las Palmas 14 (1)
2022– Arouca 41 (15)
International career
2016 Spain U19 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 01:30, 19 December 2023 (UTC)

Rafael Sebastián Mujica García (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈrafa ˈmuxika]; born 29 October 1998) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Portuguese club Arouca. Mainly a forward, he can also play as a winger.

He represented Spain at under-19 level.

Club career

Barcelona

Born in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Mújica joined FC Barcelona's youth setup on 19 May 2015, from UD Las Palmas.[1][2] On 26 March 2016, aged only 17, he made his senior debut with the reserves by coming on as a late substitute for Juan Cámara in a 2–0 Segunda División B away win against CD Llosetense.[3]

Mujica scored his first senior goal on 9 April 2016, netting his team's only strike in a 1–3 home loss against CE Sabadell FC.[4] He played for the first team during the 2016–17 pre-season under manager Luis Enrique, including scoring against English side Leicester City in a 4–2 victory during a pre-season friendly on 4 August.[5][6]

In February 2017, Mujica suffered a hamstring rupture which required surgery, which hampered his progress,[7] keeping him sidelined for nine-and-a-half months and missing out the club's promotion in the play-offs.[8] He made his professional debut on 6 January 2018, replacing Vitinho in a 1–1 away draw against Real Zaragoza in the Segunda División.[9]

On 31 January 2018, Mujica was loaned to UE Cornellà in the third division, until June.[10] He contributed with six goals in 16 matches for the side; highlights included scoring in the season's Copa Catalunya final in a 3–2 victory against UA Horta on 2 June, to help the club lift the trophy for the first time.[11]

After his loan spell, Mujica returned to Barcelona, training with the first team during the summer of 2018. He returned to the B-team for the 2018–19 season, and played 33 games for the side scoring seven goals and providing one assist in Segunda División B during the season.[12]

In January 2019, Mujica was also named by manager Ernesto Valverde in Barcelona's first team squad for the Copa del Rey fixture against Levante UD.[13][14] On 27 June, Mújica announced on his official Twitter page he would be leaving Barcelona,[15] and the club officially released him when his contract expired three days later.[16]

Leeds United

On 4 July 2019, Leeds United announced the signing of Mujica on a three-year contract, running until the summer of 2022. He would initially be part of Carlos Corberán's under-23 team.[17] A few days later, he played in the first team under manager Marcelo Bielsa in the club's first pre-season friendly, as a second-half substitute against York City in a 5–0 win.[18]

On 23 August 2019, Mujica joined Extremadura UD in the Spanish Segunda División on a one-year loan deal,[19] with the option to buy.[20] He made his debut for the club on 1 September, in a 2–1 loss against Cádiz CF,[21] but returned to his parent club early in January 2020, having made just seven league appearances for Extremadura.[22][23]

On 24 January 2020, Mujica joined Villarreal CF on loan until the end of the season,[22] being assigned to the B-team.[24] On 26 August, he moved to second division club Real Oviedo on a season-long loan.[25]

Las Palmas

On 1 February 2021, after leaving Oviedo early, Mujica joined his hometown club Las Palmas on loan until the end of the second-tier season.[26] On 2 July, the move was made permanent for an undisclosed fee.[27]

Arouca

On 21 June 2022, Mujica moved to Portuguese Primeira Liga side F.C. Arouca on a two-year deal.[28]

International career

He has represented Spain at international level up to under-19s.

Career statistics

As of 5 May 2019[23]
Club League Season League Copa del Rey Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona B
Segunda División B 2015–16 61—61
Segunda División B 2016–17 182—182
Segunda División 2017–18 30—30
Segunda División B 2018–19 337—337
Total 6010—6010
Cornellà (loan)
Segunda División B 2017–18 166—166
Career total 7616—7616

    Honours

    Barcelona
    Barcelona B
    UE Cornellà

    References

    1. ↑ "Rafael Mujica, nuevo fichaje del FC Barcelona para el Juvenil" [Rafael Mujica, new signing of FC Barcelona for the youth squad] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
    2. ↑ "Barcelona sign Spanish starlet Rafa Mujica – despite transfer embargo until January 2016". Daily Mirror. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
    3. ↑ "CD Llosetense v FC Barcelona B: Back to winning ways (0–2)". FC Barcelona. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
    4. ↑ "FC Barcelona B v CE Sabadell: Second half dismay (1–3)". FC Barcelona. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
    5. ↑ "The happiest goal of Rafa Mujica". FC Barcelona. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
    6. ↑ "Barcelona 4 Leicester City 2". Sky Sports. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
    7. ↑ "Rafa Mujica, seis semanas KO" [Rafa Mújica, six weeks out] (in Spanish). Vavel. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
    8. ↑ "Rafa Mujica (Barça B) recibe el alta tras 9 meses y medio de baja" [Rafa Mujica (Barça B) is declared fit to play after 9 and a half months sidelined] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
    9. ↑ "El Zaragoza y Barça B no salen a flote en La Romareda" [Zaragoza and Barça B do not come afloat at the La Romareda] (in Spanish). Marca. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
    10. ↑ "Anthony Lozano, Wilfrid Kaptoum and Rafa Mujica leave Barcelona B". Barca Blaugrane. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
    11. ↑ "El Cornellà fa història i conquereix la Copa Catalunya absoluta" [Cornellà make history and conquer the senior Copa Catalunya] (in Catalan). Catalan Football Federation. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
    12. ↑ "Barcelona B forward close to joining Bielsa's Leeds". Marca. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
    13. ↑ "Focus back on Copa del Rey". FC Barcelona. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
    14. ↑ "Ernesto Valverde insists Barcelona didn't field ineligible player in Copa del Rey". The Independent. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
    15. ↑ "Rafa Mújica". Rafa Mújica Official Twitter. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
    16. ↑ "Jokin Ezkieta, Mate, Mujica and Merveil will not continue next season at Barça B". FC Barcelona. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
    17. ↑ "Rafa Mujica joins Leeds United". Leeds United. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
    18. ↑ "Report: York City 0–5 Leeds United". Leeds United. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
    19. ↑ "Rafa Mujica makes loan move". Leeds United. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
    20. ↑ "Rafa Mujica, nueva incorporación Azulgrana" [Rafa Mujica, new Azulgrana signing]. Extremadura UD. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
    21. ↑ "Así hemos narrado el Cádiz-Extremadura" [How we narrated Cádiz-Extremadura]. Hoy (in Spanish). 1 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
    22. 1 2 "Rafa Mujica joins Villarreal on loan until end of the season". www.leedsunited.com. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
    23. 1 2 Rafa Mújica at Soccerway
    24. ↑ "Villarreal B winter transfer movements". Villarreal CF. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
    25. ↑ Sobot, Lee (26 August 2020). "Young Leeds United forward heads for season-long loan in Spain". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
    26. ↑ "Rafa Mújica, nuevo jugador de la UD Las Palmas" [Rafa Mujica, new UD Las Palmas player]. UD Las Palmas. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
    27. ↑ "Rafa Mujica joins UD Las Palmas". Leeds United. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
    28. ↑ "Rafa Mujica, com passagem pelo Barcelona, é o segundo reforço do Arouca" [Rafa Mujica, with a stint at Barcelona, is the second addition of Arouca] (in Portuguese). O Jogo. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
    29. ↑ "Chelsea 0–3 Barcelona". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
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