Giovani dos Santos

Barcelona

Born in Mexico City, Dos Santos joined Barcelona's academy of La Masia at age 13 and played for Barcelona's Juvenil A category, where he helped his team to make a comeback in the league and win the regional title. This title allowed them to participate in the Youth Copa del Rey, where they faced other regional champions, among them their historic arch-rivals, Real Madrid. Dos Santos once again played a significant role during the tournament and helped the team win the national title of the Juvenil A category. In 2006, Dos Santos was invited on the pre-season tour of Barcelona's senior squad; during a friendly match on 29 July 2006, he scored in his senior team debut game against Danish club AGF Aarhus. On 28 November 2006, Barcelona included Dos Santos in their 23-man squad for the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. During mid-2007, Dos Santos was once again invited to join Barcelona's senior squad on their pre-season tour. On 29 August 2007, he received dual nationality and was included in the official first team squad. He made his competitive and league debut on 2 September 2007 (at 18 years and 114 days) during a 3–1 home win against Athletic Bilbao, coming on for Thierry Henry in the 62nd minute. Dos Santos made his UEFA Champions League debut on 20 September 2007 during a 3–0 home win against Lyon. He came on as a substitute for Xavi in the 79th minute. On 17 May 2008, Dos Santos scored a hat-trick against Real Murcia, with a final score of 5–3, granting a…

Youth

Dos Santos participated at the 2001 Danone Nations Cup that was held at the Parc des Princes, Paris, where 40 countries also participated. Mexico would finish the tournament fifth, and Dos Santos won the Golden Boot award for top goalscorer. During the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, which his team won, Dos Santos assisted half of the goals of Mexico during the tournament, a feat that won him the Adidas Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, finishing behind only to Brazilian midfielder Anderson. In the U-20 World Cup Qualifiers, Dos Santos scored twice; once against St. Kitts and Nevis in the 86th minute and the second against Jamaica in the 56th minute. He was forced to sit out the last game for precautionary reasons against Costa Rica, as he had received a yellow card in the previous match. The game ended in a 1–1 draw, but Mexico still qualified, finishing top of the regional group. During the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Mexico was placed in Group C, where they were drawn against Gambia, Portugal and New Zealand. On 2 July 2007, Dos Santos and the rest of the Mexico team played against Gambia and won 3–0, with Dos Santos opening the scoring in the second half with a volley into the top left-hand corner from outside of the box. He then played against Portugal, where Mexico won 2–1, scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot. As Mexico had already qualified from the group, he was rested for the game against New Zealand. In the round of…

Dos Santos was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He was usually deployed as a winger or as an attacking midfielder, and has even been used as a supporting striker. A playmaker who possesses specific flair and dribbling skills, he was described as a "clever" and "sharp" player who had the capacity to both score goals and create chances for teammates. As a youngster, he drew attention to himself for talent, and in 2010 he was named by Don Balón as one of the 100 best young players in the world born after 1989.

Dos Santos is the son of former Brazilian footballer Zizinho, who played for Mexico clubs América and León in the late 1980s. His mother, Liliana Ramírez, is Mexican. Dos Santos has two brothers and two half-brothers; the elder, Éder, played for América's reserves team as a defensive midfielder before retiring in 2009, and his younger brother, Jonathan, currently plays for América. Dos Santos has appeared on the cover of the MLS custom editions of FIFA 16 and FIFA 17.