Miguel Layún

Gallos Caliente Tijuana

In 2006, Miguel Layún began his professional career with Gallos Caliente Tijuana, which was Queretaro reserve team in Primera "A". He debuted on a match against Monarcas Morelia Primera "A" on 5 October 2006.

Veracruz

After being transferred to C.D. Veracruz in his home state, Layún debuted in the Primera División during the Clausura 2007 tournament on 28 April against Necaxa. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. He went on to stay with the club until 2009, with Veracruz ultimately being relegated to the second division. Layún managed to score his only goal with Veracruz in a 5–1 victory against Tampico Madero on 25 February 2009, scoring the fifth and final goal.

Atalanta

After his time with Veracruz, Layún had a successful trial with Italian club Atalanta, transferring for €625,000. The move made Layún the first Mexican to play in the Serie A. He made his league debut on 27 September 2009 in a 1–1 draw against Chievo at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi in Verona, coming on as a substitute in the 82nd minute of the match for Jaime Valdés, thus becoming the first Mexican to play an official match in Serie A. He made a second league appearance with the team against Cagliari on 1 November, again coming on as a substitute, replacing Nicola Madonna in the 66th minute of the match, which ended in a 3–0 defeat. Layún only managed two league appearances during the season.

América

On 21 December 2009, Layún was officially…

In 2013, Layún received his first national team call up by coach José Manuel de la Torre after his performances with Club América during the Clausura tournament. He was selected for the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup held in the United States, with the entire squad being made up of players from the Mexican league. He made his debut on 11 July in the group stage match against Canada at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. He played the entire ninety minutes in Mexico's 2–0 victory. Mexico was eventually eliminated from the competition by Panama in the semi-finals. Layún was called up again by interim coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich to participate in Mexico's last two World Cup qualifying matches against Panama and Costa Rica. Layún would play in both matches. Mexico nearly missed out on qualifying to the World Cup after Mexico's 2–1 loss to Costa Rica, however Mexico made it to the Intercontinental playoff against New Zealand. Layún again was called up by Mexico's new coach Miguel Herrera – his coach at Club América at the time – to play in the first leg, providing two assists for Oribe Peralta in the 5–1 victory at the Estadio Azteca. Mexico would qualify to the 2014 World Cup by defeating New Zealand by an aggregate score of 9–3. On 8 May, Layún was included in Mexico's 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup. He made his World Cup debut on 13 June against Cameroon, playing as a left back. Mexico won the match 1–0. Layún started in all three group matches as Mexico advanced to the round-of-16,…

A fast player capable of attacking and defending, he can play as a left-back or right-back with the same effectiveness. Bleacher Report described him as "very fast, skillful and posses a fantastic stride. The [former] America player can leave behind midfielders and defenders in the blink of an eye. [...] His abilities set him as the kind of player that provides depth through the sidelines but who can also take part in set pieces." Andrés Corona Zurita of Univision described him as, "[having] a crazy game style, powerful, fast, then slow and explosive again. Able to place a center on the forehead of the forward [.] He takes free throws, corners, penalties and hits well from afar."

Miguel Layún is of Lebanese descent, due to his paternal grandfather Yousseff Layún who immigrated to Veracruz, and of Spanish descent, due to his maternal grandfather Guillermo Prado being born in Spain, and as a result holds a Spanish passport. After making his debut for the national team in 2013, he became the second Lebanese-Mexican player after Miguel Sabah to play for the Mexico national team. By far, he is the most successful Lebanese Mexican footballer in Mexico, and he is also popular in Lebanon, where people would cheer for him and the Mexican side. Layún and fellow footballer José Abella are second cousins; as their grandmothers are sisters, they have a great-grandparent in common. They both grew up playing at local club, Casino Español de Córdoba. Layún's sister Mariana participated in the 2010 International Ballet Competition in which she won a bronze medal.