Juan Miguel Jiménez López
Juan Miguel Jimenez Lopez LaLiga Football Career
Juan Miguel Jiménez López, more commonly known as Juanmi, currently plays with Real Betis as a forward. He has been with the club since 2019.
Juan Miguel Jiménez López bio and football career
Born in Coín in the province of Málaga, he broke through as a professional football player with Club Atlético Malagueño, Málaga CF’s reserve team, in 2009. He plied his trade at the Tercera División in his two years with the club before he was elevated to the main roster, although he had stints with Los Albicelestes starting in 2010.
Juanmi got to experience competition at La Liga during his time with the main roster. His club’s best performance was in the 2012-13 season, where they finished sixth on the domestic table and they reached the round of eight of both the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.
However, he barely saw action, as he only had seven total appearances, scoring a single goal. Most of his time was spent on loan to Racing Santander at the Segunda División, where he went goalless in 19 matches.
The next two seasons turned out to be his breakout period, tallying 13 goals in 62 fixtures, La Liga and Copa del Rey combined. Juan Miguel Jiménez López then transferred to English club Southampton for the 2015-16 season.
He returned to Spain afterwards, suiting up for Real Sociedad for three seasons. The 11 goals he scored in his first season with La Real was his best output at that point.
Juanmi then signed with Betis in the summer of 2019. His first year with them was spent mostly on the sidelines due to injury.
2021-22 breakout season
It was not until the 2021-22 season when he made his presence felt and became a regular on the pitch. He found the back of the net 16 times in 33 La Liga contests; Real Betis ended their campaign at fifth place.
In addition, he scored two at the Copa del Rey and another two at the UEFA Europa League. His brace against Real Sociedad helped the Verdes eliminate his former club, advancing to the semis with a 4-0 scoreline.
They eventually won the cup. This is Juanmi’s only major trophy to date.
Meanwhile, he and his club reached the round of 16 in Europe’s second tier continental tournament.
Achievements
Juanmi has played for the Spanish senior men’s football team once back in 2015. He had more success in the youth level, emerging as champion at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2011 and 2012.
