Jonathan dos Santos

For the Uruguayan footballer, see Jonathan dos Santos (Uruguayan footballer).

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is dos Santos and the second or maternal family name is Ramírez.

Jonathan dos Santos Ramírez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɟʝonatan dos ˈsantos]; Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈʒonatɐ̃ dus ˈsɐ̃tus]; born 26 April 1990) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Liga MX club América.

Jonathan dos Santos

Dos Santos with Mexico at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Jonathan dos Santos Ramírez[1]
Date of birth	(1990-04-26) 26 April 1990 (age 35)
Place of birth	Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	América
Number	6
Youth career
2002–2009	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2012	Barcelona B	81	(6)
2009–2014	Barcelona	14	(0)
2014–2017	Villarreal	88	(4)
2017–2021	LA Galaxy	104	(6)
2022–	América	107	(1)
International career‡
2009–2021	Mexico	57	(5)
Medal record Representing  Mexico Men's football CONCACAF Gold Cup Winner 2015 United States-Canada Winner 2019 United States Runner-up 2021 United States
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 March 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 8 September 2021

Early life

Born in Monterrey, Mexico,^[3] Jonathan was competing along with his brother Giovani in a youth tournament in France, where he was spotted by Barcelona scouts, who decided to bring him and his brother to La Masia for a trial.

Club career

Barcelona

2008–09 season

In the 2008–09 season, Dos Santos was in Juvenil A where he was captain of the team.^[4] During that same season, he obtained a Spanish passport and thereby acquired Citizenship of the European Union, which enabled him to play in the first team.^[5]

2009–10 season

In the summer of 2009, Dos Santos was selected by Barcelona B manager Luis Enrique to form part of the second team.^[6] Subsequently, Pep Guardiola called him up to the first team during pre-season in England and the tour in the United States.^[7] On 15 August 2009, Dos Santos was called up for his first official game with the first team in the Supercopa de España against Athletic Bilbao, although he was eventually ruled out and saw the game as a spectator.^[8][9] He made his debut with Barcelona B on 5 September 2009 against Mallorca B. The match finished in a 1–1 draw.^[10] Dos Santos made his debut for Barcelona on 28 October 2009, coming on as a substitute for Seydou Keita in the 80th minute in an away Copa del Rey match against Cultural Leonesa, which Barcelona won 2–0.^[11] He made his Champions League debut for Barcelona on 24 November 2009 against Internazionale in a 2–0 win at the Camp Nou when he replaced Andrés Iniesta in the 92nd minute.^[12] Due to the lengthy 2009–10 season, many Barcelona first-team players were given breaks towards the end of the year. This meant the first team was going to be a few men short, and hence four Barça B players were called up by Guardiola on 29 December 2009. Among these four were Dos Santos, Thiago, Gai Assulin and Víctor Vázquez.^[13] His La Liga debut came on 2 January 2010 when he started against Villarreal, before being substituted by Iniesta in the 60th minute.^[14]

2010–11 season

Dos Santos was called up by Pep Guardiola to the Barcelona first team during pre-season along with other players from Barcelona B. In the first three matches, Guardiola played him as defensive midfielder, a position he had never played before. Nevertheless, Dos Santos said: "I've felt comfortable in this position."^[15]

2011–12 season

On 26 July 2011, Dos Santos started, and scored a goal, in the 2–2 draw against Internacional in the 2011 Audi Cup. The match went to a penalty shootout, where he scored as well. Barcelona advanced to the final, where they beat Bayern Munich 2–0. He was part of the starting line-up in both matches, though he played at right back in the final. He made his season debut on 29 August in the 5–0 home win against Villarreal, coming in as a substitute for Cesc Fàbregas in the 70th minute.

On 24 November 2011, Dos Santos signed a contract extension which would keep him at Barcelona until 2015.^[16] On 6 December, he appeared in the starting squad and played 58 minutes against BATE for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League group stage match.^[17]

2012–13 season

Despite rumours of a transfer to other Spanish clubs such as Real Betis and Málaga,^[18] and Sevilla,^[19] newly appointed coach Tito Vilanova officially called up Dos Santos to Barcelona's first team squad, handing him the number 12 shirt.^[20] On 6 April 2013, against Mallorca, he came on as a substitute for Andrés Iniesta in the 50th minute and competed against his brother Giovani dos Santos.

2013–14 season

On 28 August, Dos Santos won the 2013 Supercopa de España with Barça at the Camp Nou.

2014–15 season

Dos Santos left Barcelona at the beginning of the 2014–15 season.

Villarreal

On 9 July 2014, Dos Santos signed a five-year deal with Villarreal, and going to play with his brother Giovani.^[21] On 21 December, Dos Santos scored his first La Liga goal in a 3–0 victory against Deportivo La Coruña.^[22]

Los Angeles Galaxy

On 27 July 2017, MLS club LA Galaxy announced the signing of Dos Santos as a Designated Player,^[23] reuniting him with his brother, Giovani, at the American club. Villarreal sold Jonathan for a fee reportedly around €5–6 million.^[24] On 29 November 2021, the club parted ways with Dos Santos after his contract expired.^[25]

América

On 23 December 2021, Dos Santos joined América on a free transfer.^[26]

International career

Dos Santos playing for Mexico in 2011

Dos Santos made his senior national team debut in a friendly against Colombia on 30 September 2009. He was substituted for Patricio Araujo in the 72nd minute; Colombia won the game 2–1.^[27][28] This meant that he represented his national team before debuting for his club team.^[29]

On 3 March 2010, Dos Santos played 61 minutes against New Zealand. During the match, off a corner from Cuauhtémoc Blanco, the ball rolled towards him and he shot from outside the box but hit the crossbar. Dos Santos was left out of Mexico's 23-man final squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[30][31]

In May 2011, Dos Santos was left out of the 2011 Gold Cup final squad. On 24 May 2011, he was called up to play the Copa América.^[32] He was subsequently dismissed from the team due to indiscipline.^[33]

On 29 February 2012, Dos Santos returned to the Mexico national team for a friendly against Colombia in Miami, Florida, in which they lost 2–0.^[34]

In November 2014, after a two-year absence with the national team, Dos Santos was called up by coach Miguel Herrera for the friendly matches against the Netherlands and Belarus on 12 and 18 November, respectively.

In 2015, Dos Santos was called up to Mexico's friendly against Ecuador and Paraguay. Jonathan did not start nor play in Ecuador's friendly, but he started in Paraguay's friendly which led to a 1–0 win against them at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. He was called back up for two friendlies against Costa Rica and Honduras where both matches were drawn, and he was also called up for the 2015 Gold Cup, starting in every match as Mexico won the tournament.

Dos Santos playing against Portugal in the 2017 Confederations Cup

In June 2018, Dos Santos was named in Mexico's 23-man squad for the World Cup in Russia.^[35][36]

On 26 March 2019, Dos Santos scored his first ever senior international goal, opening the scoring in a 4–2 friendly win over Paraguay.^[37] In June 2019, he was named in Mexico's 23-man squad for the 2019 Gold Cup.^[38] He scored the lone goal in a 1–0 victory over the United States in the final.^[39] He was subsequently listed in the tournament's Best XI.^[40]

On 7 July 2019, Dos Santos scored an impressive volley in the 73rd minute that ended up being the winning goal for Mexico against the United States in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup final.

Style of play

Dos Santos is described as a versatile midfielder, with LA Galaxy he often played as a holding midfielder.^[41] He is known for his work rate, technical acuity, defensive tenacity, vision and ability to create space and opportunities for teammates.^[42][43]

Personal life

Jonathan is the son of former Afro-Brazilian footballer Zizinho, who played for the Mexican football clubs América and León in the late 1980s. His mother, Liliana Ramírez, is a Mexican national; two brothers and two half-brothers – the elder, Éder dos Santos, who used to play for América as a defensive midfielder before retiring, and Giovani dos Santos, is a former professional footballer.^[44]

Career statistics

Club

As of 26 May 2024^[45][46]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Barcelona B	2009–10	Segunda División B	19	1	–		–		–		19	1
	2010–11	Segunda División	32	2	–		–		–		32	2
	2011–12		30	3	–		–		–		30	3
	Total		81	6	–		–		–		81	6
Barcelona	2009–10	La Liga	3	0	2	0	1[a]	0	–		6	0
	2010–11		2	0	1	0	1[a]	0	1[b]	0	5	0
	2011–12		3	0	3	0	2[a]	0	–		8	0
	2012–13		3	0	3	0	–		–		6	0
	2013–14		3	0	–		–		–		3	0
	2014–15		0	0	–		–		–		0	0
	Total		14	0	9	0	4	0	1	0	28	0
Villarreal	2014–15	La Liga	28	2	5	1	9[c]	0	—		42	3
	2015–16		26	0	2	0	10[c]	1	—		35	1
	2016–17		34	2	4	0	8[c]	1	—		48	3
	Total		88	4	11	1	27	2	—		126	7
LA Galaxy	2017	MLS	12	1	—		—		—		12	1
	2018		23	2	—		—		—		23	2
	2019		29	2	—		—		2[d]	1	31	3
	2020		13	0	—		—		—		13	0
	2021		26	1	—		—		—		26	1
	Total		103	6	—		—		2	1	105	7
América	2021–22	Liga MX	11	0	—		—		—		11	0
	2022–23		26	1	—		—		—		26	1
	2023–24		43	0	—		6[e]	0	4[f]	0	53	0
	2024–25		0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	Total		80	1	—		6	0	4	0	90	1
Career total			366	17	20	1	37	2	7	1	430	21

1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
2. Appearance in Supercopa de España
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs
5. Appearances in CONCACAF Champions Cup
6. Appearances in Leagues Cup

International

As of 8 September 2021^[47][46]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Mexico	2009	1	0
	2010	4	0
	2012	1	0
	2014	2	0
	2015	10	0
	2016	1	0
	2017	13	0
	2018	6	0
	2019	7[a]	3
	2020	2	0
	2021	10	2
Total		57	5

1. Jonathan dos Santos additionally played a match against Martinique in 2019, which is not recognized by FIFA.

Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each dos Santos goal.

List of international goals scored by Jonathan dos Santos

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	26 March 2019	Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, United States	Paraguay	1–0	4–2	Friendly
2	9 June 2019	AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States	Ecuador	1–0	3–2	Friendly
3	7 July 2019	Soldier Field, Chicago, United States	United States	1–0	1–0	2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final
4	3 July 2021	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States	Nigeria	4–0	4–0	Friendly
5	24 July 2021	State Farm Stadium, Glendale, United States	Honduras	2–0	3–0	2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Honours

Barcelona

• La Liga: 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15
• Copa del Rey: 2011–12, 2014–15
• Supercopa de España: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013
• UEFA Champions League: 2010–11, 2014–15
• UEFA Super Cup: 2009, 2011
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011

América

• Liga MX: Apertura 2023,^[48] Clausura 2024,^[49] Apertura 2024^[50]
• Campeón de Campeones: 2024
• Supercopa de la Liga MX: 2024
• Campeones Cup: 2024

Mexico

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2015, 2019^[51]
• CONCACAF Cup: 2015

Individual

• MLS All-Star: 2018, 2019^[52]
• CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2019
• Liga MX Best XI: Clausura 2024^[53]
• Liga MX Best Defensive Midfielder: 2023–24^[54]
• Liga MX All-Star: 2024^[55]