Having once been in the shadows of his older brother, Giovani, Jonathan dos Santos has gone ahead to make a name for himself as a professional footballer in both his home country of Mexico and in his adopted country of Spain.
The La Masia Barcelona academy graduate is now a full Mexican international player despite qualifying to represent both Brazil and Spain. He currently plays his club football in the Major League Soccer for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Jonathan dos Santos Biography
Jonathan dos Santos was born Jonathan dos Santos Ramírez to Liliana Ramírez and Geraldo Francisco dos Santos on the 26th of April, 1990, in Monterrey, Mexico. With his father having been a professional footballer, the path of Jonathan seemed to have already been decided before he even learned how to kick a ball.
He joined a local academy as a schoolboy, playing for them until he was spotted by FC Barcelona scouts. Jonathan was on the same team as his older brother Giovani when they traveled to France to play in a youth tournament. They were approached by the famed La Masia scouts who offered them trials at the Catalan club.
At 10 years of age, Jonathan took the opportunity and never looked back. Fast forward to 2008, he was made captain of the Barcelona Juvenil A team and was also offered a Spanish passport and European Union Citizenship, which enabled him to play in the first team.
For the 2008-09 season, Jonathan was promoted to FC Barcelona B side by Luis Enrique who was at the time in charge of it. He was part of the second team where he continued to impress, catching the attention of its senior team manager Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola called Jonathan up to the senior squad and gave him his senior team debut on the 28th of October 2009 in a Copa del Rey match against Cultural Leonesa. He was an 80th-minute substitute for Seydou Keita in the match. About a month later, he made his Champions League debut against Inter Milan as a 92nd-minute substitute for Andres Iniesta. His La Liga debut came at the turn of the year, on January 2, 2010, in a match against Villareal.
Jonathan became part of the senior team in the 2011-12 season, starting a good number of games in pre-season tournaments and featuring in some league games, leading to him signing a contract extension with the club. His run with the first team continued throughout that season, although it was not as often as he had hoped.
Rumors of a possible move to another Spanish club were muted around in the following campaign but Jonathan chose to stay back and fight for his place. The Jonathan dos Santos – Barcelona marriage later ended in the summer of 2014 when he announced he was joining Villarreal to again play alongside his brother.
Jonathan played for the yellow submarines from 2014 to 2017, making 125 appearances and scoring 7 goals before he was again sold to LA Galaxy to reunite with his brother Giovani.
National Career
Jonathan dos Santos made his international debut for the Mexican national team in 2009, even before he had played his first game for his club FC Barcelona. The move was largely seen by the public as a ploy by the Mexican FA to tie the future star down and not let him feature for the Spanish national team in the future.
He has since then made just 25 appearances for El Tricolour with his only major tournament being the 2015 Gold Cup.
Jonathan dos Santos’ Salary
Jonathan dos Santos is reportedly earned between $2 million and $3 million every year by the LA Galaxy following his move stateside from Spanish club Villarreal.
Family – Father, Brother
As mentioned above, Jonathan dos Santos’ father, who went by the nickname Zizinho, was a professional footballer originally from Brazil. He started his professional career in Mexico in 1980, going ahead to play for heavyweight Mexican side Club America among others.
Two of his elder brothers, Eder and Giovani, have also played professional football. Eder, like his father, played for Club America before hanging up his boots in 2009, while Giovani currently plays in Los Angeles for the Galaxy alongside Jonathan.
Is He Gay?
Jonathan dos Santos was accused of being gay after the relationship between him and Spanish influencer Marta Carriedo was called off. An unconfirmed source said that Jonathan had told his girl that he was bisexual, prompting her to cancel their engagement.
The source further said that Jonathan was in a relationship with teammate Mateo Musacchio. Neither Musacchio nor Jonathan have confirmed this story.
Height, Weight, Measurements and Other Facts
Birth Name: Jonathan dos Santos Ramirez
Place of Birth: Monterrey, Mexico
Date of Birth: April 26, 1990
Height: 5 feet 8 inches (172 cm)
Weight: 74kg
Chest: Not Available
Biceps: Not Available
Shoe Size: Not Available
Nationality: Mexico
Profession: Footballer
