Santiago Comesaña Veiga

Santi Comesaña arrived at Villarreal in the summer of 2023 as a free agent after his contract at Rayo Vallecano ran out. The switch closed seven years at Rayo, a spell in which he grew from a young arrival into the club's captain and, along the way, helped them win the Segunda División title in 2017-18 and go up to La Liga. He left with 205 league appearances and 13 goals for Rayo behind him, plus 14 cup outings.

His path there began at Coruxo FC, where a single season in the Segunda División B — 37 appearances and eight goals — was enough to earn him a free move to Rayo Vallecano in July 2016, aged 19.

At Villarreal, on a four-year deal, Comesaña has settled as a regular in the middle of the park, reaching over a hundred league appearances for the club and scoring nine goals. He has also featured in the Champions League, where he has scored twice, and has added seven cup appearances. Across his career in all competitions he has made 381 appearances and scored 33 goals.

Comesaña has represented Spain at Under-21 level, starting matches for the side during their qualification for the European Championship in Poland, including an appearance against Austria.