NYCFC pro interview
Valentín Castellanos has had an incredible season for New York City FC. The 23-year-old forward won the Major League Soccer Golden Boot and led his club to their first-ever MLS Cup title. The TM community rewarded his achievements with the Player of the Season award, awarded by Transfermarkt for the first time to an MLS footballer.
“I’m very happy to receive the award from Transfermarkt, especially knowing that it will be given to many leagues and players throughout the year,” Castellanos said in an interview with Transfermarkt.us. “Of course it’s an individual award, but I couldn’t have made it without the coaching staff and my teammates who have been great all year.”
With Mukhtar, Castellanos & Co.: The most valuable MLS players
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As of March 9, 2022
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Castellanos clinched the Golden Boot with 19 goals and eight assists in 32 regular-season games. A special moment was the presentation of the trophy, for which his mother flew to New York to present it to her son. “I had no idea she would be there,” said the Argentine. The second big reason to celebrate was beating the Portland Timbers 5-3 on penalties in the MLS Cup. “That was our first star. It’s incredible to be a part of a club’s historic moment.”
Castellanos invested a lot: “Had to work harder every year to improve”
Castellanos came on loan from CA Torque in 2018, a year later the “Citizens” signed the right foot permanently and paid “only” 425,000 euros for it. Since then, its market value has increased rapidly from 400,000 to 7 million euros – and the trend is still rising. “The secret is hard work,” explained Castellanos, who was born in Mendoza, about his development. “One always dreams of receiving individual awards, such as B. To be top scorer in the league and I work very hard for that.”
Hard work that is not only reflected in its market value, but also in the statistics. Castellanos scored 11 goals in 30 appearances in 2019, then six in the truncated 2019 season before striking attention in 2021 with 23 goals in 36 games in all competitions. Castellanos’ steady development has also been noticed outside of MLS. The forward has already been linked with several clubs in South America and Europe (check the TM rumor mill). “MLS is no longer a pensioners’ league,” he said. “A lot of young and talented players come here from South America to improve their game and use MLS as a platform to show themselves.” According to Castellanos, MLS has become “more physical and tactical” in recent years, “and I had to work harder every year to improve myself”.
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Should Castellanos, whose contract runs until 2025, change, he would be attracted above all to a continent. “Rumours linking me to other clubs just motivate me to keep growing. I work very hard to get that kind of recognition and my dream is to play in Europe.”
Maybe at Manchester City? New York City FC is part of the City Group and Man City are looking for a striker. But although Castellanos admires Pep Guardiola, he declined to comment on a possible transfer. “I met Guardiola once while he was watching one of our games against FC Cincinnati in New York. He is a close friend of our former coach, Domènec Torrent. I had a chance to take a picture with him and then he came into the dressing room to greet the group. Even though I didn’t talk much, I’m glad I met him.”
Voted by the TM Community: The Players of the 2020/21 Season
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Player of the season in the Portuguese league
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Player of the Season in the Russian Premier League
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Player of the season in the Turkish Süper Lig
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Player of the season in the German Bundesliga
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Player of the season in French Ligue 1
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