Seville: Mariano Diaz’s terrible descent into hell

For the moment the man of a season, Mariano Diaz has relatively little playing time for a player who is already 30 years old. With only 139 matches played (less than 20 per season on average) in his professional career for 33 goals and 9 goals, the Dominican striker has never been able to materialize his qualities glimpsed within the Madrid reserve. Sold to Olympique Lyonnais in 2017, he burst onto the scene with 21 goals and 6 goals, pushing Sevilla FC to recruit him for €21.5 million even though he had only cost Les Gones €8 million. Aligned with this sum thanks to a clause, Casa Blanca brought him in and even gave him the number 7 previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo for a time.

A new beginning for Mariano Diaz

A fairly anecdotal second spell where he played 70 matches for 7 goals and 1 goal. But above all he took advantage of it to fill his trophy cabinet. He has won La Liga twice (2020 and 2020), the Spanish Cup (2023), the Spanish Super Cup (2020 and 2022), the European Super Cup (2023), the Club World Cup ( 2023), but especially the 2022 Champions League. Arriving at the end of his contract after five years, he had the opportunity to launch a new stage of his career and Sevilla FC came back to try to revive him.

“Yes, I can find this version (Mariano Diaz of Olympique Lyonnais, editor’s note). I haven’t had many minutes in recent years, but that’s why I come to Seville, to feel like a footballer again and to give the best of myself. I think Sevilla FC is the ideal place to get back to my best level again. As it’s a big club, we play the best competitions and I hope to flourish here. I feel very excited. What I want is to put on the jersey and give everything on the pitch. he explained upon his arrival at the end of the transfer window. Almost four months later, the results are bleak.

Absent for a month and a half

Playing only 7 matches and 238 minutes for no goals and no assists, an average of 34 minutes, Mariano Diaz is in difficulty. Physically, he has experienced various problems such as a muscle injury, a torn adductor muscle and more recently a foot injury. Thus, he has not participated in a single match since the derby on November 12 against Real Betis Balompié (1-1). Missing nine games, he has followed from afar the poor recent results of his team which is now fifteenth in La Liga with only three points ahead of the red zone.

Still on the sidelines, Mariano Diaz is expected back in training at the beginning of January, but doubt still remains. A difficult situation when the African Cup of Nations will soon begin and Sevilla will lose its scorer Youssef En-Nesyri. If this could offer playing time to Mariano Diaz to try to reverse the trend, his physical problems – which surely have their source in his restricted use for too long at Real Madrid – could work against him. Not providing enough guarantees like Rafa Mir, he could also see a competitor arrive this winter. Under contract with Seville until June 2025, Mariano Diaz is going through quite a zone of turbulence.