Joel Valencia

César Joel Valencia Castillo (born 16 November 1994) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Polish club Zagłębie Sosnowiec.

Valencia is a product of the Real Zaragoza academy and later played in Slovenia and Poland, rising to prominence in the latter country with Piast Gliwice. Following four years in England with Brentford, during which he predominantly played away on loan, he returned to Poland to join Zagłębie Sosnowiec in 2023. Valencia was capped by Spain and Ecuador at U17 level.

Spain
A winger, Valencia joined the Real Zaragoza academy in 2005, at age 11. By 2011, he had progressed into the club's reserve team and was called into the first team squad on three occasions during the 2011–12 season. Valencia made his only senior appearance for the club as a substitute for Pablo Barrera late in a 6–0 La Liga defeat to Real Madrid on 28 August 2011. He spent much of the following three years in the reserve team and on loan at Málaga B, before departing La Romareda to join Segunda División B club Logroñés in August 2014. He remained with Logroñés until January 2016 and made 54 appearances for the club, scoring one goal.

Slovenia and Poland
On 29 January 2016, Valencia moved to Slovenia to join PrvaLiga club Koper. He made 28 appearances and scored two goals during 18 months at the Bonifika Stadium, before departing to join Polish Ekstraklasa club Piast Gliwice in August 2017, one a one-year contract, with a three-year option. Valencia was a part of the club's 2018–19 Ekstraklasa-winning team and his exploits were recognised with the Ekstraklasa and Polish Union of Footballers Player of the Year awards and a place in the Polish Union of Footballers Team of the Year. By the time of his departure in late July 2019, he had made 65 appearances and scored 9 goals for the club.

Brentford
On 31 July 2019, Valencia moved to England to join Championship club Brentford on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £1.8 million. Despite making 23 appearances and scoring one goal, he struggled to adapt to the pace of English football during the 2019–20 season. Valencia's 24th and final Brentford appearance came as a late substitute in the opening match of the 2020–21 season.

Valencia played much of the remaining three years of his contract away on loan and Brentford's promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 2020–21 season pushed him further down the pecking order. He played for Polish Ekstraklasa club Legia Warsaw, Spanish Segunda División club AD Alcorcón and Dutch Eerste Divisie club De Graafschap. Valencia suffered a plethora of injury problems and made a combined 51 appearances for the three clubs.

Return to Poland
On 14 July 2023, Valencia returned to Poland to sign a two-year contract with I liga club Zagłębie Sosnowiec on a free transfer. Valencia made 26 appearances and scored one goal during a 2023–24 season which culminated in relegation to the II liga.

International career
Valencia was capped by Spain and Ecuador at U17 level. He was a part of Ecuador's 2011 FIFA U17 World Cup squad and made three appearances at the tournament.

Personal life
Valencia was born in Quinindé, Esmeraldas, Ecuador and moved to Spain in 2002, at age 8. He has a Spanish passport. Valencia's partner, actress Paulina Chapko, gave birth to their child in July 2022.

Career statistics


Honours
Piast Gliwice
 * Ekstraklasa: 2018–19

Individual
 * Ekstraklasa Player of the Year: 2018–19
 * Ekstraklasa Midfielder of the Year: 2018–19
 * Polish Union of Footballers Player of the Year: 2018–19
 * Polish Union of Footballers Team of the Year: 2018–19