Rafa Mir

Rafael Mir Vicente, known as Rafa Mir, (born 18 June 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia, on loan from Sevilla.

Formed at Valencia where he was primarily a reserve, he also represented Huesca and Sevilla in La Liga. Abroad, he played in England's Championship for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest.

Mir won the 2019 European Championship with the Spain national under-21 football team, and a silver medal with the Olympic team at the 2020 tournament.

Early career
Born in Murcia, Mir began his career playing futsal with CD Javalí Nuevo. After a 120-goal spell at ElPozo Murcia FS he began playing full football with Ranero CF, scoring 57 and 84 goals in his respective seasons before joining FC Barcelona.

Valencia
Mir's 32 goals at La Masia earned him a return to his native region and Real Murcia, where a 45-goal haul led to the attention of Valencia CF. He made his senior debut for the reserves on 1 March 2015, as an 88th-minute substitute for Wilfried Zahibo in a 2–1 Segunda División B loss at CE L'Hospitalet.

Mir scored his first senior goal on 7 March 2015, netting the last in a 2–0 win over CF Badalona at the Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna. He finished the campaign with four appearances, as his side narrowly avoided relegation.

The following season, Mir excelled in the UEFA Youth League, scoring consecutive braces in victories over Gent. On 14 November 2015, he was given his first start for the B-side, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–2 loss at another reserve team, Villarreal CF B.

On 24 November 2015, Mir was called up to the main squad by manager Nuno Espírito Santo for a La Liga game against UD Las Palmas; he was an unused substitute in the 1–1 draw at the Mestalla Stadium. He made his professional debut on 25 November, starting in a UEFA Champions League group stage match away to Zenit Saint Petersburg, being substituted for Santi Mina in the 56th minute of an eventual 2–0 defeat.

Mir made his top-flight debut against Las Palmas on 28 August 2016, replacing Enzo Pérez for the final four minutes of a 4–2 home loss. He began the first half of the 2017–18 season for Valencia B in good form, scoring 15 goals in 19 games, attracting interest from Real Madrid and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Valencia Mestalla
The 2016-17 season saw the player participate in first-team preseason under Pako Ayestaran. He scored the winning goal against Fiorentina in the Trofeo Naranja match and debuted in the league on 28 August. However, Munir's arrival limited his first-team chances. He thrived with Valencia Mestalla, nearly earning promotion, and scored 9 goals across regular and playoff matches. He also featured in Cup games against Leganés and Celta. On 24 April 2017, he was hit by a car, but it did not negatively affect his career.

He again spent the 2017/18 preseason with the first team of Marcelino García Toral, but with only one year left on his contract and not accepting the renewal offer proposed by the club,  a way out began to be sought for the player, who had also received important offers. The doors of the first team were completely closed to him, but in the Valencia Mestalla of Segunda División B he was practically an undisputed starter during the first round, first for Lubo Penev and then for Miguel Grau, emerging as a great scorer by scoring 15 goals in 18 games, two of them even as captain.

Wolverhampton Wanderers
On 3 January 2018, Mir joined Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with the club and taking the number 9 shirt. He linked up with former Valencia boss Nuno Espírito Santo, who gave him his first team debut at the club. He made his debut three days later in the FA Cup third round at home to Swansea City, playing the last 13 minutes of a goalless draw in place of Léo Bonatini.

On 23 July 2018, Mir joined Segunda División side UD Las Palmas on loan for one season. A year later, he returned to the Championship, on loan to Nottingham Forest. After struggling for both minutes and goals with Forest, Mir and Forest agreed for him to return to his parent club on 14 January 2020.

Immediately following his departure from Nottingham, Mir was loaned to Segunda División side SD Huesca for 18 months. He was sent off on 8 February 2020 in a 1–0 loss at Girona FC for elbowing Álex Granell and banned for one match. On 17 July, he scored twice in a 3–0 home win over CD Numancia to win promotion to the top flight with a game remaining.

On 15 December 2020, Mir scored a hat-trick in a 3–2 extra-time win over CD Marchamalo in the first round of the Copa del Rey. The following 29 January, he netted another treble in a 3–1 victory at Real Valladolid. He ended the league season with 13 goals, joint eighth-best.

Sevilla
On 20 August 2021, Mir signed a six-year contract with Sevilla for a fee potentially rising to €16 million. On 23 November 2021, he scored his first Champions League goal in the 97th minute of a 2–0 victory over VfL Wolfsburg.

Mir was approached by Valencia to return on loan for a €5 million fee in July 2023, with the club also taking on his €2 million salary and Sevilla's €3 million conditional payment to Wolverhampton. The move collapsed for financial reasons, and a late approach by A.C. Milan for a loan with obligatory purchase was rejected due to a lack of remaining forwards at Sevilla.

Valencia return (loan)
On 11 July 2024, Mir returned to boyhood club Valencia on loan, with a buyout clause of €5 million.

International career
On 29 June 2021, Mir was named in the 22-man squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics by manager Luis de la Fuente. On 31 July, he scored an injury-time equaliser against the Ivory Coast to take their quarter-final to extra-time, in which he added two further goals to complete a hat-trick as Spain won 5–2.

Personal life
Mir, who idolised German forward Mario Gómez, is the son of former defender Magín Mir, whose clubs included RCD Mallorca and Murcia.

Honours
Huesca
 * Segunda División: 2019–20

Sevilla
 * UEFA Europa League: 2022–23

Spain U21
 * UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2019

Spain U23
 * Summer Olympics Silver Medal: 2020