Santiago "Santi" Cazorla González (Spanish pronunciation: ; born 13 December 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Villarreal and the Spanish national team. Cazorla operates primarily as an attacking midfielder, but can also play as a winger, central midfielder or as a deep-lying playmaker.
Cazorla began his professional career at Villarreal in 2003 after impressing as a youngster with his hometown club, Real Oviedo. He continued his development at Villarreal before a short spell at partner club, Recreativo de Huelva. After becoming the club's standout player in the 2006–07 La Liga season, contributing to their top-ten finish and being awarded Spanish Footballer of the Year, Cazorla returned to Villarreal for €1.2 million the following season. He then firmly established himself as a key contributor to the side, regularly being named in the La Liga Team of the Season. In 2011, following five fruitful seasons on the Spanish coast, Cazorla moved to fellow La Liga side Málaga in a club-record €21 million deal, where he gained a reputation for his speed, shooting accuracy, capacity to change the rhythm of gameplay, and excellent close control.