The 2026–27 season is the 104th season in the history of Villarreal Club de Fútbol and the club’s 14th consecutive season in La Liga. In addition to the domestic league, Villarreal is participating in this season’s editions of the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.
Villarreal made its first appearance in the UEFA Champions League in 2005, with its best result being the semi-finals in 2006 and 2022. Villarreal also appeared in the UEFA Europa League during this time and won the competition in 2021 by defeating Manchester United in the final, clinching their first major trophy.
Beyond the club’s achievements, the Villarreal squad represents a diverse mix of religious faiths, bringing together athletes from various international backgrounds. The club reflects a predominantly Christian environment common in La Liga, featuring Catholic and Evangelical players like Gerard Moreno, Juan Foyth, and Santi Comesaña. Concurrently, the squad embraces a prominent Islamic presence through practicing Muslim players such as Senegalese international forward Pape Gueye.
Read below all the players in Villarreal and their religious beliefs. Please contact us if you see any mistakes or errors regarding a specific player’s religion.
Table of Contents
Luiz Júnior Religion
Luiz Júnior is a Brazilian professional footballer who is a practicing Christian, though he has not publicly spoken about it.
Júnior joined the youth system of FC Famalicão from Mirasol on a free transfer and was promoted to the first team in November 2020. In August 2024, Júnior joined Villarreal for a fee of £12 million on a six-year contract. During the 2025 season, he made multiple starts for Villarreal in La Liga, including keeping a clean sheet in a crucial match against Barcelona.
Logan Costa Religion
Logan Costa is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who is a practicing Muslim. Though he was raised Roman Catholic, Costa formally converted to Islam in 2020 during his professional football career.
Costa was born in Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, to a Cape Verdean family. He began his career in French youth systems before breaking through at Toulouse FC in Ligue 1, where he made 58 appearances and scored four goals.
Costa transferred to Villarreal CF from Toulouse FC on August 22, 2024, in a deal reportedly worth €17.5 million plus €1.5 million in performance-related bonuses, signing a six-year contract until June 2030. He made his debut for the club on 26 August, coming on as a substitute in a league win over Celta Vigo. On 14 September, he scored his first goal for Villarreal in a 2–1 victory against Mallorca.
Tajon Buchanan Religion
Tajon Buchanan is a Canadian professional player who attended a Catholic high school, but he has not publicly specified his personal religious beliefs as an adult.
Tajon Buchanan was born on February 8, 1999, in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, to parents of Jamaican descent. Buchanan moved to the United States and joined the Real Colorado youth team. In 2017, he enrolled at Syracuse University to play NCAA college soccer. Selected ninth overall in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft by the New England Revolution, he made 67 appearances with 12 goals and 11 assists across three seasons. In August 2021, Buchanan signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Belgian First Division A champions Club Brugge. During the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, he helped Club Brugge win the Belgian Pro League title in two consecutive seasons. He joined Serie A side Inter Milan in January 2024 as the first Canadian player in the league.
In February 2025, Buchanan joined Villarreal on loan with an option to buy. On July 29, 2025, Villarreal completed a permanent transfer for Buchanan, signing him to a five-year contract for a fee of $14.4 million CAD. In August 2025, Buchanan achieved a historic milestone as the first Canadian to score a hat-trick in La Liga history, netting a hat-trick in a 5-0 rout of Girona.
Ilias Akhomach Religion
Ilias Akhomach is a Spanish-born Moroccan professional footballer who is a practicing Muslim.
A product of Barcelona’s La Masia academy, Akhomach joined Villarreal on a free transfer in July 2023, signing a contract until 2028. He joined Rayo Vallecano on loan in January 2026 for the rest of the season. Following the expiration of his loan spell at Rayo Vallecano, Akhomach returned to Villarreal for the 2026–27 season.
Juan Foyth Religion
Juan Foyth is an Argentine professional footballer who is a Christian.
Foyth began his career in the youth academy of Estudiantes de La Plata. In October 2020, he joined Villarreal on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. The following year, he won the UEFA Europa League with the club and completed a permanent transfer in July. In August 2025, Foyth renewed his contract with Villarreal until June 2029.
Internationally, Foyth won the 2022 Finalissima and the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina.
Foyth, who was born and raised in Argentina, is of Czech and Polish descent and holds a Polish passport. He also holds Spanish nationality.
Santi Comesaña Religion
Santi Comesaña is a Spanish professional footballer who identifies with the Christian faith.
Comesaña began his professional career after joining Rayo Vallecano in 2016. He spent seven seasons with the club across La Liga and the Segunda División, while contributing to their promotion back to the top flight in 2021.
In July 2023, Comesaña joined Villarreal on a free transfer, signing a contract until 2028, which was extended in February 2025. In December 2025, he scored in a UEFA Champions League match against FC Copenhagen.
Georges Mikautadze Religion
Georges Mikautadze is a Georgian professional footballer who is widely believed to be an Orthodox Christian, aligning with his Georgian heritage and the religious traditions of his family.
Mikautadze plays as a forward for Villarreal and the Georgia national team. He previously played for football clubs Metz, Seraing, Ajax, and Lyon. In September 2025, he joined Villarreal for €31 million, scoring goals in both the UEFA Champions League and La Liga during that season. In February 2026, Mikautadze was named LaLiga Player of the Month after scoring three times and providing one assist in four successive matches.
Mikautadze’s family moved from Georgia to France in the late 1990s. Mikautadze was born and raised in France.
Alex Freeman Religion
Alex Freeman is an American professional footballer who identifies as a devout Christian.
Freeman is the son of former professional football player Antonio Freeman, who played as a wide receiver and won Super Bowl XXXI with the Green Bay Packers in 1997. In 2022, Freeman signed with Major League Soccer club Orlando City but spent the first three seasons of his professional career primarily playing for the reserve team, Orlando City B, in MLS Next Pro. He made his first-team debut on April 29, 2023, in a 2–0 MLS win over LA Galaxy and was part of the squad that won the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, though he did not appear in the tournament
In January 2026, Freeman completed his transfer from Orlando City to Villarreal for an initial fee of around $4 million that could rise to $7 million with add-ons, signing a six-year contract through June 2032. He made his first start for Villarreal in a 2–1 win over Celta Vigo on April 26, and the club praised him for winning all five duels he faced during the match.
Pape Gueye Religion
Pape Gueye is a Senegalese professional footballer who is a practicing Muslim.
Gueye began his professional career with Le Havre AC in Ligue 2 and made his senior debut during the 2017–18 season. After signing with Watford in 2020 but not making an appearance due to a contract dispute, he joined Olympique de Marseille in Ligue 1 on a four-year contract in July 2020. He was loaned out to La Liga club Sevilla for the remainder of the season in 2023.
In July 2024, Gueye joined Villarreal on a free transfer for a four-year deal. He made his debut on 19 August 2024, coming on as a substitute in the 71st minute during a 2–2 La Liga draw against Atlético Madrid.
On the international stage, Gueye won the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.
Gerard Moreno Religion
Gerard Moreno is a Spanish professional footballer who follows the Christian faith. He comes from a traditionally Roman Catholic background.
Moreno graduated from the RCD Espanyol Youth Academy and began his professional career in 2010. After a loan spell at RCD Mallorca in 2013–14, where he scored 12 goals in La Liga to help avoid relegation, he played 10 matches and scored 2 goals in La Liga during the 2014–15 season with Villarreal before transferring to Espanyol in 2015.
Moreno returned to Villarreal on 12 June 2018, agreeing to a five-year contract. During the 2020–21 La Liga season, Moreno won the Zarra Trophy as the top-scoring Spaniard with 23 goals, finishing third overall behind Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema. Additionally, Moreno ranked 26th in the 2021 Ballon d’Or.
Santiago Mouriño Religion
Santiago Mouriño is a Uruguayan professional footballer who has not publicly stated a specific traditional religious affiliation, but he has shared that he strongly believes in energy and protective rituals.
Mouriño began his professional career with Racing Montevideo in 2022 before joining Atlético Madrid for €2.7 million a year later. He was immediately loaned to Real Zaragoza in the Spanish Segunda División for the 2023–24 season. Following the loan’s conclusion in June 2024, Atlético facilitated a permanent transfer to Deportivo Alavés in La Liga for €2 million in August 2024.
On 31 July 2025, Atlético Madrid activated a buy-back clause in Mouriño’s contract for €4 million, only to sell him days later to Villarreal on 1 August 2025 for €10 million. He signed a five-year contract with Villarreal, valid until June 2030. That same month, on 25 August, he registered an assist during Villarreal’s 5-0 victory over Girona.
Alberto Moleiro Religion
Alberto Moleiro is a Spanish professional footballer who has not publicly discussed his specific religious beliefs.
Moleiro plays as a winger or an attacking midfielder for Villarreal. He previously played for UD Las Palmas, where he helped the team finish as runner-up in the Segunda División, earning promotion to La Liga in the 2022-23 season.
In June 2025, Moleiro transferred to Villarreal for a reported fee of €16 million plus €2 million in add-ons, signing a five-year contract until 30 June 2030. He made an immediate impact in his first season with the club, earning two Under‑23 Player of the Month awards for October and November.
Tani Oluwaseyi Religion
Tani Oluwaseyi is a Canadian professional footballer who is a devout Christian.
Tani Oluwaseyi was born on May 15, 2000, in Abuja, Nigeria, to parents Debo and Kemi Oluwaseyi. After an impressive performance at St. John’s University, where he played college soccer for four seasons from 2018 to 2021, Oluwaseyi was selected 17th overall in the first round of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft by Minnesota United FC. During the 2022 season, he spent time with Minnesota United 2 in MLS Next Pro. In April 2023, he was loaned to USL Championship side San Antonio FC for the remainder of the 2023 season.
On August 29, 2025, Villarreal announced the signing of Oluwaseyi on a five-year contract until June 2030, for a reported transfer fee of €8 million. Two days later, on 32 August, he made his debut for the club as a substitute against Celta Vigo in an eventual 1–1 draw. He scored his first La Liga goal for Villarreal on September 23, 2025, against Sevilla, three days after earning his first assist for the club.
Renato Veiga Religion
Renato Veiga is a Portuguese professional footballer who is a practicing Muslim.
Veiga came through Sporting CP’s youth academy and was loaned to Bundesliga side Augsburg in January 2023 before joining Swiss Super League side Basel in August. In the summer of 2024, he signed with Chelsea for an initial €14 million before a mid-season loan to Serie A club Juventus starting in January 2025 that lasted until June.
In August 2025, Veiga officially joined Villarreal, signing a seven-year contract in a club-record deal reported to be £26 million. He played the full 90 minutes in Villarreal’s 3–1 away win over Málaga on September 17, 2026.
Nicolas Pépé Religion
Nicolas Pépé is a professional footballer from Côte d’Ivoire who is a practicing Muslim.
Nicolas Pépé was born on 29 May 1995 in Mantes-la-Jolie, France, to Ivorian immigrant parents who had recently emigrated from Côte d’Ivoire. He played as a right winger or forward for Villarreal and the Ivory Coast national team. Previously, he played for several European clubs, including Poitiers, Angers, Orléans, Lille, Arsenal, Nice, and Trabzonspor.
In August 2024, Pépé joined Villarreal on a free transfer, signing a four-year deal. In his first season with the club, he made 28 appearances and contributed to 9 goals, scoring 3 times and providing 6 assists. In July 2025, he signed a new deal to last until 2028 and was subsequently named La Liga Player of the Month for August after scoring two goals and providing one assist in his first three matches.
Ayoze Pérez Religion
Ayoze Pérez is a Spanish professional footballer who is a practicing Christian.
Pérez began his professional career at hometown club CD Tenerife and made his senior debut in the Segunda División during the 2013–14 season before joining Newcastle United for around €3 million, where he played for five seasons. In 2019, he moved to another English club, Leicester City, as he won the FA Cup and Community Shield two years later. In January 2023, Pérez joined Real Betis on loan, which became a permanent free transfer in July 2023.
In August 2024, Pérez joined Villarreal on a four-year contract for a transfer fee of €4 million. He scored three goals in his first five league games for Villarreal. He marked his debut season with Villarreal by scoring 19 goals, making him the club’s top scorer.
