Nery Castillo

Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov stated that City's offer of £1 million was too low, instead offering "a one-year loan – five million euros and there will be no options, meaning a right to buy [Castillo]... If Castillo finds his game ... then in a year we'll decide whether to take him back to Shakhtar or sell. And the price could be 20, or 30, or 40, or 50 million euros."

On 9 July 2013, he went to Spanish club Rayo Vallecano on a free transfer from Pachuca.

He scored his first league goal for Aris of the 2011/12 season on 8 January 2012 in a 1–0 win over PAS Giannina. He scored his first brace in a 3–1 victory over Doxa Drama on 22 January. He scored his second consecutive brace seven days later in a 2–1 win over Levadiakos. Castillo scored again on 5 February in a 2–0 win over Xanthi, bringing his goal tally to six.

On 14 June 2012, Castillo's moved to the Liga MX club Pachuca on a three-year contract. It was the first time Castillo played in the Mexico league after eight years of playing abroad.

On 10 December 2012, Castillo was loaned to Club León for six months, for whom he made seven appearances in total.

Castillo joined Aris on a six-month loan on 19 January 2011. He played his first game for Aris on 30 January 2011, against local rivals PAOK.

Castillo terminated his contract with Shakhtar Donetsk and signed a two-year contract with Aris on 1 July 2011.

On 17 July 2010, the Chicago Fire announced the signing of Castillo as their newest designated player. He arrived on loan with Chicago holding the option to make the transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk permanent. In being signed as a designated player, he became the second youngest designated player in Major League Soccer history.

He ended the season with nine appearances, seven of them coming in the Premier League. Failing to secure a place at Manchester City, Castillo returned to Shakhtar Donetsk at the end of his loan in January 2009.

After Shakhtar Donetsk had failed to even include Castillo on the bench for the first two matches of the 2009/2010 season he was loaned to Ukrainian league rivals Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk for a year on 30 July 2009.

Castillo played his first game for Manchester City on 5 January 2008 in the third round of the FA Cup, away to West Ham United. However, in the replay on 16 January 2008, his first home appearance for the club, he was stretchered off after 32 minutes with a broken shoulder.

Subsequently, in 2007, Olympiacos accepted Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk's offer of €20 million for Castillo's services. Before this, in what Castillo correctly anticipated would be his last game for Olympiacos, he scored with a free kick shot, after "stealing" the kick from the teammate who was preparing to take it.

On 31 July 2007, Castillo joined Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk on a five-year contract for a fee of €20 million. This became the most expensive transfer for a Ukrainian club to date.

On 15 December 2007, Castillo's agent told the Daily Mail: "There has been an agreement with Manchester City so that Nery can be with the club for one year on loan so he can prove himself and play active football," adding that City would have an option to buy Castillo once his loan period expires.

On 18 December 2007, it was announced that Castillo had signed a one-year loan agreement with Manchester City, commencing on 1 January 2008. Reportedly Castillo was keen to make the move happen and, in a highly unusual move, paid half of the loan fee himself. Sven-Göran Eriksson commented "He was desperate to come to us, desperate to come to England, desperate to come to the Premier League", and said he had never seen a player pay for half the transfer deal himself before.

He made his international debut for Mexico on 2 June 2007 vs Iran, in his hometown San Luis Potosí with Mexico winning the game 4–0, and went on to represent his country in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where he scored his first international goal against Cuba, and in the 2007 Copa America.

In the 2007 Copa America, a pre-tournament injury to Jared Borgetti gave Castillo a starting berth, and he scored l in Mexico's first match of the tournament, a 2–0 win against Brazil.

At the age of 16, Castillo's father and agent accepted an offer from the Greek club Olympiacos. Three years after he joined Olympiacos, Castillo became a regular starter in both domestic and European competitions. He became a fan favourite with the Gate 7 Ultras and was even given the number 7 shirt in deference to them. Castillo was part of the Olympiacos squad that won the next three consecutive league titles. He was the club's leading scorer during the preparatory phase for the 2006–07 season, accumulating seven goals in friendly games. He finished the season second to Rivaldo in goals scored and assists for the club, with three goals scored in five Champions League games.

In early 2006, his father and agent began negotiations with the Mexico club Chivas de Guadalajara, but talks were suspended because Olympiacos weren't interested in selling the player at the time.

Nery Alberto Castillo Confalonieri (born 13 June 1984) is a Mexican former footballer who last played as a forward for Rayo Vallecano and played most matches in his career for Olympiacos. As player of national football team of Mexico has played 21 games and scored 6 goals.