Age 23, Born into a working class family in the provinces of Seville, Miguel Lopez grew up in rural Spain longing to get out. In 1998, aged just 13 years old, he got his wish. After attending (and shining at) a football camp one summer, Miguel was invited to join the youth academy of Athletico Madrid.

Moving to the capital at such a young age opened young Miguel's eyes to wonders he had never even dreamed of and the experiences he gained during the four years of the academy led him further and further away from home – if not physically, then mentally. He spent these formative years surrounded by young gifted footballers from all over Spain, and indeed the rest of Europe and beyond. This is where the stars of the future were gathered – and if you are told from such a young age that you are destined to be star, sooner or later you begin to believe it. His family back in Seville certainly believed it, with his father packing in work and collecting the cheques that his boy was soon sending home, once he signed professional terms on his seventeenth birthday.

The problem was that it all came too easy to Miguel. He never had any doubt about his talent but it was always instinctive. Other guys at the academy would ask him how he did what he did. Miguel could never explain – he just did it. Likewise, away from the football field, Miguel enjoyed the distractions his superstar status afforded him: teenage girls were falling over themselves to step out alongside "the next big thing". He never even had to ask.

But just as Spain's national team have been ‘on the verge of winning a major tournament' for the last twenty years, Miguel found himself a ‘superstar in waiting' as the seasons went by. On the pitch Miguel channels the proud Spanish ‘matador' spirit - but this has developed into an arrogance which, under a Dutch manager at Athletico, went unchecked. Miguel has become a footballer who plays for himself and not his team. Now in his twenties, he's still playing for Athletico's first team but has still not yet set the world alight. Feeling like he is going stale, Miguel finds himself in the dubious care of an English agent, Tony, who thinks a move to the Premiership is exactly what Miguel needs.

Miguel has never really worked hard at anything. He is a natural footballer with incredible talents and has good looks and charm to die for. He's got a wit and sense of mischief that is hard to resist. But when the life that he has always been expected to lead looks less and less likely to materialise, Miguel has to ask himself some serious questions.

Miguel makes all the headlines during his first season at Harchester on both the front and back pages! He teams up with Sean Campbell and Gavin moody to form "The Invincibles", a threesome that not only are a force on the pitch they are also a force not to be reckoned with at the casino! Luck turns to tragedy when gambling debts begin to mount up and they owe casino owner JF thousands of pounds. On a fateful night the trio meet with JF to hand over some money, but JF begins to accidentally choke on some chewing gum, and they watch JF fall to the ground and die. Miguel is the most ruthless of the trio and holds them together and their secret. Eventually Jason Porter steps in and takes the rap.

Statistics

First Appearance: Episode 10.02
Final Appearance: - Episode 10.32

Season 10 Character Popularity: 13.82% (3rd)

Interviews

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