Omar Mascarell Gonzalez is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for and captains German club Schalke 04 as a defensive midfielder. Real Madrid
Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Mascarell joined Real Madrid's youth system at the age of 17, arriving from local CD Laguna de Tenerife. On 21 August 2011 he made his debut as a senior, playing with Real Madrid Castilla against Sporting de Gijon B for the Segunda Division B championship; he contributed with 24 games during the season (11 starts) as the B's returned to Segunda Division after an absence of five years, scoring twice in the process. Mascarell started the 2012–13 campaign with the C-team also in the third level, but was promoted back to the reserves after only a couple of weeks. He played his first professional match on 28 October 2012, coming on as a substitute for Pedro Mosquera for the last 17 minutes of a 2–4 home loss to Sporting de Gijon. Mascarell made his La Liga debut with the Merengues on 1 June 2013, replacing Mesut Ozil late into a 4–2 home win over CA Osasuna in what was the last matchday. On 6 August of the following year, he joined English Championship club Derby County on a season-long loan. He made his debut for the latter five days later, substituting Will Hughes in the 53rd minute of a 1–0 success over Rotherham United at Pride Park Stadium. On 3 August 2015, Mascarell moved to Sporting de Gijon on loan for one year. He played 28 matches across all competitions, helping the Asturians finally retain their top flight status. Eintracht Frankfurt
On 6 July 2016, Mascarell signed with Eintracht Frankfurt on a three-year contract. His maiden appearance in the Bundesliga took place on 27 August, when he played the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home defeat of FC Schalke 04. Mascarell spent the better part of the 2017–18 season on the sidelines, due to an achilles tendon injury. He did play the entire final of the DFB-Pokal on 19 May 2018, helping to a 3–1 triumph over league champions FC Bayern Munich. Schalke 04
On 29 June 2018, Mascarell's buy back clause was activated by Real Madrid for €4 million. He was subsequently sold to Schalke 04 also in the German top division for €10 million, signing a four-year contract. For the 2019–20 season, he was appointed Schalke's vice-captain. After Alexander Nübel decided to leave the club at the end of the season, he was selected by head coach David Wagner as his successor as captain on 4 January 2020. International career
Mascarell was of Equatoguinean descent through his great-grandmother. In May 2012, he was called by that national team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Tunisia and Sierra Leone. He travelled to Malabo, but nonetheless declined to play in any of the two matches because he had already appeared for Spain at youth level and did not want to give up on that option; according to the local press, the Equatoguinean Football Federation was completing the administrative procedures of his eligibility. |
