# Deyna Castellanos

Deyna Cristina Castellanos Naujenis (born 18 April 1999) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Venezuela national team.

## Early life

Deyna Cristina Castellanos Naujenis was born on 18 April 1999 in Maracay, on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela.

## Club career

Castellanos was awarded a scholarship to study journalism and play football at Florida State University, an experience she describes as life-changing; she spent three college years with the Florida State Seminoles before signing a two-year contract with the Spanish club, Atlético Madrid on 2 January 2020.
At the end of this contract, Castellanos moved to English club Manchester City, in the Women's Super League (WSL), where she signed a three-year contract on 3 June 2022; she was described as the marquee signing during a high-turnover summer for the club. She made her Manchester City debut on 18 August 2022, in a 6–0 Champions League win against Kazakhstani side Tomaris-Turan, scoring a penalty in the 89th minute. On 18 September 2022, she made her WSL debut, coming on in the 70th minute during a 4–3 defeat by Aston Villa.
On 26 January 2024, Castellanos was acquired by new NWSL expansion franchise Bay FC for a transfer fee. In the 2024 season, Castellanos appeared in 20 matches, starting 12, and scored 2 goals.
On 23 January 2025, Bay FC announced that they had bought out the remainder of her contract, making her a free agent. The next day, Castellanos was acquired by NWSL team Portland Thorns FC and signed to a two-year contract with a club option.

## International career
### Youth

In 2014, she was a member of the Venezuela national under-17 team who finished fourth in the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and runners-up in the 2014 Women's Youth Olympic football. She won the Golden Boot of the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup with six goals, equalling her teammate Gabriela García and was also a goalscorer of the 2014 Women's Youth Olympic football with seven. She was also as a top scorer of the 2016 South American Under-17 Women's Football Championship with 12. Castellanos is the top goalscorer of the Venezuela U-17 women's team with 35. Castellanos is currently the all-time leading goalscorer of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup with 11.
Castellanos was called up to the Venezuela U-20 women's team in January 2018 for the 2018 South American Under-20 Women's Football Championship. She was the only player to score in the Group B matches with three, once against Uruguay, Bolivia and Chile. She was also the only player to score in the final stage, scoring once in a 3–1 defeat against Paraguay U-20 women's team.

### Senior

In April 2018, Castellanos was part of the senior team in the 2018 Copa América Femenina. She scored on her debut against Ecuador on 5 April, and netted four times in an 8–0 win over Bolivia four days later. In 2021, at the age of 21, she was named captain of the team for the first time.

## Off the pitch

Castellanos started a foundation that encourages gender equality and helps provide football scholarship for South American girls.
She has worked as a studio analyst for NBC and Telemundo at the 2018 (men's) and 2019 (women's) FIFA World Cups, and in Spain. She is a fan of tattoos and as of 2022 has over 30. In Venezuela, she is known as Reina Deyna ("Queen Deyna"). She learned English while at Florida State University, becoming quickly bilingual.
In The Best FIFA Football Awards 2017, Castellanos was named to the three-woman shortlist for The Best FIFA Women's Player. Her nomination created some controversy. Megan Rapinoe was outspoken about this nomination, complaining that Castellanos was an unknown player and had not played professionally, nor in a major senior national team tournament at the time of her nomination.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 11 November 2024.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Atlético Madrid | 2019–20 | Primera División | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Atlético Madrid | 2020–21 | Primera División | 27 | 13 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 15 |
| Atlético Madrid | 2021–22 | Primera División | 26 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 11 |
| Atlético Madrid | Total | Total | 58 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 71 | 26 |
| Manchester City | 2022–23 | Women's Super League | 19 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 28 | 4 |
| Manchester City | 2023–24 | Women's Super League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 1 |
| Manchester City | Total | Total | 24 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 5 |
| Bay FC | 2024 | NWSL | 20 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 102 | 26 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 128 | 33 |
* ↑ Includes Copa de la Reina, Women's FA Cup
* ↑ Includes FA Women's League Cup, NWSL Challenge Cup
* ↑ Includes UEFA Women's Champions League
* 1 2 3 appearances in Supercopa de España Femenina
* ↑ appearances in NWSL playoffs

### International

    As of match played 25 September 2023
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Venezuela | 2014 | 4 | 0 |
| Venezuela | 2015 | 0 | 0 |
| Venezuela | 2016 | 0 | 0 |
| Venezuela | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| Venezuela | 2018 | 9 | 6 |
| Venezuela | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| Venezuela | 2020 | 0 | 0 |
| Venezuela | 2021 | 5 | 4 |
| Venezuela | 2022 | 11 | 6 |
| Venezuela | 2023 | 7 | 6 |
| Total | Total | 38 | 22 |
    Scores and results list Venezuela's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Castellanos goal.
List of international goals scored by Deyna Castellanos :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 5 April 2018 | Estadio Municipal Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso, Coquimbo, Chile | Ecuador | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2018 Copa América Femenina |
| 2 | 9 April 2018 | Estadio Municipal Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso, Coquimbo, Chile | Bolivia | 1–0 | 8–0 | 2018 Copa América Femenina |
| 3 | 9 April 2018 | Estadio Municipal Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso, Coquimbo, Chile | Bolivia | 2–0 | 8–0 | 2018 Copa América Femenina |
| 4 | 9 April 2018 | Estadio Municipal Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso, Coquimbo, Chile | Bolivia | 3–0 | 8–0 | 2018 Copa América Femenina |
| 5 | 9 April 2018 | Estadio Municipal Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso, Coquimbo, Chile | Bolivia | 8–0 | 8–0 | 2018 Copa América Femenina |
| 6 | 19 July 2018 | Estadio Moderno Julio Torres, Barranquilla, Colombia | Jamaica | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games |
| 7 | 23 October 2021 | Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha, Guayaquil, Ecuador | Ecuador | 3–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 23 October 2021 | Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha, Guayaquil, Ecuador | Ecuador | 4–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 9 | 26 October 2021 | Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha, Guayaquil, Ecuador | Ecuador | 2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 10 | 26 October 2021 | Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha, Guayaquil, Ecuador | Ecuador | 3–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 11 | 9 April 2022 | Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, Cali, Colombia | Colombia | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 12 | 9 April 2022 | Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, Cali, Colombia | Colombia | 2–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 13 | 9 July 2022 | Estadio Centenario, Armenia, Colombia | Uruguay | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2022 Copa América Femenina |
| 14 | 15 July 2022 | Estadio Centenario, Armenia, Colombia | Peru | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2022 Copa América Femenina |
| 15 | 24 July 2022 | Estadio Centenario, Armenia, Colombia | Chile | 1–1 | 1–1 (2–4 p) | 2022 Copa América Femenina |
| 16 | 14 November 2022 | Estadio Municipal Los Arcos, Orihuela, Spain | Scotland | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 17 | 29 June 2023 | Estadio Las Delicias, Santa Tecla, El Salvador | Costa Rica | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games |
| 18 | 1 July 2023 | Estadio Las Delicias, Santa Tecla, El Salvador | Haiti | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games |
| 19 | 1 July 2023 | Estadio Las Delicias, Santa Tecla, El Salvador | Haiti | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games |
| 20 | 3 July 2023 | Estadio Las Delicias, Santa Tecla, El Salvador | Guatemala | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games |
| 21 | 5 July 2023 | Estadio Las Delicias, Santa Tecla, El Salvador | El Salvador | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games |
| 22 | 26 September 2023 | Estadio Olímpico de la UCV, Caracas, Venezuela | Uruguay | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |

## Honors

Florida State Seminoles
* NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship: 2018
Atlético Madrid
* Supercopa de España Femenina: 2020–21