C.D. Leganés reached an agreement on Friday with 31-year-old Serbian international centre-back Matija Nastasic to join the club for the next two seasons. The defender has a wealth of international experience and spent the last two seasons with R.C.D. Mallorca.
Trained in his native country, he played for Partizan Belgrade and Teleoptik Zemun before making the leap to Serie A at the age of 18 with Fiorentina. Just one year in Italy earned him a move to Manchester City, making his Premier League and Champions League debut for the Citizens. In his second year in England he was crowned league champion, and in the third his minutes decreased, despite which he accumulated 51 appearances with the ‘sky blue’ before being loaned in January 2015 to Schalke 04.
His good performances took the German club to acquire Nastasic on loan, although he spent the 2015/16 season on the sidelines due to injury, but recovered from it to return the following year and once again play a key role for the Gelsenkirchen outfit. The Serbian spent six and a half seasons at Schalke, playing in several Champions League and Europa League tournaments and ending his time in Germany with more than 150 appearances.
Extensive elite experience in England, Italy, Germany and Spain
In 2021 he returned to Fiorentina, and the following year he made the leap to LALIGA with Real Mallorca, with whom he played the last two seasons, participating in 49 official matches, including the final of the last Copa del Rey, and scoring three goals. At international level, Nastasic has been capped 34 times by Serbia, making his debut with the senior national team at the age of eighteen.
Now, Nastasic arrives at Butarque to continue his career in Spain and bring his experience to the Leganés defence. Left-footed, powerful in the air and with good ball control. He will wear the number ‘22’ and the date of his presentation will be announced soon.
