Liverpool
Suso initially joined the Liverpool Academy on loan until he was old enough to obtain a permit to play for them professionally. On 19 November 2010, he marked his 17th birthday by signing his first professional contract with the Reds. Suso made his first appearance for the first team in a pre-season friendly against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 1 August 2010, also playing in Jamie Carragher’s testimonial match on 4 September. For competitive fixtures, however, he was immediately placed in the reserves, foregoing the Academy. In the 2010–11 season, he made the joint-highest number of appearances for the side with 17, and netted three goals as he adapted well to life on Merseyside. He followed this up with five goals in 17 games during the 2011–12 season, and he also made seven appearances in the NextGen Series.
On 20 September 2012, Suso made his senior Liverpool debut in a Europa League match against Young Boys, completing the full 90 minutes and earning a rave review from Brendan Rodgers. He made his Premier League debut three days later against Manchester United in a 2-1 defeat at Anfield, replacing the injured Fabio Borini at half-time. He performed impressively, completing all his passes despite Liverpool being a man down. He then played in the next game against West Bromwich Albion six days later in the League Cup, coming on with ten minutes to play and making an immediate impact by helping set up Nuri Şahin’s second goal in a 2–1 win. He went on to make his first Premier League start on 29 September in a 5-2 win at Norwich City, where he assisted Luis Suárez’s third goal.
On 19 October 2012, Suso signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool, receiving praise from manager Brendan Rodgers for his “maturity and commitment.”
On 18 December 2012, Suso was fined £10,000 for a remark he made to Liverpool teammate and compatriot José Enrique on Twitter, which The Football Association (FA) deemed homophobic. José Enrique replied to these charges, saying the remark was “banter” and “just a joke.”
On 25 February 2013, after being shut-out of the first team due to the signings of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho, Suso put in a poor performance for the under-21 team against Manchester United, which he acknowledged on his Twitter account, tweeting “Sorry about tonight.. I was having some stomach problems during all game but i didn’t want to come off of the game… Again sorry!” The game finished 1–0 to United against a very strong Liverpool side that included Raheem Sterling, Andre Wisdom and Jonjo Shelvey.
Almería (loan)
Suso (center) playing for Almería against Atlético Madrid in September 2013
On 12 July 2013, Suso joined La Liga side Almería on a season-long loan deal. He made his debut for the Andalusians on 19 August, assisting Rodri’s goal in an eventual 2–3 home loss against Villarreal. In the following matchday, he also assisted Rodri in a 2–2 away draw against Getafe.
On 21 September, Suso scored his first top flight goal in a 2–2 home draw against Levante. On 30 October, he helped his side end a wretched run of five successive defeats, assisting Marco Torsiglieri in a 1–2 away success over Valencia.
On 2 November, Suso assisted Rodri by putting a cross into the six-yard box that was converted by the forward, who slid to meet the ball. It was the match’s only goal (although highly-controversial) in a home win over Real Valladolid. Late in the month, Suso scored his second goal for the Andalusians, his team’s only marker in a 3–1 away loss against Celta de Vigo, but was also fined for missing training due to oversleeping.
Suso was then dropped to the bench in the following matches against Real Betis, Granada, Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal, only returning to the starting lineup on 26 January of the following year, assisting Jonathan Zongo in the game’s only goal against Getafe.
Return to Liverpool
Suso was first recalled to a Liverpool matchday squad as they began their Champions League campaign on 16 September 2014 with a 2–1 win over Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad, though he went unused. A week later, in a League Cup third round match against Middlesbrough at Anfield, he replaced Lazar Marković in the 98th minute and scored his first goal for the club 11 minutes later in a 2–2 draw after extra time. He also scored twice in the subsequent penalty shoot-out, including the winner, as Liverpool won 14–13.