Nery Alberto Castillo Confalonieri (born 13 June 1984) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a forward. Early years Nery Castillo was born in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, where his father, a Uruguayan professional footballer, had played for the local team of San Luis. He is also of Italian descent. The family moved to South America while Castillo was still a small child. He started playing for Uruguayan side Danubio's youth team. While playing in a Brazilian tournament, Castillo was spotted by scouts from European clubs. He went on to trials with Manchester United, but failed to obtain a work permit and the transfer did not materialise. Club career Olympiacos At the age of 16, Castillo's father and agent accepted an offer from the Greek club Olympiacos. Three years after he joined Olympiacos, Castillo became a regular starter in both domestic and European competitions. He became a fan favourite with the Gate 7 Ultras and was even given the number 7 shirt in deference to them. Castillo was part of the Olympiacos squad that won the next three consecutive league titles. He was the club's leading scorer during the preparatory phase for the 2006–07 season, accumulating seven goals in friendly games. He finished the season second to Rivaldo in goals scored and assists for the club, with three goals scored in five Champions League games. In early 2006, his father and agent began negotiations with Mexican club Guadalajara, but talks were suspended because Olympiacos weren't interested in selling the player at the time. Subsequently, in 2007, Olympiacos accepted Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk's offer of €20 million for Castillo's services. Before this, in what Castillo correctly anticipated would be his last game for Olympiacos, he scored with a free kick shot, after "stealing" the kick from the teammate who was preparing to take it. Shakhtar Donetsk On 31 July 2007, Castillo joined Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk on a five-year contract for a fee of €20 million. This became the most expensive transfer for a Ukrainian club to date. Castillo scored his first goal for Shakhtar while playing against SV Salzburg in the Champions League. He had only played in a few games for Shakhtar when, in a league match versus FC Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka, Shakhtar won a penalty kick. Castillo refused to give the ball to designated penalty kick-taker Cristiano Lucarelli and took the penalty himself, which was saved by