Niklas Castro

Niklas Castro
Castro with Brann in 2023
Personal information
Full name Niklas Fernando Nygård Castro
Date of birth (1996-01-08) 8 January 1996 (age 30)
Place of birth Oslo, Norway
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position Left winger
Team information
Current team
 Brann
Number 9
Youth career
Manglerud Star
Vålerenga
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Vålerenga 9 (0)
2017–2018 Kongsvinger 53 (22)
2019–2022 Aalesund 73 (28)
2022– Brann 104 (33)
International career‡
2020 Chile 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 September 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 13 November 2020

Niklas Fernando Nygård Castro (born 8 January 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Brann. Born in Norway, he has represented the Chile national team.

Club career

Castro played youth football for Manglerud Star. Ahead of the 2016 he was drafted into the senior team of first-tier club Vålerenga. He made his Norwegian top division debut in April 2016 against Stabæk.

Already on 15 June 2018, Castro signed with Aalesund for the 2019 season. The contract was until 2021.

International career

Due to his Chilean heritage, on 3 October 2019, Castro was officially called up to the Chile national team for friendly matches against Colombia and Guinea. Since he did not have Chilean nationality at the time, he was included in the squad as a "special guest" according to manager Reinaldo Rueda.

On 27 February 2020, it was confirmed Castro had officially acquired the Chilean nationality and may be called up to the national team according to Ambassador of Chile to Norway, Waldemar Coutts. So, in November 2020, he received his first official call up to the Chile senior team for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Venezuela, making his international debut in the first match at the minute 83 by replacing Mauricio Isla.

Personal life

His father, Miguel, is a Chilean who came to Norway in 1994 and his mother, Anne, is Norwegian. He has a sister, Lene, and a brother, Fabian. His paternal grandfather, Óscar Castro, was a football referee who first involved Niklas' uncles, and later Niklas himself, in football.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 October 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Norwegian Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vålerenga 2016 Tippeligaen 9041–131
Kongsvinger 2017 Norwegian First Division 251233–2815
2018 281022–3012
Total 532255–5827
Aalesund 2019 Norwegian First Division 241733–2720
2020 Eliteserien 24400–244
2021 Norwegian First Division 25720–277
Total 732853–7831
Brann 2022 Norwegian First Division 291122–3113
2023 Eliteserien 2074141289
2024 29932603811
2025 1741091275
2026 921166169
Total 1043311625814047
Career total 239832515258289106
  1. 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Conference League
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Niklas Fernando Nygård Castro - Player Profile - Football - Eurosport, eurosport.com
  2. ↑ "AaFK-spiller ble tatt ut på Chiles landslag, men kan ikke spille kamper" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  3. ↑ "Profile". Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  4. ↑ Granerød, Thomas (21 October 2010). "Oppsals gullgutter. Slo Manglerud Star i finalen i KM". Nordstrands Blad (in Norwegian). p. 35.
  5. ↑ Castro klar for AaFK, 15 June 2018
  6. ↑ "Nómina de la Selección Chilena Adulta para enfrentar a Colombia y Guinea en España" [Squad of the Chile national team to play against Colombia and Guinea in Spain] (in Spanish). laroja.cl. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "Rueda sobre el chileno-noruego Niklas Castro: Es un invitado especial" [Rueda about Chilean-Norwegian Niklas Castro: "He is a special guest"] (in Spanish). cooperativa.cl. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  8. ↑ "Niklas Castro recibe la nacionalidad chilena y puede ser citado a la Roja" [Niklas Castro acquires Chilean nationality and may be called up to The Red One] (in Spanish). cdf.cl. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  9. ↑ "Efectivamente @pabloramosg, Niklas Castro tiene nuestra nacionalidad" [In fact @pabloramosg, Niklas Castro gets our nationality] (in Spanish). @ErnestoWcoutts. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  10. ↑ "Nómina de la Selección Chilena para los duelos por Eliminatorias ante Perú y Venezuela" [Chile squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Venezuela] (in Spanish). LaRoja.cl. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  11. ↑ CHILE 2-0 PERU
  12. ↑ Vega, Diego (7 October 2019). "Un viaje a la infancia de Niklas, el niño noruego que soñaba con la Roja". AS Chile (in Spanish). Diario AS. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  13. ↑ Vega, Diego (11 November 2020). "La sorpresa que Niklas Castro encontró en Chile tras 19 años" (in Spanish). AS Chile. Retrieved 19 October 2021. Él está cumpliendo el sueño de la familia, porque nuestro abuelo (Óscar Castro) fue árbitro. Él le enseñó jugar a mis dos tíos, y después le traspasó a Niklas.
  14. ↑ "Niklas Castro". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). TV 2. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  15. ↑ "Vi gratulerer Niklas Castro som er kåret til månedens spiller i Eliteserien i samarbeid med Norsk Tipping for oktober/november". Facebook (in Norwegian). SK Brann. 20 November 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.