| Christian Santos | |
| Full Name: | Christian Robert Santos Freire |
| Birth Date: | 24 March 1988 |
| Birth Place: | Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela |
| Height: | 1.84 m |
| Position: | Forward |
| Currentclub: | Arenteiro |
| Clubnumber: | 7 |
| Youthclubs1: | SV Lippstadt |
| Youthyears2: | 2003–2007 |
| Youthclubs2: | Arminia Bielefeld |
| Years1: | 2007–2011 |
| Clubs1: | Arminia Bielefeld II |
| Caps1: | 78 |
| Goals1: | 28 |
| Years2: | 2011–2013 |
| Clubs2: | Eupen |
| Caps2: | 58 |
| Goals2: | 25 |
| Years3: | 2013–2014 |
| Clubs3: | Waasland-Beveren |
| Caps3: | 0 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2014–2016 |
| Clubs4: | NEC |
| Caps4: | 71 |
| Goals4: | 43 |
| Years5: | 2016–2018 |
| Clubs5: | Alavés |
| Caps5: | 31 |
| Goals5: | 5 |
| Years6: | 2018–2020 |
| Clubs6: | Deportivo La Coruña |
| Caps6: | 48 |
| Goals6: | 9 |
| Years7: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs7: | VfL Osnabrück |
| Caps7: | 29 |
| Goals7: | 8 |
| Years8: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs8: | Colo-Colo |
| Caps8: | 13 |
| Goals8: | 1 |
| Years9: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs9: | Juve Stabia |
| Caps9: | 14 |
| Goals9: | 2 |
| Years10: | 2023 |
| Clubs10: | Unionistas |
| Caps10: | 14 |
| Goals10: | 4 |
| Years11: | 2023 |
| Clubs11: | Universidad Central |
| Caps11: | 8 |
| Goals11: | 0 |
| Years12: | 2024- |
| Clubs12: | Arenteiro |
| Caps12: | 13 |
| Goals12: | 4 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2015– |
| Nationalteam1: | Venezuela |
| Nationalcaps1: | 13 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Club-Update: | 05:09, 4 July 2024 (UTC) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 02:44, 14 September 2018 (UTC) |
Christian Robert Santos Freire (born 24 March 1988) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Arenteiro.
Born in Ciudad Guayana, Bolívar, Santos moved to Germany at the age of six as his father received a new job in the country.[1] After starting his career at SV Lippstadt he moved to Arminia Bielefeld in 2003, and made his senior debut for the latter's reserve team on 6 May 2007, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–0 Oberliga Westfalen home win against Sportfreunde Lotte.
Santos scored his first senior goal on 1 April 2009, netting his team's second in a 3–1 away win against Delbrücker SC. After failed to make a single appearance with the first team, he left the club in 2011.
On 9 August 2011, Santos signed for KAS Eupen in the Belgian Second Division. He scored a 15 goals during his first season, and added a further ten in his second.
In April 2013, Santos moved to Belgian Pro League club Waasland-Beveren,[2] but failed to appear in a single match due to a severe knee injury.
In July 2014, Santos signed a one-year contract with Dutch Eerste Divisie side NEC Nijmegen, after impressing on a trial basis.[3] [4] He made his professional debut on 10 August, starting in a 3–1 home win against FC Eindhoven.
Santos scored his first professional goal on 15 August 2014, netting the last in a 2–0 win at FC Volendam.[5] He finished the campaign with 23 goals in only 34 appearances, as his side achieved promotion to Eredivisie as champions; highlights included braces against FC Den Bosch, MVV Maastricht and FC Oss.
Santos made his debut in the main category of Dutch football on 12 August 2015, starting in a 1–0 home win against SBV Excelsior.[6] He scored his first goals in the division on 18 September, netting all his team's goals in a 2–0 success over SC Heerenveen.[7]
Santos added another doubles against ADO Den Haag (4–1 home win)[8] and De Graafschap (2–0 home win),[9] totalling 16 goals in 30 matches.
On 12 July 2016, free agent Santos signed a three-year deal with Deportivo Alavés, newly promoted to La Liga.[10] He made his debut in the league on 21 August, replacing Gaizka Toquero in a 1–1 away draw against Atlético Madrid.[11]
On 28 June 2018, Santos signed a two-year deal with Deportivo de La Coruña, after cutting ties with Alavés.[12] He scored his first goal in an away match against Gimnàstic de Tarragona on 1 October 2018, one minute after entering as a substitute in 85th minute. On 27 January 2019, he scored a decisive goal in 2–1 away victory against Sporting de Gijón. On 18 August 2019, he scored a decisive goal in 88th minute after coming from the bench three minutes earlier in a 3–2 victory against Real Oviedo.
In September 2020, Santos returned to Germany joining 2. Bundesliga club VfL Osnabrück on a two-year contract.[13]
In September 2021, Santos joined Colo-Colo in the Chilean Primera División. In June 2022, he ended his contract after making thirteen appearances and scoring a goal.[14]
On 12 October 2022, Santos signed with Juve Stabia in the Italian third-tier Serie C until the end of the 2022–23 season.[15]
On 1 February 2023, Santos joined Unionistas in the Spanish third-tier Primera Federación.[16]
After being allowed to play for Venezuela in January 2015,[1] Santos made his full international debut on 27 March of that year, starting and being booked in a 2–1 friendly loss against Jamaica.[17] He scored his first international goal on 13 October, but in a 3–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers loss against Brazil.[18]
Santos was also included in Rafael Dudamel's 23-man list ahead of the Copa America Centenario.[19] His first and only appearance of the tournament occurred on 13 June 2016, in a 1–1 draw against Mexico.[20]
Scores and results list Venezuela's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Santos goal.
NEC