 Castillo with Ecuador at the 2026 FIFA World Cup | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Denil Daniel Castillo Preciado1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2004-03-24) 24 March 20041 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Eloy Alfaro Canton, Ecuador | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Midtjylland | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| LDU Quito | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2023 | LDU Quito | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | → Atletico Kin | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | → Partizan (loan) | 14 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Midtjylland | 48 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Ecuador U20 | 18 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Ecuador | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:10, 30 May 2026 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Denil Daniel Castillo Preciado (born 24 March 2004) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for FC Midtjylland and the Ecuador national team.2
Club career
On 24 April 2023, Shakhtar Donetsk announced that they'd signed Castillo to a five-year contract from Liga de Quito, commencing 1 July 2023.3
Castillo signed a five-year deal with Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland for a €4 million transfer fee on 1 July 2024.4 In March 2026 he extended his contract with Midtjylland until 2031.5
International career
Castillo has represented Ecuador at youth level.6
On 31 May 2026, Castillo was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.7
Style of play
Castillo mainly operates as a central midfielder.8
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 17 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cupa | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| LDU Quito | 2021 | Ecuadorian Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | Ecuadorian Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 | Ecuadorian Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 2023–24 | Ukrainian Premier League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Partizan (loan) | 2023–24 | Serbian SuperLiga | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 15 | 2 | |
| Midtjylland | 2024–25 | Danish Superliga | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13b | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| 2025–26 | Danish Superliga | 26 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 16c | 1 | 48 | 6 | |
| Total | 48 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 85 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 68 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 106 | 8 | ||
- Includes Serbian Cup, Danish Cup
- Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 30 May 2026
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecuador | 2025 | 4 | 0 |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 0 | |
Honours
Midtjylland
References
References
- "FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2023™ SQUAD LIST: Ecuador (ECU)" (PDF). FIFA. 22 May 2023. p. 5. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- "ОФІЦІЙНО. Шахтар підписав Деніля Кастільо".
- "Denil Castillo is Shakhtar player". shakhtar.com. FC Shakhtar Donetsk. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- "DENIL CASTILLO IS A NEW MAN AT FC MIDTJYLLAND". fcm.dk. FC Midtjylland. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- "FCM forlænger med midtbaneprofil" [Midtjylland extends with midfielder] (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. 10 March 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
- "Si lo trabajan bien, tenemos compañero para Moisés por mucho tiempo". onefootball.com.
- "Pacho and Caicedo headline Ecuador squad". 31 May 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
- ""Antes apuntábamos a Brasil… Ahora cambiamos la orientación a Ecuador"". futbolecuador.com.
- Thrane, Kasper (14 May 2026). "Midtjysk dødbold afgjorde grim pokalfinale" [Midtjylland set piece settled ugly cup final]. DR (in Danish). Archived from the original on 14 May 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026.