Carlito David (born 15 April 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team. Born and raised in Nottingham, he broke into the first team at Mansfield Town F.C. during the 2018-19 season, and established himself as one of the best attacking midfielders in League Two. Over the next three years he made 190 official appearances for the team, scoring 74goals. His on the pitch performances helped the Stags earn triple promotion, lifting Mansfield Town F.C. from League Two to the Premier League. He signed for Manchester United in July 2021 for a fee rumored to be around £104.3 million. He currently features as a first-choice player for Manchester United’s midfield and he has even broken through into the England National Team were he consistently partners with Dele Alli and Jordan Henderson in a midfield-three.
Club career
Mansfield Town F.C.
2018–19 season: Promotion from League Two
The 2018–19 season saw Carlito break into the Mansfield Town F.C. first team on a regular basis. He started the Stags’ first league match of the season, and quickly became a household name by the winter festive period. On November 24, 2018 he had one of his best games of the season assisting on all 3 goals in a 3-1 victory over Lincoln City F.C. By this point in the season, Carlito had netted 5 goals and provided 5 assists, helping the Stags collect 36 points from their first 19 games, and vault into second-place. Carlito had the complete game on December 22, 2018, winning man of the match and netting one goal and an assist in a 2-0 victory against Stevenage F.C. Carlito’s performances continued to accelerate as he helped to drive the Stags to the top of League Two by the end of January 2019, and earned the Player of the Month Award. The Stags continued to march on with the help of Carlito as they earned a pivotal three points on February 2, 2019 with a 2-1 come from behind victory against Macclesfield Town. For the remainder of the 2018–18 season Carlito would go on and establish himself as a nearly unstoppable play maker for the Stags. By season’s end, the Stags were crowned EFL League Two champions. All in all he made 53 appearances in all competitions during the 2018–19 season, scoring 18 times, and assisting on another 21 goals.
The FA Cup Miracle of 2018–19
In what will remain one of the unlikeliest runs in FA Cup history, Mansfield Town F.C. went on to punch
above their weight dispatching many teams from leagues above them. Led by Carlito, the Stags pushed on to beat Manchester City 3-1 in the semi-finals, and ultimately finished their miracle run with a 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the finals.
Although FA Cup giant killers are a real thing, miracle runs like this can only happen on the sticks ?.
2019–20 season: Promotion from League One
After a stellar first year with the Stags, Carlito started the season brightly, and continued where he left off. Scoring 33 goals and assisting on another 27 goals, Carlito helped the Stags two their second straight promotion in as many years. All in all he made 76 appearances in all competitions during the 2019–20 season, scoring 33 times, and assisting on another 27 goals.
2020–21 season: Promotion from the Championship
With the Stags in the Championship following their double promotion from League Two, the objective was
simple: don’t get relegated. But as you can guess from this virtual story, the Carlito-led Stags did more than just survive. By the end of November 2020, Mansfield Town were sitting top of the league through 18 games. Carlito and the Stags were popping in goals left and right and were taking the Championship by storm. By match week 42, the Stags had run away from the pack opening up a 13 point gap to Aston Villa. On the final day Mansfield Town beat Bristol City 2-1 to lift the EFL Championship trophy. The 2020–21 was a record setting season for the Stags eclipsing the 100 point mark and writing their names in the record books. All in all he made 61 appearances in all competitions during the 2020–21 season, scoring 23 times, and assisting on another 21 goals
Manchester United
On July 7, 2022, Carlito signed for Premier League club Manchester United for a fee rumored to be around £104.3 million. Personal terms of this deal took his weekly wage from £4,500 to £275,000.
2021–22 season: Glory, Glory Man United
Carlito settled right into the midfield trident and by the end of October 2021 he had established himself as one of the world’s best. Playing alongside Frenkie de Jong and Paul Pogba allowed Carlito complete freedom to make plays in support of the front three. His best performance of the year came in a 3-0 away victory over Arsenal on October 23, 2021 where he pulled the strings from midfield and was involved in all three goals. Through the first 12 games of the season Carlito has 4 goals and 3 assists to his name. He is currently 3rd on the squad ranking report behind, Martial and Pogba. In all competitions Carlito has scored 7 times and assisted on 11 goals. At this pace he stands to record double digits goals and assists, and ultimately lead United to Premier League glory. Tune back in as the season progresses.
International career
On March 19, 2019, Carlito was called up to the England senior squad for the UEFA European Qualifiers. He made his debut for England in a 2-1 win against Switzerland on March, 30, 2019.
Carlito would continue to become a mainstay in the English midfield partnering consistently with
Henderson and Alli. By the summer of 2020 he was fully integrated into the England squad and was selected for Euro 2020. In the group stage on Day 1 he scored this peach of a goal in England’s 3-1 win against Romania. On match Day 2 he followed up a boss performance with another stunning goal in a 2-2 draw with Scotland. Ultimately England’s Euro 2020 campaign came to a crashing halt against Croatia in the Round of 16 but Carlito’s legend grew as a result of his boss-play during the campaign.
Player profile
Style of play
Carlito is widely considered one of the best young midfielders of his generation. Similar to Dele Alli, he is also considered an all-round player who can play effectively as a second striker. He can influence the game from a deep lying position but is best positioned in the final third supporting the teams forwards.
Reception and Progression
Carlito is considered one of the world’s most expensive midfielders from a transfer value perspective by
the CIES. His valuation on June 30, 2018 when he started his career at age 21 was £2.0 million. His valuation as of June 30, 2021 at the age of 24 is £104.5 million. His rapid acceleration in value is matched to his rapid acceleration of skill. At the start of his career his overall rating was a 61. Three year later he is rated at 90 and is one of the best midfielders in the world. The chart below details his progression over the past three years:
I have a strong bias for English football which was created by my study abroad experiences circa 2005. At roughly the same time, I began playing FIFA 06 on the PlayStation 2, and have been playing FIFA on some form of PlayStation ever since. Like so many other FIFA gamers my love for the beautiful game has grown in lock step with my love for the FIFA series. A recent ESPN.com study shows that among 12-24-year-old American males, pro soccer has become the second most popular sport behind only the NFL[1]and the FIFA video game series has a lot to do with that.
I have predominantly played Career (Manager) mode with Chelsea F.C. Year after year, I’d do my best Special One impersonation managing old-time Blues like Drogba, Essien, Lampard, and Terry as well as new-time Blues like Hazard and Kante to glory. But after countless virtual trophies and awards, I’d still be left thoroughly unsatisfied. It always felt a bit cheap starting with such a good team in FIFA year over year.
But in 2009 this all changed when FIFA 10 released a new feature called Virtual Pro. Virtual Pro mode allowed users to create their own footballer taking him from scratch player to footballing legend through his virtual career. The entire focus of my FIFA gaming experience changed overnight. Now I could create a player starting out in his 20s, and through consistent game completion could build him into the next superstar.
What was even better, was this mode gave me an incentive to start my player with a team outside the G-14 and thus look to smaller clubs within the lower divisions of the various European leagues. Virtual Pro became my ticket into learning more about other football clubs not named Chelsea F.C., Manchester City, or any of the G-14. And over the years, I took full advantage creating multiple players that starred at Port Vale F.C., Peterborough United F.C., MK Dons, and Nottingham Forest to name a few. Eventually my Virtual Pro would get so good that he’d be sold to a larger club just like Deli Alli[2]. On an aside, the £5 million Tottenham paid MK Dons for Alli is one of the biggest bargains ever; On par with the £5.8 million Leicester paid Caen for N’Golo Kante[3].
Chelsea or Nottingham Forest?
In this year’s version, I wanted to find a club in the fourth division of English football that was close to Nottingham Forest (my wife’s club). My hope was to play 1-2 years with the current team striving to get promoted. My target was to eventually be sold to a bigger club like Forest or Chelsea.
Although the dominant portion of my fandom is spent cheering for Chelsea, I do have a soft spot for Forest given my wife’s passionate support for them. Of course unless they are playing Chelsea like the did this past January 2019 in the FA Cup (which doesn’t happen often).
Picture to the above is from the September 17, 2013 2-2 draw between Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough at The City Ground.
Serious fan reading on the histories of both clubs.
Nottingham Forest vs. Chelsea FC. January 5, 2019 FA Cup.
At the start of this new campaign, Mansfield Town F.C. has very high expectations much like they did in real life[4]. And given the modest transfer budget, there is a really good chance that my Virtual Pro will see consistent first team action. So, without further ado, please meet the new 21-year-old England-born central attacking midfielder that will take the Mansfield Town F.C. Stags to promotion: Carlito:
Carlito bears a striking resemblance to Dele Alli. Let’s hope he has half the start to his career as Alli has had!
The Beginnings of an Attacking Legend
At the start of the campaign, it was very clear that Carlito had a ton of work ahead of him if he was going to be worth anything. Carlito’s attributes looked as follows:
As he continued to play and develop it became clear pretty quickly that Carlito had an opportunity to get a ton of game time with Mansfield Town F.C., ultimately giving him a chance to rapidly progress. And for a young player in the game, that is all anyone can ask for.
Season Highlights…
3-1 Victory Against Lincoln City is One of Carlito’s Best Game in Year 1
On November 24, 2018 (in the virtual world), Carlito has one of his best games of the year and announces himself to the EFL League Two during a 3-1 victory over Lincoln City.
By now, Carlito’s a 74 overall, deeply planted in the starting XI.
He has scored 5 goals and has 5 assists. The 3-1 win over Lincoln City vaults Mansfield Town F.C. into second place on 36 points after 19 games played.
The Complete Game – December 22, 2018 Against Stevenage
In a 2-0 victory against Stevenage, Carlito as a complete game and wins man of the match with a 9.5 overall match rating.
Below are the video highlights from that game:
Top of The League and Player of the Month by January 2019
Carlito’s performances continued to accelerate as he helped drive Mansfield Town F.C. to the top of the league by January 2019.
Through 27 games played he had scored 8 goals and delivered 9 assists. His overall rating jumped 10 points to a 77 and his valued jumped significantly to £28.5 million up from £1.6 million where he began.
Clearly On His Way to Becoming a Legend
As we enter the final chapter of the season (March – May), it’s clear that Carlito is Mansfield Town’s best player and his £28.5 million valuation proves this. Only time will tell if his meteoric rise will continue.
Art Imitates Life
At the start of this past year’s footballing campaign, I had my sights set on rooting just for Chelsea and Nottingham Forest. But as I said in the introduction, FIFA 19 introduced me to a new team. So much so, that on March 18, 2019 I tuned into a key match between Mansfield Town and Lincoln City:
That day the Stags drew 1-1 at the One Call Stadium. I was vested in the match as the Stags dropped crucial points in their promotion bid. My fandom continued to grow even though I wasn’t able to watch them on TV regularly. The unfortunate 1-0 defeat to MK Dons on the last day was a gutting reminder of how hard it can be to obtain automatic promotion. As Stag fans worldwide know, nothing is a given in promotion playoffs as the penalty loss to Newport County showed.
In closing, there is a brilliant quote regarding football fandom: “You can change your job, you can change your wife, but you can’t change your football team… You can move from one end of the country to another, but you never, ever lose your allegiance to your first team.” While there is truth in this sentiment, FIFA 19 has helped me realize that there is absolutely space in my fandom for the Mansfield Town F.C. Stags!
