Lucas Pérez

Karpaty Lviv

On 17 January 2011, free agent Pérez joined Karpaty Lviv on a three-year deal. He scored his first goal for the team on 17 July, against Chornomorets Odesa in a 1–1 Ukrainian Premier League draw.

Pérez netted a hat-trick on 4 November 2012 in a 4–0 home victory over Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, including a long-distance volley from a corner kick delivery. In January 2013, he joined fellow top-division club Dynamo Kyiv on loan for the remainder of the campaign, and later labelled his experience as "a nightmare".

PAOK and Deportivo La Coruña On 5 July 2013, Pérez signed on a fee of €700,000 a three-year contract with Super League Greece team PAOK. He scored his first competitive goal on 17 August, contributing to a 3–0 home defeat of Skoda Xanthi, and on 24 November he equalised in a 3–1 win over Aris in the Derby of Northern Greece. He also helped to a runner-up run in the national cup, losing the decisive match to Panathinaikos.

On 18 July 2014, Pérez returned to Spain and joined his newly promoted hometown side Deportivo de La Coruña in a one-year loan deal, with a buyout clause. He scored in his first official appearance, having started in a 3–0 home victory against Valencia on 19 October which also marked his top-flight debut. The following matchday, he was replaced in the 15th minute of a 0–0 draw at Espanyol due to a knee injury.

Pérez only returned to action in January 2015, appearing 12 minutes in a 0–4 home loss to Barcelona. On 23 May, against the same opponent at the Camp Nou, he helped Dépor come from behind by scoring in the 67th minute of a 2–2 draw in the last round that prevented relegation.

On 23 July 2015, in his first competitive match upon his return to PAOK, against NK Lokomotiva in the second preliminary round of the UEFA Europa League, Pérez scored the opener after Róbert Mak's shot was saved, in an eventual 6–0 home rout. One week later, against Spartak Trnava in the same competition, he netted the game's only goal in the first leg.

On 12 August 2015, Pérez signed a permanent four-year deal with Deportivo. On 12 December, he took his season tally to 11 goals in only 15 games, helping to a 2–2 draw with Barcelona.

Pérez totalled a career-best 17 goals at the end of the campaign, eventually helping his side to escape relegation again.

Arsenal On 27 August 2016, Arsène Wenger said that Pérez had completed a medical examination in order to join Arsenal after the paperwork was done; three days later, the transfer was confirmed by the club for a reported fee of £17.1 million. He made his competitive debut in the 2–1 Premier League home win over Southampton on 10 September, which coincided with both his birthday and that of teammate Laurent Koscielny, whom he assisted for his team's equaliser.

On 20 September 2016, during an EFL Cup away match against Nottingham Forest, Pérez scored his first goals for the Gunners, grabbing a brace in an eventual 4–0 victory in the third round. On 6 December, he contributed three goals in 39 minutes to a 4–1 away defeat of Basel in the UEFA Champions League's group stage, helping them win the group.

Pérez netted for the first time in the domestic league on 3 January 2017, helping his team come back from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 at Bournemouth. Towards the end of the month, he provided an assist to Danny Welbeck's first-ever brace for Arsenal, in a 5–0 away win against Southampton in the FA Cup.

On 31 August 2017, Pérez rejoined Deportivo on a season-long loan.

West Ham United On 9 August 2018, Pérez signed a three-year contract with West Ham United for a reported fee of £4 million. He made his league debut for his new club nine days later, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for Mark Noble in a 1–2 home loss to Bournemouth. He scored his first goal for them on 26 September, in their 8–0 demolition of Macclesfield Town in the EFL Cup.

On 4 December 2018, Pérez scored his first league goals for 700 days: coming on for Marko Arnautović, he scored twice in a 3–1 home victory against Cardiff City, becoming the first West Ham player to achieve the feat as a substitute since Paulo Wanchope in 2000.

Alavés In May 2019, West Ham accepted an offer from Alavés for Peréz for a fee of €2.5m subject to a medical. He officially signed for the club on 3 June, making his league debut on 18 August by playing the last minutes of the 1–0 home victory over Levante. He scored his first goal on 29 September, the first in a 2–0 win against Mallorca also at the Mendizorrotza Stadium.

On 29 October 2019, Pérez equalised in a 1–1 home draw with Atlético Madrid, becoming the first Alavés player to score in five consecutive La Liga games since 1955. He repeated the feat the following match (at Osasuna, 4–2 loss), and in the process became their first player to achieve that in six consecutive fixtures. He found the net for the seventh time on 9 November against Real Valladolid, becoming the first player in the history of the competition to score in seven consecutive matches with two different teams, as he had done it before with Deportivo.

Pérez terminated his contract on 18 August 2021.

Elche and Cádiz On 31 August 2021, free agent Pérez signed a one-year deal with Elche, still in the top tier. The following 31 January, he moved to Cádiz of the same league on a 18-month contract.

Fourth spell at Deportivo Pérez agreed to a return to Deportivo on 31 December 2022, with the deal being made effective at the opening of the January transfer window; the player himself paid €493,000 in order to be released. He scored a brace on his Primera Federación debut eight days later, in a 3–0 win over Salamanca.

On 12 May 2024, Pérez scored from a direct free kick in the 1–0 victory against second-placed Barcelona Atlètic, securing the club's return to Segunda División after four years. In the play-off final, he added three goals over two legs in a 6–3 aggregate win over Castellón to claim the title.

On 22 January 2025, Pérez terminated his contract after requesting to leave for "personal reasons".

PSV Eindhoven On 23 February 2025, aged 36, Lucas moved to the Dutch Eredivisie with PSV Eindhoven on a short-term deal. He made his debut three days later, as a late replacement in the 2–1 home loss against Go Ahead Eagles in the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup.

On 24 March 2025, it was reported that Pérez had contracted active tuberculosis, potentially sidelining him for the remainder of the season.

Later career After leaving PSV in July 2025, Pérez trained with Racing de Ferrol and had an unsuccessful trial at Leganés. On 2 April 2026, he returned to Cádiz on a contract until June.

International career Pérez earned his first cap for the Galicia autonomous team on 20 May 2016, appearing in the 2–2 friendly with Venezuela.

Personal life Pérez was abandoned by his parents at an orphanage at the age of two, being raised by his grandparents. His parents later returned to his life, asking him for large sums of money upon his success.

Career statistics

Honours PAOK Greek Football Cup runner-up: 2013–14

Deportivo La Coruña Primera Federación: 2023–24