Mariano Díaz Mejía (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈɾjano ˈði.að meˈxi.a]; born 1 August 1993), known as Mariano, is a Spanish-Dominican professional footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish club Real Madrid. Shortly after making his senior debut for Badalona in 2011, Mariano joined Real Madrid, where he played in the C-team and then the reserves, where he was top scorer in the 2015–16 Segunda División B. He then began playing with the first team, and was part of their squad that won La Liga, the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2016–17. He was subsequently signed by Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyonnais but returned to Madrid one year later. Mariano was born in Spain to a Spanish father and a mother from the Dominican Republic. He played and scored in a friendly match for the Dominican Republic national team in 2013. He then retired from the Dominican Republic team in the hopes of representing Spain.