However, he became a more regular La Liga player and scorer for Osasuna, Getafe and Valencia, and secured a £26 million move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Born in Valencia, Soldado joined Real Madrid at the age of 15 from native region small club CF Don Bosco.

[5] After years of prolific goalscoring with the former's reserves, he made his first-team debut on 23 October 2005 against Valencia, playing 18 minutes in a 1–2 home loss.

[6] Previously, on 28 September, he had scored an 86th-minute winner after just six minutes on the pitch in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League against Olympiacos (2–1 home win),[7] adding a late equaliser against Osasuna[8] and another in a 3–2 victory at Racing de Santander as Real finished second in the league,[9] also netting in the 4–0 defeat of Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey.

[12] His new team had finished fourth the previous campaign to earn themselves a place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, hence he chose them over a number of other Spanish clubs competing for his presence.

I chose Osasuna because it gives me the chance to play in the Champions League", he said to Real Madrid's website after his signing; he finished with a total of 13 goals in all competitions, making him the Navarrese's top scorer.

[26] On 19 December 2009, Soldado took his league tally to ten after scoring twice in a 2–1 defeat of Sevilla; with this achievement, he became Getafe's best ever scorer in the first division, surpassing Manu del Moral and Dani Güiza.

[27] He missed one month of competition due to injury but, in his return to action, scored from a bicycle kick, earning his side a point in the 1–1 home draw with Gijón.

[34][35] In his first game of 2011–12, Soldado scored four goals against Racing Santander (one in his own net) in an eventual 4–3 home win – his last two arrived in the final three minutes.

[49] On 18 October 2014, making his first league start of the campaign, Soldado set up Christian Eriksen's goal during the match against Manchester City, also having a penalty saved by Joe Hart in an eventual 4–1 away loss.

[54] On 13 December 2015, Soldado netted the game's only goal to help defeat his former club Real Madrid at the Estadio El Madrigal.

[60] He made his competitive debut on 17 August, starting and scoring in a 4–4 draw against Villarreal,[61] and remained a starter as the side qualified for Europe for the first time after a seventh-place finish.

[63] On 17 September 2020, Soldado scored the first goal in the Andalusians' European history, in a 4–0 win at Albania's Teuta Durrës in the second qualifying round.