Jonathan dos Santos Ramírez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɟʝonatan dos ˈsantos]; Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈʒonatɐ̃ dus ˈsɐ̃tus]; born 26 April 1990) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Born in Mexico City, Jonathan was competing along with his brother Giovani in a youth tournament in France, where he was spotted by Barcelona scouts, who decided to bring him and his brother to La Masia for a trial.
In the 2008–09 season, Dos Santos was in Juvenil A where he was captain of the team. During that same season, he obtained a Spanish passport and thereby acquired Citizenship of the European Union, which enabled him to play in the first team.
In the summer of 2009, Dos Santos was selected by Barcelona B manager Luis Enrique to form part of the second team. Subsequently, Pep Guardiola called him up to the first team during pre-season in England and the tour in the United States. On 15 August 2009, Dos Santos was called up for his first official game with the first team in the Supercopa de España against Athletic Bilbao, although he was eventually ruled out and saw the game as a spectator. He made his debut with Barcelona B on 5 September 2009 against Mallorca B. The match finished in a 1–1 draw. Dos Santos made his debut for Barcelona on 28 October 2009, coming on as a substitute for Seydou Keita in the 80th minute in an away Copa del Rey match against Cultural Leonesa, which Barcelona won 2–0.
He made his Champions League debut for Barcelona on 24 November 2009 against Internazionale in a 2–0 win at the Camp Nou when he replaced Andrés Iniesta in the 92nd minute. Due to the lengthy 2009–10 season, many Barcelona first-team players were given breaks towards the end of the year. This meant the first team was going to be a few men short, and hence four Barça B players were called up by Guardiola on 29 December 2009. Among these four were Dos Santos, Thiago, Gai Assulin and Víctor Vázquez. His La Liga debut came on 2 January 2010 when he started against Villarreal, before being substituted by Iniesta in the 60th minute.
Dos Santos was called up by Pep Guardiola to the Barcelona first team during pre-season along with other players from Barcelona B. In the first three matches, Guardiola played him as defensive midfielder, a position he had never played before. Nevertheless, Dos Santos said: "I've felt comfortable in this position."
On 26 July 2011, Dos Santos started, and scored a goal, in the 2–2 draw against Internacional in the 2011 Audi Cup. The match went to a penalty shootout, where he scored as well. Barcelona advanced to the final, where they beat Bayern Munich 2–0. He was part of the starting line-up in both matches, though he played at right back in the final. He made his season debut on 29 August in the 5–0 home win against Villarreal, coming in as a substitute for Cesc Fàbregas in the 70th minute.
On 24 November 2011, Dos Santos signed a contract extension which would keep him at Barcelona until 2015. On 6 December, he appeared in the starting squad and played 58 minutes against BATE for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League group stage match.
Despite rumours of a transfer to other Spanish clubs such as Real Betis and Málaga, and Sevilla, newly appointed coach Tito Vilanova officially called up Dos Santos to Barcelona's first team squad, handing him the number 12 shirt. On 6 April 2013, against Mallorca, he came on as a substitute for Andrés Iniesta in the 50th minute and competed against his brother Giovani dos Santos.
On 28 August, Dos Santos won the 2013 Supercopa de España with Barça at the Camp Nou.
Dos Santos left Barcelona at the beginning of the 2014–15 season.
On 9 July 2014, Dos Santos signed a five-year deal with Villarreal, and going to play with his brother Giovani. On 21 December, Dos Santos scored his first La Liga goal in a 3–0 victory against Deportivo La Coruña.
On 27 July 2017, MLS club LA Galaxy announced the signing of Dos Santos as a Designated Player, reuniting him with his brother, Giovani, at the American club. Villarreal sold Jonathan for a fee reportedly around €5–6 million. On 29 November 2021, the club parted ways with Dos Santos after his contract expired.
On 23 December 2021, Dos Santos joined América on a free transfer. Over the next five years, he established himself as a pivotal figure in the squad, helping them secure three league championships. Dos Santos bid farewell to the club when his contract concluded in June 2026.
Dos Santos made his senior national team debut in a friendly against Colombia on 30 September 2009. He was substituted for Patricio Araujo in the 72nd minute; Colombia won the game 2–1. This meant that he represented his national team before debuting for his club team.
On 3 March 2010, Dos Santos played 61 minutes against New Zealand. During the match, off a corner from Cuauhtémoc Blanco, the ball rolled towards him and he shot from outside the box but hit the crossbar. Dos Santos was left out of Mexico's 23-man final squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
In May 2011, Dos Santos was left out of the 2011 Gold Cup final squad. On 24 May 2011, he was called up to play the Copa América. He was subsequently dismissed from the team due to indiscipline.
On 29 February 2012, Dos Santos returned to the Mexico national team for a friendly against Colombia in Miami, Florida, in which they lost 2–0.