Unai Simón

Now 26 years old, Unai Simón is an elite goalkeeper at the top of his game. The Athletic Club No.1 is now in his sixth full campaign with the first team.

Born in Vitoria, Alava, natural born shot-stopper Simón arrived at Lezama in 2011-12 when he was 14 years old and proceeded to make his way through the ranks at Athletic.

Apart from being a strong physical presence between the sticks and making acrobatic saves, Simón is also perfectly capable of playing out from the back as he possesses fantastic ability with the ball at his feet.

His rise to the first team was unorthodox. Due to difficult circumstances, Simón had to cut short a loan spell with Elche CF and return home. He made his LaLiga debut under then coach Eduardo Berrizo against CD Leganés in the opening fixture of the 2018-19 campaign.

In 2019-20, he was one of Athletic Club’s standout performers. A string of quality performances and important saves propelled him into the spotlight. He also came third in that season’s Zamora Trophy, behind Thibaut Courtois and Jan Oblak.

His form was rewarded twicefold: On August 20, 2020 he signed a five-year-contract extension with Athletic and received his first call-up to the Spanish national team. He has become a mainstay in the Spanish senior side, making a total of 35 caps since making his debut in 2020.

Since his first appearance for Athletic, Simón has played 164 matches, conceding 170 goals.