Unai Simón
GK
Spain29 years
Showing2026/27 seasonAll official competitions
Preferred Positions
Last 24 months · all competitions
GK
GoalkeeperMain
8,978 min · 99 apps · 99 starts
Squad importance
Current squad importance over the club’s last 40 recorded competitive games in this spell, including previous seasons. Starts and minutes contribute 70%; performance contributes 30%. Absences reduce the score gradually, with less weight when a player is outside the matchday squad.Current role at Athletic Club · independent of the season filter
Important
Involvement86%
Performance45%
Through the match on 1 Nov 2026. Refreshed daily.
Profile
Career & playing style
Unai Simón's goalkeeping combines shot-stopping with the nerve to keep a passing move alive under pressure. UEFA's technical observers highlighted his response to Italy's high press in the EURO 2020 semi-final: he continued finding shorter passes instead of repeatedly clearing long. That gives defenders a way back through their goalkeeper when forward routes are blocked.
His development took place through Athletic's academy system. Born in Vitoria, he arrived at Lezama in 2011/12, then played for Basconia and Bilbao Athletic before reaching the first team. A loan spell at Elche was cut short in 2018, and he made his Athletic debut against Leganés on 20 August that year.
Simón's club breakthrough eventually brought individual recognition in the 2023/24 season, when he won the Zamora Trophy. He became the first Athletic goalkeeper to receive it since José Ángel Iribar in 1970. The award linked his own performances to a much longer goalkeeping tradition at the club where he had developed.
When Athletic won the Copa del Rey in April 2024, Simón was an unused substitute in the final against Mallorca. Julen Agirrezabala kept goal and helped win the penalty shoot-out, while Simón shared in the squad’s success from the bench.
With Spain, Simón had already made the difference in a final himself. In June 2023 he saved penalties from Lovro Majer and Bruno Petković as Spain beat Croatia in the Nations League decider. His stop with an outstretched foot against Majer showed that a goalkeeper's last barrier can be a boot as well as a glove.
He then started Spain's 2–1 victory over England in the EURO 2024 final. Late in the match he saved Declan Rice's header before Dani Olmo cleared Marc Guéhi's follow-up off the line. The sequence captures how even a crucial goalkeeper intervention can depend on a teammate completing the defensive job.
The international milestones continued in July 2026, when Spain beat Argentina 1–0 after extra time to win the World Cup. Simón received the tournament's Golden Glove. He recorded seven clean sheets across Spain's eight matches, while crediting the team's defensive solidity for his record.