Unai López
CDMCM
Spain31 years
Showing2026/27 seasonAll official competitions
Preferred Positions
Last 24 months · all competitions
CDM
Defensive midfieldMain
2,874 min · 53 apps · 34 starts
CM
Central midfield
1,518 min · 20 apps · 20 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 Rayo Vallecano · independent of the season filter
Important
Involvement70%
Performance48%
Through the match on 31 Oct 2026. Refreshed daily.
Profile
Career & playing style
Unai López is a central midfielder whose contribution can happen before the final pass. He offers an outlet in the middle, then looks for a teammate who can advance the move. UEFA’s study of a Rayo Vallecano goal shows him choosing an overlapping full-back while other runners moved behind the defence. His pass did not finish the chance, but it opened the route to it.
López came through Athletic Club's Lezama system after joining from Real Sociedad as a youth player. He progressed through Basconia and Bilbao Athletic before making his senior Athletic debut against Napoli on 27 August 2014. The 3–1 win at San Mamés sent Athletic into the Champions League group stage, giving his introduction an unusually large stage.
Regular senior minutes came through loans. He played for Leganés in the 2016–17 top-flight season, then spent 2017–18 with Rayo in the second division. Rayo won promotion, and the club names López as a member of that side. He was part of a long league campaign, rather than a brief cameo in its success.
Back at Athletic, López showed how his passing could steady play as well as create chances. Athletic's account of its August 2019 derby win over Real Sociedad described him directing the team from midfield. In a June 2020 win over Betis, his corner found Raúl García, whose header struck the woodwork. Neither move needs a goal or assist credited to López to show his role.
An August 2021 agreement brought him back to Rayo. UEFA later analysed a Conference League goal against Shkëndija in 2025: López played left to Alfonso Espino as other runners moved beyond the defence. Espino released the attack that Fran Pérez finished. López did not supply the final pass; he spotted the wide route early enough for several teammates to combine at speed.
That European run reached the Conference League final in May 2026. López started against Crystal Palace and played into the second half, but Rayo lost 1–0. He had a first-half shot from the edge of the area that went wide. The final was a team milestone and a defeat, while his place in the starting midfield was his own participation in it.
Latest stats & form
Unai López currently plays for Rayo Vallecano as a defensive midfielder.