Joel Robles Blázquez (; born 17 June 1990) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

. Robles started his professional career at

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

, initially in the C team in 2008, before progressing into the

B team B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It r ...

a year later, before being promoted into the senior squad. He moved on loan to

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Lig ...

in January 2012, and again a year later to

side

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

, where he was part of their 2013 FA Cup Final-winning side before joining Everton. Robles played internationally for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

at under-16, under-17, under-21 and under-23 level, and was part of the squad that won the 2013 European Under-21 Championship.

Club career

Atlético Madrid

Born in

Leganés Leganés () is a city in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Considered part of the Madrid metropolitan area, it is located about 11 km southwest of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 188,425, making it the region's fifth most popul ...

, Madrid, Robles is a youth product of

Getafe Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...

, joining neighbouring

in 2005 to finish his development. He spent his first professional season, ( 2009–10), with the reserve side in

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

and, on 27 December 2009, signed his first professional contract, running until June 2014. On 8 May 2010, Robles made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

debut in a 1–1 away draw against

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, P ...

: starter

David de Gea David de Gea Quintana (born 7 November 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Manchester United. During the mid-2010s, he was widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Born in Madrid ...

(another Atlético youth graduate) was being rested for the UEFA Europa League final, and his replacement,

Sergio Asenjo Sergio Asenjo Andrés (; born 28 June 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Real Valladolid as a goalkeeper. He started his professional career with Valladolid in 2007, making 47 senior appearances in his first spell. He then ...

, suffered a severe knee injury after only ten minutes. As a result of Asenjo's injury Robles took his place on the bench for the UEFA Europa League final as Atletico defeated

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. In the 2010–11 campaign, Robles acted mostly as backup, particularly after Asenjo left in January 2011 to join

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

on loan, only to be again seriously injured in the process. After De Gea was signed by

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in the off-season, Robles was made first-choice by newly appointed manager

Gregorio Manzano Gregorio "Goyo" Manzano Ballesteros (; born 11 March 1956) is a Spanish football manager. Football career Born in Bailén, Jaén, Andalusia, Manzano's training career started in 1983 at the age of 27. He took charge of several teams in his nat ...

, but he lost his position after only three official games to the Belgian

Thibaut Courtois Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois (born 11 May 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Belgium national team. He is considered one of the best goalkeepers in world football. Courtoi ...

, on loan from

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. On 31 January 2012, Robles was loaned to neighbouring

– also in the top division – who had lost first-choice keeper Dani Giménez to injury. He played his first game five days later in a 2–1 away win against

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...

Wigan Athletic

Robles was loaned again in the 2013 winter

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...

, joining a host of compatriots – including manager

Roberto Martínez Roberto Martínez Montoliu (born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player, currently as head coach of the Portugal national team. Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Real Zaragoza ...

– at

club

. He made his debut on 26 January, keeping a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in a 1–0 win over non-league side

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

in the fourth round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. Robles made his first league appearance on 17 March 2013, starting in a 2–1 home victory against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. He soon won the battle for first-choice status over

Ali Al-Habsi Ali Abdullah Harib Al-Habsi ( ar, علي بن عبد الله بن حارب الحبسي; born 30 December 1981) is an Omani retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Early career Al-Habsi was born in Oman and star ...

. On 11 May 2013, Robles started in Wigan's first-ever FA Cup final appearance, preventing

Carlos Tevez Carlos Alberto Tevez (; born 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. A quick, tenacious, powerful, hard-working and dynamic forward in his prime, Tevez was capable of playing as a striker, as a winger ...

from scoring twice in the first 45 minutes and eventually keeping a

in an historic 1–0 win over

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

Everton

Robles signed for Everton on 9 July 2013, re-joining Martínez on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee. On 26 December 2013, he played in the ''Toffees home defeat against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. Robles came on as a 24th-minute substitute for

Leon Osman Leon Osman (born 17 May 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent almost all of his career at Everton, making 433 appearances and scoring 57 goals. Earlier in his career he spent time on loan at Fo ...

, as starting goalkeeper Tim Howard had been sent off for a professional foul. Robles was unable to save the resulting penalty, however, as Everton lost the game 1–0. Robles then made his first Premier League start for Everton against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

three days later due to Howard's suspension, with Everton winning 2–1. On 13 January 2015, in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

at the end of an

third round replay against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, Robles saved

Stewart Downing Stewart Downing (born 22 July 1984) is an English former professional footballer. He played most of his career as a winger, where he operated predominantly on the left-hand side, though he could play on the right and go inside on to his stronge ...

's penalty kick. When the shootout went to sudden death, however, Robles hit the crossbar while West Ham's goalkeeper, his compatriot Adrián, scored to eliminate Everton. Martínez assigned Robles as be the first-choice goalkeeper, ahead of Howard, in February 2016. After a match against Burnley in which his gaffe resulted in a penalty, Robles was dropped by Everton manager

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was cap ...

for the away trip to West Ham on 22 April 2017 in a Premier League fixture after claiming the first team spot back in December 2016. As Koeman was not convinced by Robles, Everton completed the signing of

Jordan Pickford Jordan Lee Pickford (' Logan; born 7 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Everton and the England national team. Pickford has previously played for Sunderland's academy, reserve, and senior te ...

from Sunderland in June 2017, putting Robles further down in the pecking order. His contract was allowed to expire at the end of June 2018.

Real Betis

On 5 July 2018, Robles signed a four-year contract with

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

. He was first-choice for cup and European matches, while

Pau López Pau López Sabata (; born 13 December 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Marseille. López reached the final of the 2017 European Under-21 Championship with Spain. He made his full debut th ...

started league games. As López left for

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

in the next year, he was the first-choice for league matches.

Leeds United

Following the conclusion of his Real Betis contract Robles joined Leeds United in August 2022, signing a one year contract. He made his debut for Leeds on 9 November 2022 in the starting line-up for the 1–0 EFL Cup third round defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Atlético Madrid *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

: 2009–10 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

runner-up: 2009–10 Wigan Athletic *

: 2012–13 Real Betis *

: 2021–22 Spain U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

References

External links

Everton FC official profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robles, Joel 1990 births Living people People from Getafe Spanish footballers Footballers from the Community of Madrid Association football goalkeepers La Liga players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Atlético Madrid C players Atlético Madrid B players Atlético Madrid footballers Rayo Vallecano players Real Betis players Premier League players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Everton F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Spain youth international footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spain under-23 international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England UEFA Europa League winning players FA Cup Final players