Pau López Sabata (; born 13 December 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

club Marseille. López reached the final of the 2017 European Under-21 Championship with Spain. He made his

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debut the following year.

Club career

Espanyol

López was born in Girona, Catalonia. He joined Espanyol's youth setup in 2007 at the age of 12, after starting out at hometown club Girona. He made his senior debut with the former's B team in the 2013–14 season, 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 ...

. On 12 June 2014, López signed a new four-year contract with Espanyol, also being promoted to the main squad. He played his first match as a professional on 17 December, starting in a 1–0 home win against Alavés in the

round of 32 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

of the Copa del Rey and being first choice in the tournament as his team reached the semi-finals for the first time in nine years. López's debut in La Liga occurred on 1 February 2015, after starter Kiko Casilla was sent off in the 40th minute of the fixture at Sevilla for handling Iago Aspas' shot outside of the penalty area, and he conceded once in an eventual 3–2 defeat. After the latter's departure to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in the summer, he became the starter. On 6 January 2016, during an away fixture against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, López repeatedly stamped on Lionel Messi after the two players became entangled, in an action that eluded the referee but was caught on camera. On 31 August, he joined Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur on loan for the 2016–17 season, being third choice behind Hugo Lloris and Michel Vorm, he failed to make a single competitive appearance. After his return to the RCDE Stadium, López continued to start under new manager Quique Sánchez Flores.

Betis

On 4 July 2018, López signed a five-year deal with fellow top-tier club Betis on a free transfer. Under Quique Setién, he missed just five league matches in his only season as the team finished in 10th place.

Roma

López joined Serie A club

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on 9 July 2019 on a five-year contract, for a reported fee of €23.5 million. He made his debut on 25 August in a 3–3 home draw with Genoa, making a further 31 appearances by the end of the campaign for the fifth-placed team. On 26 January 2020, he made a mistake in the Derby della Capitale to gift a goal to Lazio's Francesco Acerbi in a 1–1 draw. In 2020–21, López started as back-up to Antonio Mirante, before returning to the team after the veteran's injury. His season was ended prematurely by a shoulder injury against

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in the semi-final of the UEFA Europa League.

Marseille

On 8 July 2021, López was loaned to

club Marseille for the upcoming season, with an option to buy in the summer of 2022. Facing competition from experienced Steve Mandanda, he made his debut on 11 September in a 2–0 win away to Monaco, and retained his place over the France international throughout the campaign. Marseille exercised their option to purchase López on 8 January 2022, effective as of 1 July.

International career

López made his international debut on 26 December 2015, having a player of the match performance for Catalonia in a 1–0

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loss to the

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

. On 28 March 2016, he played his first game with the Spain under-21 team, in a 1–0 win against Norway at the Estadio Nueva Condomina. On 17 May 2016, López and Espanyol teammate Marco Asensio were called up to the senior team for a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He only won his first cap more than two years later, after coming on as a 75th-minute substitute for Kepa Arrizabalaga in a 1–0 win over the same opposition in Las Palmas.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Spain U21 * UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up:

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Individual * UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2020–21

References

External links

Espanyol official profile
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Pau 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Girona Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Girona Men's association football goalkeepers La Liga players Segunda División B players RCD Espanyol B footballers RCD Espanyol footballers Real Betis players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Serie A players AS Roma players Ligue 1 players Olympique de Marseille players Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's international footballers Catalonia men's international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in France Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France