Yeray Álvarez López (; born 24 January 1995), known simply as Yeray, 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 lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for club

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

Club career

Born in

Barakaldo Barakaldo (; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country in Spain. Located on the Left Bank (Biscay), Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is pa ...

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

, Basque Country, Yeray joined

's youth setup at

Lezama Lezama is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. It is home to the training headquarters of the football team Athletic Bilbao, and is accessible by bus - Bizka ...

in 2008, aged 13. He played in the 2012–13 NextGen Series with the '' Juvenil A'' side, and made his debut as a senior with

CD Basconia Club Deportivo Basconia is a Spanish football club based in Basauri, Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded on 14 March 1913, it currently plays in , holding home games at the ''Artunduaga Sports Centre'', in the town o ...

(the

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

) in the following season, in the

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

. On 26 May 2014, Yeray was promoted to the reserves who competed in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: 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 ...

. He contributed with 36 appearances and one goal during the campaign – play-offs included – as they returned to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

after a 19-year absence. Yeray played his first professional game on 24 August 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jurgi Oteo in a 1–0 home loss against

Girona FC Girona Futbol Club, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. ( ) is a Spanish professional Football team, football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, the team plays in La Liga, to which they gained promotion in the 2022 ...

. He was a regular starter during that season, but the side were immediately relegated back as dead last. In the 2016 pre-season, Yeray was promoted to the main squad, and he made his competitive debut on 15 September of that year when he played the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 away defeat to

US Sassuolo Calcio Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio, commonly referred to as Sassuolo (), is an Italian professional football club based in Sassuolo, Emilia-Romagna. Their colours are black and green, hence the nickname ''Neroverdi'' (literally "black and greens", ...

in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. His maiden

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

appearance took place three days later, replacing Eneko Bóveda in a 2–1 home win over

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

. Yeray subsequently became a regular starter for the ''Lions'', appearing in 17 out of a possible 20 matches in all competitions. Due to the nature of his progression through the youth departments, he held the unusual distinction of having played in a different league every season from 2008 to 2016 without interruption: five youth year levels ending with the

División de Honor Juvenil de Fútbol The División de Honor Juvenil is the top level of the Spanish football league system for youth players 19 years old and under. The División de Honor is administered by the RFEF through the ''Liga Nacional de Fútbol Aficionado (LNFA)''. Format ...

, fourth level with Basconia, divisions two and three with the reserves and top tier with the senior team. However, the run was halted abruptly on 23 December 2016, when the club announced he had been diagnosed with

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an c ...

and would undergo surgery within the next week; he returned to action on 4 February 2017 after only 46 days, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 loss at

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

, and five days later, he extended his contract until 2022. On 12 June 2017, tests found further cancerous abnormalities, resulting in Yeray having to undergo

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

treatment. On his return to the club's training centre the following month, he was greeted by the entire playing squad, who had all shaved their heads in a gesture of solidarity. On 20 December 2017, Yeray captained the Athletic under-23s in a win over

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

in the Premier League International Cup (a reserves tournament). 259 days after his last appearance, he made his return with the senior team on 4 February 2018 (exactly one year after his first comeback match, both fixtures by strange coincidence taking place on

World Cancer Day World Cancer Day is an list of minor secular observances#February, international day marked on :4 February to raising awareness, raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its cancer prevention, prevention, Cancer screening, detection, and treatm ...

), playing the entirety of a 0–2 domestic league defeat away to Girona. Yeray agreed to a new seven-year deal on 18 July 2019, keeping him at the San Mamés Stadium until 2026 and with a release clause set at €70m. He scored his first competitive goal for the first team on 25 January 2021, heading home a

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

from Iker Muniain for his team's second in an eventual 5–1 home victory against

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. They compete in La Liga, the top tier of the Football in Spain, Spanish football. The team has pla ...

. On 31 May 2023, Yeray underwent surgery to address the pubalgia problems that were preventing him from playing regularly. On 6 October, he suffered a muscle injury to his thigh that also required operation and kept him out for four months. In March 2024, another muscle ailment prevented him from participating in the final of the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

against

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

International career

On 23 March 2017, Yeray made his debut for the Spain under-21 team in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. He was selected in the squad for that year's

UEFA European Championships The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

, before withdrawing due to illness prior to the start of the tournament. Even though he was not part of the squad of 23 for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

finals, Yeray was picked by full side manager Julen Lopetegui for a friendly with

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

to be held on 3 June. He remained an unused substitute in the 1–1 draw. Yeray also played for the unofficial Basque Country team, making his debut against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

in November 2020.

Career statistics

Honours

Athletic Bilbao * Euskal Herriko Futbol Txapelketa: 2017–18, 2021–22, 2023–24 *

: 2023–24 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

References

External links

*
archive
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yeray Alvarez 1995 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Barakaldo Men's association football central defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Danok Bat CF players CD Basconia footballers Athletic Bilbao B footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Basque Country men's international footballers