.jpg) García playing withAtlético Madrid in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raúl García Escudero[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1986-07-11)11 July 1986 (age 39)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Pamplona, Spain[2] | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder,second striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ardoi | |||
| Osasuna | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2005 | Osasuna B | 28 | (3) |
| 2004–2007 | Osasuna | 68 | (9) |
| 2007–2015 | Atlético Madrid | 216 | (25) |
| 2011–2012 | →Osasuna (loan) | 33 | (11) |
| 2015–2024 | Athletic Bilbao | 292 | (65) |
| Total | 637 | (113) | |
| International career | |||
| 2004–2005 | Spain U19 | 7 | (4) |
| 2006–2009 | Spain U21 | 20 | (1) |
| 2014 | Spain | 2 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Navarre | 2 | (0) |
| 2005 | Basque Country | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Raúl García Escudero (Spanish pronunciation:[raˈulɣaɾˈθi.aeskuˈðeɾo];[α] born 11 July 1986) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as anattacking midfielder orsecond striker.
Developed atOsasuna, he spent most of his early career atAtlético Madrid, scoring 44 goals in 329 games in all competitions over eight seasons and winning six major titles, including the2014 national championship and the2010 Europa League. In 2015 he signed withAthletic Bilbao, going on to have an equally lengthy spell and win the2021 Supercopa de España as well as the2023–24 Copa del Rey; in 20 seasons inLa Liga, he totalled 609 appearances and 110 goals.[3]
García played twice withSpain, making his debut in 2014.
Born inPamplona, García played for hometown clubOsasuna during his first years as a professional. On 24 October 2004, he made his debut for the first team in a 3–0 away defeat againstBarcelona, with his first chance being offered by Mexican coachJavier Aguirre.[4]
García scored five league goals (the first on 26 October 2005 in a 3–2 home win overAthletic Bilbao)[5] in hisfirst full season as the Navarrese finished in fourth place inLa Liga, starting in 28 of his 33 appearances at the age of just 19.[6][7]
In July 2007, after helping Osasuna to thesemi-finals of theUEFA Cup with one goal in 12 games, García signed a five-year contract withAtlético Madrid. He reunited with his former boss Aguirre upon the€13 million deal.[8]
In January 2010, García lost his starting position to newly signedTiago Mendes, who had arrived on loan fromJuventus.[9] However, he started theUEFA Europa Leaguefinal againstFulham, as the Portuguese wascup-tied, playing the full 90 minutes andextra time in the 2–1 victory for the first honour of his career;[10] additionally, he appeared in the second half of theCopa del Rey's decider againstSevilla, a2–0 loss.[11]
On 27 August 2010, García featured the entire match in theUEFA Super Cup againstInter Milan, giving away apenalty kick in the last minute for a foul onGoran Pandev; the shot was however saved byDavid de Gea, and theColchoneroswon it 2–0.[12] Again, he played significantly less minutes than Tiago, but still managed to collect 29 league appearances as Atlético finallyqualified for the Europa League, and netted his only goal ofthe season in a 2–1 home loss to eventual champions Barcelona, heading in from acorner kick.[13]
After renewing his contract for a further three years, García was loaned to former club Osasuna for2011–12,[14] where he began to appear more prominently as anattacking midfielder.[15] He scored 11 goals during the campaign, including twice againstMallorca – both through headers from corners byÁlvaro Cejudo (2–2)[16]– and one in a defeat of Barcelona (3–2),[17] finishing as team top scorer with four more goals thanIbrahima Baldé.[18]
On 9 April 2014, after playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0UEFA Champions League home defeat of Barcelona thatqualified Atlético Madrid for the semi-finals for the first time in 40 years,[19] García became the club's most capped player in the competition with 22 appearances, surpassingLuis Aragonés.[20] On 19 August he scored a88th-minute 1–1 equaliser againstReal Madrid at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium in theSupercopa de España,[21] as his team went on towin the trophy 2–1 on aggregate and claim it for the second time in their history.[22]
On 31 August 2015, after a transfer request, García signed a four-year contract with Athletic Bilbao which included a release clause of €40 million.[23] He scored in his first appearance, helping to a 3–1 home victory overGetafe where he featured 79 minutes.[24]
García made his 100th appearance for the club in October 2017.[25] In late May 2018, after he had scored ten league goals in each of his first two seasons,[26][27] he and Athletic agreed on a contract extension running to June 2020.[28]
On 20 July 2019, the 33-year-old García agreed to a one-year extension at theSan Mamés Stadium until June 2021, with no release clause.[29] He scored a career-best 15 goalsthat campaign (seven penalties) – entering the league's record books after becoming the first player to find the net in every month of a calendar year – but his team could only finish 11th.[30][31]
García became only the 11th player in La Liga history to reach 500 games in the competition on 31 December 2020, in a 1–0 homeBasque derby loss toReal Sociedad.[32] His 600th appearance came on 12 February 2024 in a 0–0 draw atAlmería.[33]
Inthe final of theCopa del Rey against Mallorca on 6 April 2024, García was the first Athletic player to take a penalty in the decidingshoot-out, which he scored (his side went on to win 4–2);[34] a commentator remarked "his pulse stayed steady".[35] One week later, he announced his retirement from professional football at the end ofthe season, with the club praising him as an "unforgettable lion" in a statement.[36]
When he retired, García's tally of 609 Spanish top-flight matches was the third-best in history, only behindJoaquín andAndoni Zubizarreta's 622.[37]
García played with theSpain under-21s from 2006 to 2009, earning a total of 20caps in the category and representing the nation at the2009 UEFA European Championship, in a group-stage exit.[38] He also appeared for theunder-19 team.[39]
On 29 August 2014, aged 28, García was named byfull side managerVicente del Bosque in a 23-man squad for matches againstFrance andMacedonia in September.[40] He made his debut on 4 September, starting and featuring 58 minutes in a 1–0friendly loss to the former.[41]
In 2004 and 2005, García took part in representative games for bothNavarre[42][43] and theBasque Country.[44]
García was known for scoringfrom the bench and having good aerial ability.[15] A competent penalty taker,[45][46] he was also often deployed as afalse 9 due to his movementsoff the ball.[47][48]
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Osasuna B | 2004–05 | Segunda División B | 28 | 3 | — | — | — | 28 | 3 | |||
| Osasuna | 2004–05 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 36 | 5 | |||
| 2006–07 | 33 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 14[b] | 1 | — | 52 | 5 | |||
| Total | 68 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 1 | — | 91 | 10 | |||
| Atlético Madrid | 2007–08 | La Liga | 35 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 9[a] | 1 | — | 49 | 4 | |
| 2008–09 | 36 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10[c] | 1 | — | 48 | 4 | |||
| 2009–10 | 20 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 12[b] | 0 | — | 41 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | 29 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6[a] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 41 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2012–13 | 30 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 8[a] | 2 | 1[d] | 0 | 47 | 9 | ||
| 2013–14 | 34 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 12[c] | 4 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 17 | ||
| 2014–15 | 31 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10[c] | 2 | 2[e] | 1 | 47 | 9 | ||
| 2015–16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 216 | 25 | 40 | 8 | 69 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 329 | 44 | ||
| Osasuna (loan) | 2011–12 | La Liga | 33 | 11 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 11 | ||
| Athletic Bilbao | 2015–16 | La Liga | 30 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 9[a] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 11 |
| 2016–17 | 36 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 7[a] | 1 | — | 46 | 14 | |||
| 2017–18 | 34 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 12[a] | 3 | — | 48 | 14 | |||
| 2018–19 | 33 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 9 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 35 | 15 | 8[f] | 0 | — | — | 43 | 15 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 34 | 5 | 6 | 3 | — | 2[e] | 2 | 42 | 10 | |||
| 2021–22 | 35 | 6 | 5 | 1 | — | 2[e] | 0 | 42 | 7 | |||
| 2022–23 | 35 | 2 | 7 | 1 | — | — | 41 | 3 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 292 | 65 | 39 | 10 | 28 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 363 | 84 | ||
| Career total | 637 | 113 | 88 | 18 | 113 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 846 | 152 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2014 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
Atlético Madrid
Athletic Bilbao
