Aitor Mbela Gil (born 17 April 1996), known in Spain as Aitor Embela Gil, is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Tercera Federación club Soneja. Born in Spain, he plays for the Equatorial Guinea national team.

Club career

Born in Figueres, Girona,

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

and raised in Altura and Segorbe, Province of Castellón,

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

, Embela joined Villarreal CF's youth setup in 2004, aged eight, after starting it out at locals CD Altura. In the 2012 summer he joined Málaga CF, being assigned to the ''Juvenil'' squad. On 14 July 2015 Embela signed a two-year deal with CF Reus Deportiu, in Segunda División B. He terminated his contract with Reus on 29 August of the following year, and two days later he signed a one-year deal with Real Valladolid B.

International career

On 3 January 2015 Embela was included in Esteban Becker's

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

23-men list for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. Four days later he made his international debut, starting in a 1–1 non-FIFA friendly draw against

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

. Embela served as a backup to Felipe Ovono during the tournament, as his side finished fourth. He made his full international debut on 26 March, starting in a 0–2 friendly loss against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Personal life

Embela's father, José Manuel, was also a footballer. A forward, he appeared mainly in Segunda División B before becoming a coach. His paternal grandfather, Gustavo Chomé Mbela Bueneque, was born in Dibolo, Wele-Nzas, making him eligible to both Equatorial Guinea and Spain.

Career statistics

International

References

External links

* * * * 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from Figueres People from Segorbe Footballers from the Province of Girona Spanish sportspeople of Equatoguinean descent Equatoguinean sportspeople of Spanish descent Equatoguinean people of Catalan descent Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Castellón Equatoguinean men's footballers 21st-century Equatoguinean sportsmen Men's association football goalkeepers CF Reus Deportiu players Real Valladolid Promesas players Tercera División players Segunda División B players Equatorial Guinea men's international footballers International sportspeople born abroad 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players CE Sabadell FC B players FC Jumilla players UD Logroñés B players Lorca FC players 21st-century Spanish sportsmen {{Spain-footy-goalkeeper-stub