Roberto López Esquiroz (born 4 June 1987), commonly known as Rúper, 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 for

CD Izarra Club Deportivo Izarra is a Spanish football team, based in Estella-Lizarra, in the autonomous community of Navarre. Founded in 1924 it plays in , holding home matches at '' Estadio Merkatondoa'', with a capacity of 3,500 seats. History In the 1 ...

as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Club career

Rúper was born in

Estella-Lizarra Estella (Spanish language, Spanish) or Lizarra (Basque language, Basque) is a town located in the autonomous community of Navarre, in northern Spain. It lies south west of Pamplona, close to the border with La Rioja (autonomous community), La Rioj ...

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

. A product of

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. The team's ...

's youth ranks, he made his first-team debut on 26 April 2009, playing the last two minutes of a 0–0 away draw against

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

. During his first full season, as they easily avoided

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 ...

relegation, he provided rest for longtime incumbent holding midfielder

Francisco Puñal Francisco "Patxi" Puñal Martínez (born 6 September 1975) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. The vast bulk of his career was connected with Osasuna, where he was often charged with penalty-taking ...

(12 years his senior). Rúper spent 2011–12 on loan to

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community, Spain. Founded in 1923, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025–26 season, holding home matches at ...

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 ...

, appearing in less than half of the games during the campaign – 12 starts, 1,190 minutes of action. He was released by Osasuna in the summer of 2013 after a loan to

CD Mirandés Club Deportivo Mirandés is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Miranda de Ebro, Province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 3 May 1927, the club competes in the Segunda División ...

in the same league, and continued competing at that level with

CE Sabadell FC Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club, S.A.D. () is a historical List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Sabadell ( Catalonia) Founded in 1903, its first men's team plays in the . Its first CE Sabadell (women), women's tea ...

Real Jaén Real Jaén Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Jaén, Spain, Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1929 it plays in , holding home matches at ''Nuevo Estadio de La Vict ...

and Mirandés again. Rúper signed for

CD Tudelano Club Deportivo Tudelano is a Spanish football team based in Tudela, in the autonomous community of Navarre. Founded in 1935 it plays in , holding home matches at '' Estadio Ciudad de Tudela'', with a capacity of 11,000 seats. History Early His ...

on 17 January 2019, on a six-month loan. In the ensuing off-season, the

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

joined his former youth club

also in the third tier.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruper 1987 births Living people People from Estella Oriental Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Navarre Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Segunda Federación players CD Izarra footballers CA Osasuna B players CA Osasuna players Elche CF players CD Mirandés footballers CE Sabadell FC footballers Real Jaén footballers CD Tudelano footballers 21st-century Spanish sportsmen