Unai Bilbao Arteta (born 4 February 1994) 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

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

club

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

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, Bilbao made his debut as a senior with

Barakaldo CF Barakaldo Club de Fútbol is a Basque football team based in Barakaldo, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded in 1917 it plays in , holding home stadium is '' Lasesarre'', with a 7,960 Seat Capacity. History Barakaldo pla ...

in 2011, in

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 ...

. In June of that year he joined

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 ...

, returning to the youth setup, but also appearing with the farm team in

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, Bilbao was promoted to the reserves in the third level. He contributed with 29 appearances and two goals during the season, as the B-side 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. Bilbao made his professional debut on 24 August 2015, starting and being

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in a 0–1 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 ...

. In May 2018, Athletic Bilbao confirmed that Bilbao would leave the club when his contract expired in July; despite having been captain of the reserves and accumulated the most playing minutes among the squad in the preceding season, he was too old to continue with that team and there was no place in the senior squad, with contemporaries

Yeray Álvarez Yeray Álvarez López (; born 24 January 1995), known simply as Yeray, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Athletic Bilbao. Club career Born in Barakaldo, Biscay, Basque Country, Yeray joined Athletic Bilb ...

and Unai Núñez already promoted ahead of him.

Atlético San Luis

In June 2018, Bilbao agreed to join

Atlético San Luis Club Atlético de San Luis is a Mexican professional football club based in San Luis Potosí. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 2013, replacing the defunct club of the city ( San Luis FC) after its re ...

of Mexico's second tier

Ascenso MX Ascenso MX, also known as Ascenso BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, was a professional association football league in Mexico and the second level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Primera División A de México (1994–2009 ...

. In December of the same year, he helped the team to claim the 2018–19 Apertura title, beating

Dorados de Sinaloa Club Deportivo Dorados de Sinaloa, simply known as Dorados, is a Mexican professional football club based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. It plays in the Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football. History Dorados de Sinaloa ...

(coached by

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

) in the ''Liguilla'' final.

Loan to Necaxa

On 1 July 2020, Bilbao joined

Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Club Necaxa, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Aguascalientes (city), Aguascalientes. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican ...

on a season-long loan. He made his debut on July 24, against

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

in the first season game.

Tijuana

On 18 June 2024, Bilbao joined Mexican club

Honours

Atlético San Luis *

: Apertura 2018–19

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilbao, Unai 1994 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Bilbao Men's association football defenders Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Barakaldo CF footballers CD Basconia footballers Athletic Bilbao B footballers Atlético San Luis footballers Ascenso MX players Spain men's youth international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Athletic Bilbao footballers 21st-century Spanish sportsmen