Mikel Oyarzabal

Mikel Oyarzabal Ugarte (born 21 April 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger or forward for La Liga club Real Sociedad, which he captains, and the Spain national team.

He has spent his entire professional career with Real Sociedad, making 344 appearances and scoring 97 goals. He won the 2019–20 Copa del Rey with the club, scoring the winning goal in the final.

Oyarzabal made his full debut for the Spain national team in 2016, representing the side at two European Championships and winning Euro 2024, where he scored the decisive goal in the final.

Club career
Born in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, Oyarzabal joined Real Sociedad's youth setup in 2011, aged 14. While still a junior, he made his senior debut with the reserves on 15 November 2014, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–2 away win against Amorebieta in the Segunda División B.

On 20 September 2015, Oyarzabal scored his first senior goals, scoring twice in a 5–0 away rout of Mensajero. He made his first-team and La Liga debut on 25 October, replacing Carlos Vela in the dying minutes of a 4–0 victory at Levante.

Oyarzabal scored his first goal for Real Sociedad on 8 February 2016 in a 5–0 away win over Espanyol. Six days later, shortly after having extended his contract until 2021, he scored two goals to help defeat Granada 3–0 at the Anoeta Stadium.

On 19 August 2016, Oyarzabal again renewed his contract until 2022. He featured in all 38 league matches over the season, as the San Sebastián-based team came sixth and returned to the UEFA Europa League after a two-year absence.

Oyarzabal made his European debut on 19 October 2017, scoring in a 6–0 thrashing of Macedonia's FK Vardar in the Europa League group stage; his team made it to the last 32, with him scoring an own goal in a 4–3 aggregate loss to Red Bull Salzburg. On the domestic front he scored 12 goals, including two in a 5–0 win against Girona on 8 April 2018.

On 5 October 2018, Oyarzabal scored his first goals since May of that year, two penalties in a 3–1 away victory over Athletic Bilbao in the Basque derby. Athletic Bilbao had tried to sign him in the summer transfer window, but he had rejected their approach in favour of signing a new contract with Real Sociedad to run until 2024. He set a new personal best that campaign, netting 13 times.

In the 2019–20 Copa del Rey, Oyarzabal scored a penalty in each leg of a 3–1 aggregate defeat of Mirandés as his team reached the final for the first time since 1988. On 10 July that year, he achieved his 50th goal for the club in a 3–2 home defeat against Granada, and on 3 October he scored a penalty in his 200th match in a 3–0 win over Getafe.

On 3 April 2021, Oyarzabal scored the only goal of the delayed 2020 Copa del Rey final, also through a penalty, to help Real Sociedad clinch their first trophy in 34 years after beating Athletic Bilbao. In March 2022, he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee during a training session, potentially ruling him out for the rest of that year. He returned on 31 December as a late substitute in a 2–0 home win over Osasuna, and two weeks later scored his first goal since his recovery to conclude a 3–1 victory against Athletic at the same venue; it was his sixth goal (four from the spot) in 14 games against the rivals.

In February 2023, Oyarzabal extended his contract until 2028, retaining the buyout clause of €75 million. He became captain in June, when Asier Illarramendi left.

Spain
Oyarzabal represented Spain at under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels. On 17 May 2016, aged 19, he was called up to the senior squad for a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Twelve days later, he replaced Nolito (who had scored) at the hour mark of the 3–1 win.

On 10 June 2019, Oyarzabal scored his first goal, in a 3–0 victory over Sweden in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers. In May 2021, he was included in Luis Enrique's 24-man squad for the finals. As a late substitute, he scored the last goal of a 5–3 extra time win against Croatia in the last 16. In the following round, he scored the last attempt of a penalty shootout defeat of Switzerland (1–1 after 120 minutes).

Oyarzabal was selected for the Olympic squad to compete in Tokyo in 2021. He scored three times for the runners-up, including once in the 2–1 final loss to Brazil. In the 2021 UEFA Nations League final against France on 10 October, he scored the opening goal of the match, although Spain ultimately suffered a 2–1 defeat.

After an absence from the national team due to his serious knee injury, on 27 May Oyarzabal made a provisional list for Euro 2024. He scored his first international hat-trick on 5 June, in a 5–0 friendly win over Andorra prior to the tournament. In the finals in Germany, he played all seven games for the champions, starting once. On 14 July, he scored in the 86th minute in the final to secure a 2–1 victory against England.

Basque Country
Oyarzabal featured for the non-affiliated Basque Country national team, scoring on his debut to cap a 3–1 win over Tunisia at the San Mamés Stadium on 30 December 2016.

Personal life
Oyarzabal combined his early professional career with studying for a business degree at the University of Deusto. He started a relationship with Ainhoa Larrauri in 2015, with their son being born in December 2023.

International

 * Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Oyarzabal goal.

Honours
Real Sociedad
 * Copa del Rey: 2019–20

Spain U21
 * UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2019; runner-up: 2017

Spain U23
 * Summer Olympics silver medal: 2020

Spain
 * UEFA European Championship: 2024
 * UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2020–21

Individual
 * La Liga Player of the Month: October 2020
 * La Liga Play of the Month: March 2024 (with Mikel Merino)