List of Athletic Bilbao players


is an association football club based in Bilbao, in Biscay in the Basque Country of Spain. The club was a founder member of the Spanish league, better known as La Liga, in 1928, and has won the league championship eight times. As of 2012, Athletic has played for 82 years in the Primera División, the top tier of Spanish football, and is one of only three clubs, the others being Real Madrid and Barcelona, never to have been relegated from La Liga.
The club is known for its policy of recruiting only players from the greater Basque Country, a region which includes Labourd, Soule and Lower Navarre in France as well as the Spanish provinces of Biscay, Guipúzcoa, Álava and Navarre. This policy, which for many years applied both to signings from other clubs and to youngsters admitted to the club's academy, has in recent years become more flexible, so that players whose career developed in the youth system of other clubs in the region are now acceptable, irrespective of their country of birth.
Athletic won the Copa del Rey three times between 1914 and 1916. The team of that period included the prolific goalscorer Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno; he scored the first goal in the San Mamés Stadium on 21 August 1913, scored a hat-trick in the 1915 Copa del Rey final, and his 89 games for the club produced a total of 78 goals. Since 1953, the top scorer in La Liga each season has been awarded the Pichichi Trophy, named in his honour.
On 29 September 1940 Telmo Zarra played his first league match for the club. During his time at Athletic, he won six Pichichi awards, a league record, and helped the club achieve a league championship and five Copa del Rey trophies. He retired in 1955, having played 352 matches and scored 333 goals. Joseba Etxeberria, who joined Athletic from Real Sociedad in 1995 for a record transfer fee of €3 million, is the player with the most appearances for the club in the last 30 years. He signed a one-year extension to his contract in 2009 in which he agreed to play the 2009–10 season unpaid in the hope of reaching 500 games before he retired; he finished the season on 514.

Players

Appearance and goal totals include matches in La Liga, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and regional competitions. Substitute appearances are included. Table is initially sorted in descending order of appearances and includes all Athletic players who have made 200 appearances or more.

Key

NameNationalityPositionAthletic Bilbao careerAppearancesGoalsNotesRefs
*Goalkeeper6140
Forward1965–198254167
Forward1995–2010514104
Defender2003–201551038
Midfielder2007–201950756
Forward1940–1959493152
Defender1950–19684800.91
Defender1990–200444543
Defender1948–19634355.96
Midfielder1992–2006430116
Forward1977–199042776
'Forward2009–42260
Forward1996–2007419129
Midfielder1938–1955413169
Forward2002–2003
2006–2008
2012–2020		407172
Goalkeeper1950–19644020
Forward1974–1986402199
Midfielder1987–200340110.911
'Midfielder2009–39832
Defender2009–202039737
Forward1962–1974394120
Midfielder2002–201639322
Goalkeeper2007–20173920
Forward1967–1968
1978–1988		382118
Defender1974–198736944
Midfielder1971–198136110.9911
Forward1964–197435883
Defender1983–1984
1984–1985
1986–1997		35620.921
Midfielder1998–201035358.959
*Forward1940–1955352333
Forward1950–1965345133
Defender1978–19873456.97
Defender1961–19723412.93
Defender1962–19743388
Forward2005–2013333118
Defender1970–198333219
Midfielder1979–1980
1981–1992		33117.918
Midfielder1994–20033289.910
Forward1940–1953323114.9115
Midfielder2008–20193203
Defender1962–19753183.94
Midfielder2000–201131810.99913
Forward1960–197230870
Forward1951–1966302170
Forward1957–197029663.964
Defender1987–19932946
Forward1953–196429372
Defender1982–19922939.9910
Defender1950–19602929.99910
Forward1991–199829191
Defender1993–20032896.997
Midfielder1980–1981
1982–1992		27837
Defender1965–19742770
Forward1970–1981275115
Midfielder1987–199627542
Defender1941–19522726.9997
Midfielder1979–198826811.912
Defender1992–200326425
Goalkeeper1941–19572610
Forward1998–200526059
Defender1971–1976
1978–1986		2582
'Defender2008–2009
2013–		2581
*Forward1929–1940256198
Midfielder1997–200725411.9912
Defender2005–20132544
Defender1997–200625112
Midfielder2006–201225125
'Forward2014–24958
Midfielder1939–19502470
Defender1953–19662472.993
Forward1979–198724456
Midfielder2006–2007
2013–2020		24211
Forward1929–1949240179
Defender1933–19482391
Goalkeeper1981–19862390
Defender1952–196123441
Defender1980–19872334.95
Defender1981–198823218
Defender1928–19362312.9993
Midfielder1999–200823026
Forward1986–199722422.923
Defender1971–19792223.994
Midfielder1972–197822223
Defender2012–201822210
Midfielder1928–193621721
Defender1988–19952123
Forward1925–193421164
Midfielder2015–21163
Forward1953–196321169
Forward1929–1936208208
Forward2008–201520725
Forward1944–1947
1948–1955		20689
Defender1973–19802067
Defender1977–19832045
Defender1993–1997
1999–2005		2044
*Goalkeeper1926–19362030
Defender1993–1998
2002–2006		2020