Mikel Vesga

Mikel Vesga Arruti (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmikel ˈβesɣa];[lower-greek 1] born 8 April 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao as a defensive midfielder.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Vesga and the second or maternal family name is Arruti.
Mikel Vesga
Vesga with Leganés in 2018
Personal information
Full name Mikel Vesga Arruti[1]
Date of birth (1993-04-08) 8 April 1993[1]
Place of birth Vitoria, Spain
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Athletic Bilbao
Number 6
Youth career
Aurrerá
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Aurrerá 25 (2)
2013–2014 Alavés B 8 (0)
2014–2016 Bilbao Athletic 74 (4)
2016– Athletic Bilbao 138 (8)
2017 → Sporting Gijón (loan) 17 (1)
2018–2019 → Leganés (loan) 26 (1)
International career
2018 Basque Country 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:38, 1 September 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Basque Country, Vesga made his debut as a senior with CD Aurrerá de Vitoria in 2012, in the Tercera División. In summer 2013 he moved to Deportivo Alavés, being assigned to the reserves also in the fourth division.

On 1 July 2014, after refusing a new deal,[2] Vesga joined another reserve team, Bilbao Athletic from Segunda División B.[3] Having gained the confidence of coach José Ángel Ziganda[4] he was an ever-present figure during the season, appearing in 38 matches and scoring three goals as they returned to Segunda División after 19 years.[5]

Vesga made his professional debut on 24 August 2015, starting in a 1–0 home loss against Girona FC.[6] He scored his first league goal on 7 February of the following year, the winner in a 3–2 away victory over RCD Mallorca.[7]

On 17 August 2016, after spending the whole pre-season with the first team, Vesga was definitely promoted to the Ernesto Valverde-led side and was assigned the number 12 shirt.[8] He made his La Liga debut four days later, coming on as a second-half substitute for Mikel San José in the 2–1 defeat at Sporting de Gijón.[9]

On 12 September 2016, Vesga extended his contract until 2019, with a buyout clause set at €30 million.[10] The following 25 January, he was loaned to fellow top-tier club Sporting Gijón until the end of the campaign.[11] He scored his first goal in the competition on 15 April 2017, putting the hosts ahead 2–1 in an eventual 3–2 loss against Real Madrid at El Molinón.[12]

On 4 July 2018, Vesga was loaned to CD Leganés also from the Spanish top flight in a season-long move.[13] In January 2021 he agreed to an extension at Athletic running to the summer of 2024, with a release clause of €50 million.[14]

Career statistics
As of match played 22 May 2022[15][16][17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bilbao Athletic 2014–15 Segunda División B 333——5[lower-alpha 1]0383
2015–16 Segunda División 411———411
Total 744000050794
Athletic Bilbao 2016–17 La Liga 60101[lower-alpha 2]0—80
2017–18 121207[lower-alpha 2]0—211
2019–20 2007[lower-alpha 3]0——270
2020–21 30060—2[lower-alpha 4]0380
2021–22 32250–2[lower-alpha 4]0392
Total 100321080401333
Sporting Gijón (loan) 2016–17 La Liga 17100——171
Leganés (loan) 2018–19 La Liga 26120——281
Career total 217923080902579
  1. Appearance(s) in Segunda División B play-offs
  2. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  3. Includes appearance in 2020 Copa del Rey Final (played in 2021)
  4. Appearances in Supercopa de España

Honours

Athletic Bilbao

Notes
  1. In isolation, Vesga is pronounced [ˈbesɣa].

References
  1. "Vesga". Diario AS. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  2. "El Athletic ficha a los canteranos que el Alavés vetó por no querer renovar" [Athletic sign two youth players that Alavés ousted for not wanting to renew]. El Correo (in Spanish). 1 July 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  3. "New addition to Bilbao Athletic". Athletic Bilbao. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  4. Ugalde, Iñaki (23 March 2017). "Mikel Vesga, el timonel del Sporting" [Mikel Vesga, the helmsman of Sporting]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  5. "El Bilbao Athletic, a Segunda 19 años después y el Cádiz tendrá que esperar" [Bilbao Athletic, into Segunda 19 years later and Cádiz will have to wait] (in Spanish). EFE. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  6. García-Muñoz, Sergio (24 August 2015). "El que la sigue, la consigue" [He who wants it, gets it]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  7. "2–3 El Bilbao Athletic frena en seco al Mallorca de Vázquez" [2–3 Bilbao Athletic stop Vázquez's Mallorca in their tracks]. Deia (in Spanish). 7 February 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  8. Cuenca, Nika (17 August 2016). "Valverde ficha en el filial: se quedan Yeray y Vesga" [Valverde signs in the reserves: Yeray and Vesga stay]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  9. Callero, Borja Luis (21 August 2016). "Dos goles en tres minutos dan los primeros puntos al Sporting" [Two goals in three minutes give the first points to Sporting]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  10. "Premier team contracts for Yeray and Vesga". Athletic Bilbao. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  11. "Mikel Vesga se incorpora al Sporting en calidad de cedido" [Mikel Vesga joins Sporting on loan] (in Spanish). Sporting Gijón. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  12. Heras, Rubén (15 April 2017). "Sporting 2–3 Real Madrid | Jornada 32 – Isco levanta al Madrid en El Molinón" [Sporting 2–3 Real Madrid | Round 32 – Isco lifts Madrid at El Molinón] (in Spanish). RTVE. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  13. "El C.D. Leganés cierra la cesión de Mikel Vesga para la próxima temporada" [C.D. Leganés complete the loan of Mikel Vesga for the following season] (in Spanish). CD Leganés. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  14. "Vesga renews until 2024". Athletic Bilbao. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  15. Mikel Vesga at Soccerway
  16. Mikel Vesga at ESPN FC
  17. Mikel Vesga at FBref.com
  18. Carnerero, Fernando (17 January 2021). "La Supercopa de Williams" [Williams' Supercup]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  19. Lowe, Sid (3 April 2021). "Real Sociedad beat Athletic to claim Copa del Rey and Basque glory". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  20. Lowe, Sid (17 April 2021). "Messi stars as Barcelona thrash Athletic Bilbao to lift Copa del Rey". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
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