Mikel Oyarzabal

Mikel Oyarzabal Ugarte (born 21 April 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a 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 more than 400 appearances and scoring over 130 goals. He won the 2019–20 and the 2025–26 Copa del Rey with the club, scoring in both finals.

Oyarzabal made his full debut for the Spain national team in 2016, representing the side at the 2026 World Cup and two European Championships, winning the 2026 World Cup and Euro 2024 and scoring the decisive goal in the latter final.

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 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.

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, but Spain ultimately suffered a 2–1 defeat.

After being absent from the national team at the time of the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to his serious knee injury, Oyarzabal made a provisional list for Euro 2024 on 27 May. 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.

Oyarzabal was called by Spain for the 2026 World Cup. On 15 June, in their opener against Cape Verde, he became the first player on record (since 1966) to fail to touch the ball in the first 30 minutes of a World Cup match. In the following fixture, however, he scored twice and also provided an assist for Lamine Yamal in the 4–0 win over Saudi Arabia. In the round of 32, he achieved another brace in the 3–0 defeat of Austria. In the semi-final, he opened the 2–0 victory against France with a penalty after Yamal was fouled by Lucas Digne; the goal was his fifth of the tournament, equaling the record for the most by a Spanish player in a single edition previously achieved by Emilio Butragueño and David Villa. He also scored his 30th international goal for Spain, becoming the sixth-highest in the nation's history.

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.

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.

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

UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2020–21, 2024–25

La Liga Player of the Month: October 2020

La Liga Play of the Month: March 2024 (with Mikel Merino)