Home · Sports · Unai Simón

Unai Simón

Goalkeeper, Athletic Club & Spain

Sports Spain Hall No. 21

Profile

Why they shine

Unai Simón has spent his entire senior career inside Athletic Club's pyramid, and in 2026 he took the goalkeeper's stage at the 70th Ballon d'Or in London to claim the Yashin Trophy. Eight weeks earlier he had kept goal through a World Cup in which Spain conceded once in eight matches, against Belgium, and he kept the clean sheet in the final: 7 clean sheets in 720 minutes. He played 37 La Liga games for a mid-table Athletic side in 2025-26 and has been Spain's first-choice keeper since 2020, a team he won the 2024 European Championship with.

Full name: Unai Simón Mendibil
Nationality: Spain
Club (2026): Athletic Club
Position: Goalkeeper
2026 Ballon d'Or: Yashin Trophy — best goalkeeper
World Cup 2026: Golden Glove — 7 clean sheets in 8 matches, 1 goal conceded

Record

Honor record

Yashin Trophy

2026 · Oct 26, 2026

London Palladium, London

Awarded at the 70th Ballon d'Or, the first ceremony held outside France. Simón was chosen by the same 100-journalist panel that picked the men's winner, on the strength of a World Cup in which he conceded once in eight matches and kept seven clean sheets. It is the first Yashin Trophy of his career, and the first for a goalkeeper who has never played outside Athletic Club's own teams.

FIFA World Cup Golden Glove

2026 · Jul 19, 2026

MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

He conceded a single goal in eight matches, to Belgium, and kept the clean sheet in the final as Spain beat Argentina 1-0. Seven clean sheets in 720 minutes is the best ratio by a goalkeeper in a winning campaign, and it arrived alongside the most economical defence in the tournament's history.

Keep exploring