Kepa Arrizabalaga

He played his first competitive game on 22 August, in a 0–1 loss at Córdoba, and missed only three matches as his team finished 16th.

After returning from loan, Arrizabalaga was included in the first team, initially as third-choice behind Gorka Iraizoz and Iago Herrerín.

Kepa Arrizabalaga Revuelta (born 3 October 1994), known simply as Kepa, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Madrid, on loan from club Chelsea, and the Spain national team.

Arrizabalaga began his senior club career with Athletic Bilbao.

Born in Ondarroa, Biscay, Basque Country, Arrizabalaga joined Athletic Bilbao's youth setup at Lezama in 2004, aged ten.

He played for Basconia, and joined Ponferradina and Real Valladolid on consecutive loans, between 2011 and 2016.

Arrizabalaga won the 2012 European Championship with Spain's under-19 team.

He made his senior debut with farm team Basconia in January 2012, in Tercera División.

On 5 May 2012, Arrizabalaga was called up to the main squad for a La Liga match against Getafe, but remained unused in the 0–0 draw at the San Mamés Stadium.

He was also called up to pre-season in July, and on 23 September was also a substitute in another home game of the same outcome, against Málaga.

Arrizabalaga was promoted to Bilbao's reserve team in January 2013, to cover for injured Jon Ander Serantes.

He made his debut for the B-side on 16 February 2013, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 win over Logroñés in the Segunda División B.

On 3 March, he was one of two players sent off towards the end of a 3–1 home win over Amorebieta, as well as teammate Jon García; in April he suffered a pubalgia, only returning to the field in September.

Arrizabalaga appeared regularly for the B's after his return, but broke the first metacarpal of his right hand in January 2014, being sidelined for a month.

On 11 March, Getafe submitted a loan request to the Lions for him, as a replacement to injured Miguel Ángel Moyá, but it was rejected a day later.

On 5 January 2015, Arrizabalaga was loaned to Segunda División club Ponferradina until June.

He made his professional debut on the eleventh, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Racing Santander.

On 20 July 2015, Arrizabalaga moved to Real Valladolid, also of the second tier, in a season-long loan deal.

He made his debut in the top flight on 11 September 2016, starting in a 1–0 away win over Deportivo de La Coruña.

He made his senior debut in 2017, and was part of the national squad for the 2018 World Cup, although he did not make an appearance in the tournament.

He then returned to Bilbao and became a first-team regular; in 2018, he was the subject of a record association football transfer when he moved to Chelsea in a transfer worth €80 million (£72 million), a record fee for a goalkeeper.

There, he won the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup.

On 22 January 2018, amid heavy transfer speculation linking him to Real Madrid, Arrizabalaga renewed his contract – due to expire that June – until 2025.

On 8 August 2018, Athletic Bilbao announced on their website that Arrizabalaga had paid his required release clause (€80 million / £71.6 million), making him the world's most expensive goalkeeper only weeks after the record was set by Alisson's transfer to Liverpool.

Later that day, his move to Chelsea on a seven-year contract was confirmed, replacing Thibaut Courtois who had departed for Real Madrid.

He made his Premier League debut three days later in a 3–0 away win against Huddersfield Town, going on to keep six clean sheets in the team's 12-match unbeaten run in the league, before a 3–1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.

On 24 January 2019, in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final, Arrizabalaga saved a penalty from Tottenham's Lucas Moura in a 4–2 penalty shoot-out win at Stamford Bridge, helping his team go through to the final.

On 24 February 2019, during the 2019 EFL Cup Final against Manchester City, with the match at 0–0 near the end of extra time, Maurizio Sarri called for Arrizabalaga to be substituted off for Willy Caballero for the upcoming penalty shootout.

Arrizabalaga refused to be substituted, gesticulating and remaining on the field.

During the shootout, he saved one penalty as Chelsea lost 4–3.

After the game, both Arrizabalaga and Sarri said that the situation was a misunderstanding, with Sarri incorrectly believing that Arrizabalaga was too injured with cramp to continue.

Later on, Arrizabalaga met with Sarri and apologised to him and to the rest of the club.

He was fined a week's worth of pay as a result of his actions, with Sarri leaving the decision of any further discipline up to the club.

Arrizabalaga was dropped from the starting lineup for Caballero in Chelsea's next match, a Premier League game against Tottenham.

He returned to the lineup for the following match.

On 9 May 2019, Arrizabalaga saved two penalties in the shootout at the end of the second leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt to take Chelsea to the final, which they won 4–1 over Arsenal.

Under the management of Frank Lampard, Chelsea failed to win any trophies.

Throughout the 2019–20 season, Arrizabalaga struggled to stay in form, eventually being benched in favour of Willy Caballero in late January 2020 in a cup match against Hull City.

Arrizabalaga remained outside of the starting eleven during the next four league matches and a Champions League match.

He regained his starting spot on 4 March during the FA Cup fifth round against Liverpool where he made a string of saves to deny the eventual Premier League champions; Chelsea went on to win the match 2–0.