Maitane López Millán[a] (born 13 March 1995) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for American National Women's Soccer League club NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Spain women's national team.

Maitane López
López with Gotham in 2023
Personal information
Full name Maitane López Millán[1]
Date of birth (1995-03-13) 13 March 1995 (age 29)[2]
Place of birth Águilas, Spain[1]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Gotham FC
Number 77
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2015 Collerense 88 (23)
2015–2020 Levante 123 (9)
2020–2021 Real Sociedad 30 (1)
2021–2023 Atlético Madrid 53 (6)
2023– Gotham FC 11 (1)
International career
2010–2012 Spain U17 9 (1)
2014 Spain U19 5 (0)
2021–2022 Spain 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 February 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 October 2022

Club career

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In June 2015, Levante announced the signing of López from Collerense.[3] She would spend five seasons at Levante, after which, she would sign for Real Sociedad.[4] In July 2021, after one year at Real Sociedad, López transferred to Atlético Madrid, where she signed a two-year professional contract.[5]

Before her Atlético expired during the 2023 summer transfer window, López was linked with interest from Women's Super League club Manchester United.[6] However, on 6 July 2023 she signed a two-year contract with an option for an additional year with American club NJ/NY Gotham FC.[7]

International career

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After injuries to Virginia Torrecilla and Amanda Sampedro, López was called up to the Spain national team to face the Czech Republic in October 2019.[8] She did not play in the fixture.[9] Two years later, she made her debut for Spain in a friendly match against Morocco.[10]

Personal life

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López is of Basque descent through her father.[11] Two of López's uncles, Aitor and Luis López Rekarte, were professional footballers. Encouraged by Aitor's performances for Real Sociedad, Maitane López signed up for her first football team at the age of five.[12] At that same age, she had moved to Mallorca from Águilas. Outside of football, she sings and plays guitar; she has posted videos on social media of various cover songs that she has performed.[13]

Notes

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  1. ^ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is López and the second or maternal family name is Millán.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Maitane". BDFutbol. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  2. ^ Maitane López at Soccerway. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Maitane López Millán ficha por el Levante" (in Spanish). Fútbol Balear. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  4. ^ Martin, Alejandro (3 July 2021). "Maitane López, en Goal: "Creo que es un año en el que sí he encontrado la versión de mí que venía buscando"" (in Spanish). Goal.com. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  5. ^ Menayo, David (5 July 2021). "El Atlético de Madrid hace oficial el fichaje de Maitane López". Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  6. ^ Falk, Graham (20 May 2023). "Man Utd interested in Spanish midfielder from Atlético Madrid". ManchesterWorld. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  7. ^ Tonelli, Jenna (6 July 2023). "Maitane López inks two-year deal with Gotham FC". The Equalizer. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  8. ^ "España se enfrenta a la República checa con un plan B en la medular". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 8 October 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Czech Republic vs Spain". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  10. ^ Fra, Amalia (22 October 2021). "Otra López Rekarte en La Roja". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Maitane López Millán, jugadora medio aguileña, ficha por la Real Sociedad". Murcia Plaza (in Spanish). 10 July 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  12. ^ Griñán, Marta (28 January 2021). "Maitane, otra 'López Rekarte' que triunfa en la Real Sociedad". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  13. ^ Romero, Judith (2 February 2021). "Maitane López, talento en el campo y con la guitarra". El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
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