Pau López

Pau López Sabata (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈpaw ˈlopəs], born 13 December 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Italian club A.S. Roma.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is López and the second or maternal family name is Sabata.
Pau López
López with Betis in 2019
Personal information
Full name Pau López Sabata[1]
Date of birth (1994-12-13) 13 December 1994
Place of birth Girona, Spain
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Roma
Number 13
Youth career
2002–2007 Girona
2007–2013 Espanyol
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Espanyol B 35 (0)
2014–2018 Espanyol 67 (0)
2016–2017 → Tottenham Hotspur (loan) 0 (0)
2018–2019 Betis 33 (0)
2019– Roma 39 (0)
National team‡
2016–2017 Spain U21 5 (0)
2018– Spain 2 (0)
2015– Catalonia 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2019

Club career

Espanyol

Born in Girona, Catalonia, López joined RCD Espanyol's youth setup in 2007 at the age of 12, after starting out at hometown club Girona FC.[2] He made his senior debut with the former's B team in the 2013–14 season, in Segunda División B.

On 12 June 2014, López signed a new four-year contract with the Pericos, being also promoted to the main squad.[3][4] He played his first match as a professional on 17 December, starting in a 1–0 home win against Deportivo Alavés in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey[5] and being first choice in the tournament as his team reached the semi-finals for the first time in nine years.[6][7]

López's debut in La Liga occurred on 1 February 2015, after starter Kiko Casilla was sent off in the 40th minute of the fixture at Sevilla FC for handling Iago Aspas' shot outside of the penalty area, and he conceded once in an eventual 2–3 defeat.[8] After the latter's departure to Real Madrid in the summer, he became the starter.[9]

On 6 January 2016, during an away fixture against FC Barcelona for the domestic cup, López repeatedly stamped on Lionel Messi after the two players became entangled, in an action that eluded the referee but was caught on camera.[10] On 31 August, he joined Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan deal,[11] being third choice behind Hugo Lloris and Michel Vorm and failing to make a single competitive appearance.[12]

After his return to the RCDE Stadium, López continued to start under new manager Quique Sánchez Flores.[13][14]

Betis

On 4 July 2018, López signed a five-year deal with fellow top tier club Real Betis on a free transfer.[15] Under Quique Setién, he missed just five league matches in his only season as the Andalusians finished in tenth position.[16]

Roma

López joined A.S. Roma on a five-year contract on 9 July 2019, in a reported €23.5 million deal.[17][18] He made his Serie A debut on 25 August, in a 3–3 home draw with Genoa CFC.[19]

International career

López made his international debut on 26 December 2015, having a Player of the match performance for Catalonia in a 0–1 friendly loss to the Basque Country.[20] On 28 March 2016, he played his first game with the Spanish under-21 team, in a 1–0 win against Norway at the Estadio Nueva Condomina.[21]

On 17 May 2016, López and Espanyol teammate Marco Asensio were called up to the full side for a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina.[22] He only won his first cap more than two years later, however, after coming on as a 75th-minute substitute for Kepa Arrizabalaga in a 1–0 defeat of the same opposition in Las Palmas.[23]

Career statistics
As of match played 6 August 2020[24]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Espanyol B 2013–14 Segunda División B 350———350
Espanyol 2014–15 La Liga 2080——100
2015–16 36020——380
2017–18 29010——300
Total 670110——780
Tottenham Hotspur (loan) 2016–17 Premier League 0000000000
Betis 2018–19 La Liga 33000—20350
Roma 2019–20 Serie A 32020—80420
Career total 1670130001001790

Honours

Spain U21

References
  1. "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  2. Terrats, Juan (29 January 2015). "Pau, el guardián de la Copa" [Pau, the guardian of the Cup]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  3. "Pau López, cuatro años más y al primer equipo" [Pau López, four years more and to the first team]. Sport (in Spanish). 12 June 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  4. "Pau López renova per quatre temporades" [Pau López renews for four seasons] (in Catalan). RCD Espanyol. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  5. S. Ramos, Antonio (17 December 2014). "El Espanyol pasa sin forzar" [Espanyol go through without forcing it]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  6. Campos, Tomás (29 January 2015). "Atrapado en la jaula perica" [Trapped in the parakeet's cage]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  7. Melero, Delfín (11 February 2015). "El Espanyol deja escapar al león" [Espanyol let lion go]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  8. "Iago Aspas' late winner gives Sevilla vengeful win against Espanyol". Fox Sports. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  9. Martínez, Alberto (12 September 2015). "Pau López: otro portero hijo de N'Kono como Kiko Casilla" [Pau López: another goalkeeper son of N’Kono as Kiko Casilla]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  10. Corrigan, Dermot (8 January 2016). "Lionel Messi incident played down by Espanyol goalkeeper Pau Lopez". ESPN FC. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  11. "Lopez loan agreed". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  12. Benge, James (8 June 2017). "Tottenham in talks with Espanyol over bringing Pau Lopez back to club, goalkeeper confirms". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  13. "Pau se consolida y desafía la jerarquía de Diego López" [Pau solidifies and defies Diego Lopez's hierarchy]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 15 October 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  14. Martínez, Alberto (30 December 2017). "Pau y Diego: un 2018 con intercambio de papeles" [Pau and Diego: 2018 with a change of roles]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  15. "Pau López, new Real Betis player for the next five seasons". Real Betis. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  16. "Pau López abandona el Betis" [Pau López leaves Betis]. Sport (in Spanish). 7 July 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  17. "Pau Lopez completes Roma move". A.S. Roma. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  18. "Roma confirm signing of Betis goalkeeper Lopez in €23.5m deal". Goal. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  19. "Roma 3–3 Genoa: Season starts with frustrating draw". A.S. Roma. 25 August 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  20. Román, Rogelio (27 December 2015). "Aduriz da la victoria a Euskadi sobre Catalunya" [Aduriz gives win to Euskadi over Catalonia]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  21. "Triplete perico con la Sub-21" [Perico trio with the under-21s] (in Spanish). RCD Espanyol. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  22. "Pau López y Marco Asensio, convocados por Del Bosque" [Pau López and Marco Asensio, called up by Del Bosque] (in Spanish). RCD Espanyol. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  23. Bell, Arch (18 November 2018). "Spain edge Bosnia to end 2018". Marca. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  24. "Pau López". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  25. "Germany U21 1–0 Spain U21". BBC Sport. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
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