Iker Muniain

Iker Muniain Goni (Basque: [iker muniain ɡoɲi], Spanish: [ˈikeɾ muˈnjajŋ ˈɡoɲi]; born 19 December 1992) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao, where he is captain, and the Spain national team, mainly as a left winger.

Due to his style of play and stature, he was dubbed "the Spanish Messi" by the media. He has spent all of his professional career with Athletic Bilbao after debuting in 2009 as their youngest player in a competitive match, making over 450 appearances for the club and reaching finals of the Copa del Rey four times, and the UEFA Europa League in 2012.

Muniain made 59 appearances for Spain at youth level, winning the European Under-21 Championship in 2011 and 2013. He also featured at the 2012 Olympics, in the same year as his senior international debut.

Club Career

Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Muniain was a product of Basque giants Athletic Bilbao's youth ranks after joining at the age of 12. In January 2009, he made his debut for the reserve team Bilbao Athletic in the Segunda Division B, aged 16 years and 16 days, and scored his first goal at that level 19 days later.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Икер Муньяин (russian)