Athletic Club are going really well right now under Ernesto Valverde. With a strong first XI and a surprisingly deep squad despite their restrictive transfer policy, the Basque giants look set to return to the Champions League next season. Let’s take a look at the current crop of Athletic Club players and who their key performers are across the pitch.
We’ve ranked the best Athletic Club players by their average scores out of 100 on Sorare’s scoring matrix. This takes into account a large number of different defensive and attacking actions, with virtually everything a player does on the pitch having some impact on their score.
To feature below, players in the Athletic Club squad must have appeared in at least 50% of their eligible games within the relevant timeframe. That covers LaLiga, Europa League and in some cases international appearances. Average scores and stats are accurate as of matchday 32, following Athletic’s trip to Real Madrid, but before their home game against Las Palmas.
Athletic Club best players 2024/25 – Ranked by their Sorare average scores (Last 15 matches)
5. Mikel Jauregizar – 53.7
The Athletic Club academy has churned out the talent through the years and one of the newest names to come through Lezama is Mikel Jauregizar. The 2003-born midfielder first emerged as a bright talent at his hometown club Bermeo FT, before making the short move across Bizkaia to join the Athletic youth set-up in 2021.
He made his LaLiga debut off the bench in a 2-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in December 2023, but it’s only really this season that he has emerged as a regular in the Athletic midfield.
At the time of writing, Jauregizar has made 21 starts in LaLiga this term, and eight in the Europa League which is testament to how highly he is regarded by Valverde. The 21-year-old occupies the holding role, typically in a double pivot alongside the more experienced Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta.
4. Yeray Alvarez – 58.1
Athletic are well stacked in terms of central defensive options, with Dani Vivian, Aitor Paredes and Unai Nuñez all solid defenders, along with Yeray Alvarez who has posted the best numbers of the four over the past 15 games.
At 30 years old, Yeray is into his peak years as a centre-back and he’s having a very strong campaign for an Athletic side that boasts the best defensive record in the Spanish top flight.
Yeray ranks second in the squad for clearances (5.2 per game) as well as interceptions (1.8) in LaLiga this term. He’s also second only to Vivian with his average of 54.3 passes per match. It’s in the air where Yeray really dominates though, with 2.1 aerial challenges won per game, more than any other Athletic player has managed in the league this term.
3. Oihan Sancet – 59.3
Were it not for the various issues that have prevented Sancet from making more than 17 league starts this season, we may well be talking about one of the most extraordinary goalscoring campaigns from a midfielder in the history of the Spanish top flight.
Despite his relatively limited game-time, Sancet has fired in a remarkable 15 league goals from an attacking midfield role at a rate of one every 97 minutes. Only three players in the division have scored more this term and his goals per minute ratio is actually better than Pichichi candidates Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappe.
Sancet is on penalty duty which has contributed towards a number of those strikes, but he has really perfected the art of arriving into the penalty area at the right moment, and he’s a very capable finisher with both his head and feet.
2. Yuri Berchiche – 60.0
There is a nice blend of young Athletic Club players, and more experienced ones in this current squad, with Yuri Berchiche definitely falling into the latter category.
At 35, he is certainly entering the twilight years of his career, but Yuri’s numbers suggest he is still operating at a very high level. The left-back was part of the Athletic set-up as a youngster, but he moved to Tottenham before breaking into the first team and actually made his debut in senior football during a loan spell at Cheltenham Town.
He’d go on to represent Basque clubs Real Union, Real Sociedad and Eibar, before joining Athletic Club after a short stint at PSG in the 2017/18 season. Yuri’s longevity is all the more impressive given the persistent injury problems that have plagued him throughout his career, with Athletic the first club he has clocked up more than 100 appearances for.
1. Nico Williams – 62.3
One of the best young Spanish players of his generation, Nico Williams is already a European champion at international level after a stunning Euro 2024 campaign with La Roja.
He’s also the pick of the current crop of Athletic players, although it’s true that the first half of the 2024/25 season was not his best. Operating on the opposite flank to brother Iñaki, Nico has regained some form over the past couple of months though, with his recent goal against Rangers setting up a mouth-watering Europa League semi-final clash against Manchester United.
The likes of Iñaki, Sancet and Alex Berenguer all have more goal contributions in LaLiga this season for Athletic than Nico. However the 22-year-old is frequently still the player that makes things tick in the final third, with 1.4 key passes and 2.3 dribbles per game more than anyone else has managed for Los Leones this term.
Top 10 Athletic Club players – Last 40 matches
| Ranking | Player | L40 average score |
| 1 | Nico Williams | 57.3 |
| 2 | Dani Vivian | 55.6 |
| 3 | Iñaki Williams | 54.3 |
| 4 | Oihan Sancet | 54.0 |
| 5 | Yuri Berchiche | 53.0 |
| 6 | Julen Agirrezabala | 51.7 |
| 7 | Alex Berenguer | 50.5 |
| 8 | Mikel Jauregizar | 49.5 |
| 9 | Oscar De Marcos | 49.4 |
| 10 | Aitor Paredes | 49.4 |
Yeray and fellow centre-back Unai Nuñez have actually posted the highest average scores over the last 40 games for Athletic, although both fell just short of the 50% appearance threshold.
As a result, Nico Williams also tops the list over the past 40 games, with fellow Spain international Vivian running him a close second following a stellar year that has seen the centre-back break into the elite category of defenders in LaLiga.
Iñaki Williams, Sancet and Berenguer are the other attacking players to feature, but as has often been the case with the best Basque players over the years, it’s the number of strong defensive players and goalkeepers that really stand out.
Athletic are well blessed in the latter department with Julen Agirrezabala currently doing a good job in the Europa League, while Unai Simon has recently returned from injury to be the regular in LaLiga, although it’s true that the Spain number one hasn’t always reached his best level since coming back.
The depth that exists in this squad is all the more impressive given the long-standing Athletic Club policy of only buying players that were developed in the Basque Country.
