Kepa Arrizabalaga Revuelta, professionally known as Kepa Arrizabalaga or simply Kepa is a Spanish professional football player. He plays as a goalkeeper. He started his football career from Athletic Bilbao and has played for Bilbao Athletic, Ponferradina, Valladolid, and Athletic Bilbao before joining the English club, Chelsea in 2018. He moved to Chelsea for a world record transfer fee for a goalkeeper. He is the current most expensive goalkeeper in the world.
Arrizabalaga represented Spain’s national team at various age levels. He was part of the Spain U19 team that won the 2012 European Championship. He made his senior international debut in 2017.
What is Kepa Arrizabalaga Famous For?
- Became the most expensive goalkeeper when he signed for Chelsea in 2018.
Where is Kepa Arrizabalaga From?
Kepa Arrizabala was born on 3 October 1994. His birth name is Kepa Arrizabalaga Revuelta. His birth place is in Ondarroa, Biscay, Basque Country in Spain. He holds Spanish nationality. He belongs to white ethnicity. His religion is Christianity. His zodiac sign is Libra. Information about his parents and siblings are not available at present.
Source: @pinterest
Kepa Arrizabalaga Career Timeline
- Arrizabalaga joined Athletic Bilbao’s academy in 2004.
- He made his first-team debut with the farm team in Tercera Division in January 2012.
- He was called up to the club’s first team for a La Liga match against Getafe CF on 5 May 2012. He remained unused.
- He was an unused substitute against Malaga CF on 23 September 2012.
- He was promoted to the reserves in January 2013.
- He made his debut for the B-side on 16 February 2013 against UD Logrones for the Segunda Division B championship.
- He was sent off towards the end of a 3-1 home win over SD Amorebieta on 3 March 2013.
- He was sidelined for almost 5 months from April to September in 2013 after he suffered pubalgia.
- In January 2014, he broke the first metacarpal of his right hand that kept him out of football for a month.
- Getafe CF’s loan request for Kepa was rejected by the club in March 2014.
- The club loaned him to the Segunda Division club SD Ponferradina until June in January 2015.
- He made his professional debut on 11th January against Racing de Santander.
- The club then loaned him to Real Valladolid in the second tier in a season-long loan deal in July 2015.
- He made his competitive debut for Valladolid on 22 August against Cordoba CF.
- Following his loan spell at Valladolid, he returned to his parent club.
- He was initially a third-choice goalkeeper.
- He made his debut in the top flight on 11 September 2016 against Deportivo de La Coruna.
- He was heavily linked to transfer to Real Madrid in early 2018. He renewed his contract with the club until 2025 in January 2018.
- He paid his required release clause 80 million Euro in August 2018, making him the world’s most expensive goalkeeper.
- He signed a seven-year contract with the English club, Chelsea.
- Chelsea’s then-goalkeeper had left Chelsea to join Real Madrid.
Source: @premierleague
- His transfer to Chelsea beat the record for the most expensive goalkeeper set by Alisson’s transfer to Liverpool in the same month.
- Kepa made his Premier League debut on 11 August 2018 in a 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town.
- He kept six clean sheets in his first 6 Premier League matches.
- Chelsea went 12-match unbeaten. They were later defeated by Tottenham Hotspur 3-1.
- He is known for his one incident with Chelsea’s then-manager, Maurizio Sarri. He refused to get substituted during the 2019 EFL Cup Final against Manchester City on 24 February 2019. Sarri called for Arrizabalaga to be substituted off for Caballero for the upcoming penalty shootout. Sarri was concerned over his leg cramping. However, Arrizabalaga refused to be substituted and remained on the field. Chelsea lost 4-3 on a penalty shootout. For the incident, Arrizabalaga was fined a week’s worth of pay and was dropped from the starting lineup for Chelsea’s lineup against Tottenham.
- Arrizabalaga saved two penalties in the shootout against Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Europa League semi-final on 9 May 2019.
- Chelsea reached the final, where they defeated Arsenal 4-1.
- Arrizabalaga’s form declined in the 2019-20 season. He was benched for several Premier League and Champions League matches in favor of Caballero.
- Arrizabalaga, on Match Day 2 against Liverpool on 20 September 2020, made a horrible mistake that led to him conceding a goal. His pass went straight to Liverpool’s Sadio Mane, who collected the ball and scored. Arrizabala’s performance was heavily criticized.
Source: @en.as
Kepa Arrizabalaga International Career
- Arrizabala has appeared for Spain’s national team at various age levels.
- He has represented Spain U18, U19, and U21 teams.
- He was a key player in the Spain U19 team that won the 2012 UEFA European U19 Championship. He had saved two penalties in the shootout in the semi-final against France.
- He missed the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup due to injury.
- He made his senior international debut on 11 November 2017 in a 5-0 friendly win over Costa Rica.
- He was named in Spain’s 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Source: [email protected]
Kepa Arrizabalaga Honors
- UEFA Europa League: 2018–19
- FA Cup runner-up: 2019–20
- EFL Cup runner-up: 2018–19
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2012
- UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2018–19
Source: [email protected]
Kepa Arrizabalaga Girlfriend
Kepa Arrizabalaga is unmarried. He is reportedly single at present. He was previously in a relationship with Andrea Perez. They were childhood sweethearts and reportedly dated for 9 years until their split. He last shared his picture with Andrea Perez on his Instagram on 13 July 2018.
He has over 1.3 million followers on his Instagram @kepaarrizabalaga.
Kepa Arrizabalga Height
Kepa Arrizabalaga stands at a height of 1.86 m i.e. 6 feet and 1 inch tall. He has a body weight of 88 kg. He has an athletic body build. His sexual orientation is straight. His eye color is brown and his hair color is black.
Kepa Arrizabalaga Net Worth
Kepa Arrizabalaga earns from his professional career as a footballer player. His income comes from contracts, salaries, bonuses, and endorsements. Arrizabalaga is the most expensive goalkeeper in football. He broke the transfer fee record set during Alisson’s move to Liverpool when he joined Chelsea for 80 million Euro in 2018. His release clause was set 80 million before joining Chelsea. His annual salary at Chelsea is reported at 11 million Euro. He reportedly earns 150,000 pounds per week. His net worth is estimated at $3 million at present.
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