Esther González Rodríguez (born 8 December 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for National Women's Soccer League club NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Spain national team. She previously played for Atlético Málaga, Sporting de Huelva, Atlético de Madrid, and Real Madrid.

Esther González
Esther with Gotham in 2023
Personal information
Full name Esther González Rodríguez
Date of birth (1992-12-08) 8 December 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Huéscar, Spain
Height 1.61 m (5 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
NJ/NY Gotham FC
Number 9
Youth career
2000–2007 CD Huéscar
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Algaidas
2009–2011 Levante 47 (12)
2011–2012 Atlético Málaga 34 (12)
2012–2013 Sporting de Huelva 27 (15)
2013–2019 Atlético de Madrid 159 (80)
2019–2021 Levante 53 (29)
2021–2023 Real Madrid 54 (30)
2023– NJ/NY Gotham FC 29 (12)
International career
Spain U19
2016– Spain 44 (29)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Spain
FIFA Women's World Cup
Winner 2023 Australia–New Zealand
UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship
Runner-up 2009 Switzerland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:38, 28 March 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:37, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

Club career

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Real Madrid

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González left Real Madrid as its all-time top scorer with 39 goals in 77 games.[1]

Gotham FC

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On 23 August 2023, National Women's Soccer League club NJ/NY Gotham FC signed Esther to a three-year contract with an option to extend for an additional year.[2] She made her club debut on 2 September, coming on for Sinead Farrelly in a 3–3 draw away to the North Carolina Courage.[3] On her first start, she scored her first and second NWSL goals in a 2–0 home win over the Washington Spirit.[4] On 11 November, she headed in Midge Purce's corner to score the second goal for Gotham in the NWSL Championship Game. It stood as the game winner in a 2–1 victory over OL Reign, giving Gotham its first league championship.[5]

On 24 March 2024, Esther scored in Gotham's first game of the season, a 1–0 victory over the Portland Thorns.[6] On 5 October, she assisted Rose Lavelle and scored two goals of her own against Bay FC in the span of 4 minutes and 20 seconds, which marked the fastest three goal contributions in NWSL history.[7] She finished the regular season with a team-high 9 goals, tied for fourth-most in the league, as Gotham placed third in the standings.[8] In the NWSL semifinals, Esther scored the opening goal in a 1–1 draw against the Washington Spirit; Gotham lost as Esther was one of three players whose penalty attempts were saved by Aubrey Kingsbury.[9]

International career

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Esther González played for the Spain U17 team at the 2009 U-17 European Championship, where Spain was the runner-up to Germany.[10]

Esther made her senior international debut in March 2016, as a substitute in a 0–0 friendly draw with Romania in Mogoșoaia.[11]

She scored five goals in Spain's 13–0 win over Azerbaijan in qualifying for the Euro 2022. She and her team reached the quarter-finals, where Spain lost 2–1 to eventual European champions England in overtime.

In Spain's opening match of the 2023 FIFA World Cup, she scored Spain's third goal in a 3–0 win over Costa Rica. This was the third goal in six minutes for the Spanish and was just their second group stage win at the World Cup.[12]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 24 March 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] Continental[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Levante 2009–10 Superliga Femenina 24 4 3 1 27 5
2010–11 Superliga Femenina 23 8 2 1 25 9
Total 47 12 5 2 52 14
Atlético Málaga 2011–12 Primera División 34 12 34 12
Sporting de Huelva 2012–13 Primera División 27 15 27 15
Atlético Madrid 2013–14 Primera División 25 14 2 0 27 14
2014–15 Primera División 28 12 2 2 30 14
2015–16 Primera División 29 18 3 2 4 1 36 21
2016–17 Primera División 30 15 3 0 33 15
2017–18 Primera División 26 8 3 0 1 0 30 8
2018–19 Primera División 21 13 3 1 3 0 27 14
Total 159 80 16 5 8 1 183 86
Levante 2019–20 Primera División 19 0 1 0 1[c] 0 21 0
2020–21 Primera División 34 29 3 0 2[c] 1 39 30
Total 49 2 2 0 1 0 52 2
Real Madrid 2021–22 Primera División 27 14 3 2 8 1 1[c] 0 39 17
2022–23 Liga F 27 16 1 1 9 5 1[c] 0 38 22
Total 54 30 4 3 17 6 2 0 77 39
NJ/NY Gotham FC 2023 NWSL 5 2 3[d] 1 8 3
2024 NWSL 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 1
Total 6 3 1 0 3 1 10 4
Career total 380 181 30 10 25 7 8 2 443 200

International

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As of match played 5 April 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Spain 2016 2 0
2017 0 0
2018 1 0
2019 3 0
2020 1 1
2021 8 13
2022 14 6
2023 14 7
2024 1 2
Total 44 29
Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each González goal.
List of international goals scored by Esther González
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 23 October 2020 Estadio La Cartuja, Seville, Spain   Czech Republic 1–0 4–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying
2. 18 February 2021 ASK Arena, Baku, Azerbaijan   Azerbaijan 0–1 0–13
3. 0–2
4. 0–3
5. 0–4
6. 0–12
7. 23 February 2021 La Ciudad del Fútbol, Las Rozas de Madrid   Poland 1–0 3–0
8. 2–0
9. 21 September 2021 Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion, Budapest   Hungary 0–1 0–7 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
10. 0–2
11. 25 November 2021 Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville   Faroe Islands 1–0 12–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
12. 5–0
13. 7–0
14. 10–0
15. 25 June 2022 Nuevo Colombino, Huelva   Australia 3–0 7–0 Friendly
16. 20 July 2022 Falmer Stadium, Brighton and Hove   England 1–0 1–2 UEFA Women's Euro 2022
17. 2 September 2022 La Ciudad del Fútbol, Las Rozas de Madrid   Hungary 1–0 3–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
18. 6 September 2022   Ukraine 1–0 5–0
19. 4–0
20. 11 October 2022 El Sadar Stadium, Pamplona   United States 2–0 2–0 Friendly
21. 16 February 2023 Industree Group Stadium, Gosford, Australia   Jamaica 2–0 3–0 2023 Cup of Nations
22. 22 February 2023 McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, Australia   Czech Republic 1–0 3–0
23. 2–0
24. 29 June 2023 Estadio Román Suárez Puerta, Avilés, Spain   Panama 1–0 7–0 Friendly
25. 6–0
26. 21 July 2023 Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand   Costa Rica 3–0 3-0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
27. 1 December 2023 Estadio Municipal de Pasarón, Pontevedra, Spain   Italy 2–3 2–3 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League
28. 5 April 2024 Den Dreef, Leuven, Belgium   Belgium 5–0 7–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying
29. 7–0

Honours

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Atlético Madrid

NJ/NY Gotham FC

Spain U17

Spain

References

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  1. ^ Froh, Kani (18 June 2023). "Official: Esther leaves Real Madrid". Managing Madrid. SB Nation. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  2. ^ Release, Gotham FC Communications-Press (23 August 2023). "Gotham FC signs World Cup champion Esther Gonzalez of Spain". NJ/NY Gotham FC. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Match Recap: Gotham FC Rallies Back from Two Goal Deficit to Tie Courage 3-3". NJ/NY Gotham FC. 2 September 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Gotham FC Match Recap: Electrifying Home Debut for World Cup Champion Esther González with both goals in 2-0 victory". NJ/NY Gotham FC. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  5. ^ "NWSL Championship score: NY/NJ Gotham FC win title as OL Reign lose final, Megan Rapinoe to early injury". CBS Sports. 12 November 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  6. ^ "WC-winner Gonzalez leads Gotham past Thorns". ESPN.com. 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Esther Makes NWSL History in Gotham FC's 5-1 Victory". National Women's Soccer League. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  8. ^ "2024 NWSL Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Washington Spirit 1–1 NJ/NY Gotham FC". ESPN. 16 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  10. ^ Malinowski and Ribeyra top table UEFA.com
  11. ^ "4 newcomers to the Spanish squad". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 5 March 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  12. ^ "PDominant Spain open World Cup with stylish win". RNZ. 23 July 2023.
  13. ^ "NWSL Championship highlights: Gotham FC crowned champions as Rapinoe, Krieger end careers". USA Today. 11 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
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