Elene Gurtubay

Elene Gurtubay
Personal information
Full name Elene Gurtubay Loyo
Date of birth (2007-10-03) 3 October 2007 (age 19)
Place of birth Bilbao, Spain
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Athletic Bilbao
Number 33
Youth career
2019–2021 San Inazio
2021–2022 Bizkerre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Bizkerre B
2023–2024 Bizkerre 13 (3)
2024– Athletic Bilbao B 34 (7)
2025– Athletic Bilbao 18 (1)
International career‡
2024– Spain U19 21 (1)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Spain
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
Winner2026 Poland
UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
Winner2025 Poland
Winner2026 Bosnia-Herzegovina
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 August 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 25 August 2026

Elene Gurtubay Loyo (born 3 October 2007) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga F club Athletic Bilbao.

Club career

Born in Bilbao (Biscay, Basque Country) and raised in the Deusto district of the city, Gurtubay began her football career at local amateur clubs San Inazio and Bizkerre, where she played at senior level in the regionalised third tier (Segunda Federación) aged 15. She joined Athletic Bilbao in 2024, initially playing for the B-team who were in the same division as Bizkerre.

Having started the 2025–26 season with the reserves (who went on to win their group to gain promotion to the Primera Federación), she made her debut for Athletic's senior team in December 2025, starting in a 1–0 victory over Levante at Lezama. A week later she scored her first goal in Liga F in a 2–0 away win against Madrid CFF and remained with the main squad from then on, making 21 appearances in all competitions. In July 2026 she signed a new contract with the club running to 2029, and at the start of 2026–27 she still had her B-team squad number but was expected to continue playing for the A-team.

International career

Spain U19

Gurtubay did not feature at a major tournament for Spain at under-17 level, but was part of the squad at the 2025 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship in Poland where they finished as champions. She was still young enough to compete at the subsequent 2026 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where she had a more prominent role and scored against Austria as Spain retained their title.

Personal life

She began a degree in Telecommunications Engineering at university in 2025.

Honours

Spain U19

Spain U20

References

  1. 1 2 3 Juan Carlos Grande (27 March 2026). "Elene Gurtubay, de la grada al césped de San Mamés" [Elene Gurtubay, from the stands to the pitch at San Mamés]. Deia (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Marta Griñán (5 July 2026). "Elene Gurtubay, la ingeniera de La Rojita que crece en Lezama" [Elene Gurtubay, the Little-red engineer developing at Lezama]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Carlos Nieto (12 July 2026). "La rojiblanca Gurtubay, campeona de Europa sub'19: «Lo importante es tener los pies en el suelo»" [Red-and-white Gurtubay, U19 European Champion: "The important thing is to keep your feet on the ground"]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Elene Gurtubay signs deal until 2029". Athletic Club. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Gurtubay, Athletic Club
  6. ↑ Gurtubay, BDFutbol
  7. ↑ Elene Gurtubay, Soccerway
  8. ↑ Marta Griñán (30 July 2026). "El Athletic asegura a Gurtubay" [Athletic secures Gurtubay]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Sergio Quintana (26 August 2026). "El nueve se queda sin dueña en el reparto de dorsales del Athletic femenino" [The number 9 shirt is left without an owner in the Athletic women's squad number allocation]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "Four-goal Spain win record fourth straight Women's Under-19 EURO". UEFA. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "Spain take fifth WU19 EURO title in a row in Sarajevo". UEFA. 10 July 2026. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Spain edge DPR Korea on penalties to secure global glory". fifa.com. 27 September 2026. Retrieved 28 September 2026.