| Esther González | |
| Fullname: | Esther González Rodríguez |
| Birth Date: | 8 December 1992 |
| Birth Place: | Huéscar, Spain |
| Height: | 1.61m (05.28feet) |
| Position: | Striker |
| Currentclub: | NJ/NY Gotham FC |
| Clubnumber: | 9 |
| Youthyears1: | 2000–2007 |
| Youthclubs1: | CD Huéscar |
| Years1: | 2007–2009 |
| Clubs1: | Algaidas |
| Years2: | 2009–2011 |
| Clubs2: | Levante |
| Caps2: | 47 |
| Goals2: | 12 |
| Years3: | 2011–2012 |
| Clubs3: | Atlético Málaga |
| Caps3: | 34 |
| Goals3: | 12 |
| Years4: | 2012–2013 |
| Clubs4: | Sporting de Huelva |
| Caps4: | 27 |
| Goals4: | 15 |
| Years5: | 2013–2019 |
| Clubs5: | Atlético de Madrid |
| Caps5: | 159 |
| Goals5: | 80 |
| Years6: | 2019–2021 |
| Clubs6: | Levante |
| Caps6: | 53 |
| Goals6: | 29 |
| Years7: | 2021–2023 |
| Clubs7: | Real Madrid |
| Caps7: | 54 |
| Goals7: | 30 |
| Years8: | 2023– |
| Clubs8: | NJ/NY Gotham FC |
| Caps8: | 29 |
| Goals8: | 12 |
| Nationalteam1: | Spain U19 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2016– |
| Nationalteam2: | Spain |
| Nationalcaps2: | 44 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 29 |
| Pcupdate: | 19:38, 28 March 2024 (UTC) |
| Ntupdate: | 20:37, 5 April 2024 (UTC) |
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.
González left Real Madrid as its all-time top scorer with 39 goals in 77 games.[1]
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]
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]
On December 3, 2024, The Guardian chose González at the 76th place among the top 100 women footballers in the world for 2024.[13]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | 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 | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Primera División | 34 | 29 | 3 | 0 | – | 2 | 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 | 0 | 39 | 17 | |
| 2022–23 | Liga F | 27 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 22 | ||
| Total | 54 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 77 | 39 | |||
| NJ/NY Gotham FC | 2023 | NWSL | 5 | 2 | – | – | 3 | 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 | |||
| 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.
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 23 October 2020 | 1–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying | ||
| 2. | 18 February 2021 | 0–1 | 0–13 | |||
| 3. | 0–2 | |||||
| 4. | 0–3 | |||||
| 5. | 0–4 | |||||
| 6. | 0–12 | |||||
| 7. | 23 February 2021 | 1–0 | 3–0 | |||
| 8. | 2–0 | |||||
| 9. | 21 September 2021 | 0–1 | 0–7 | |||
| 10. | 0–2 | |||||
| 11. | 25 November 2021 | 1–0 | 12–0 | |||
| 12. | 5–0 | |||||
| 13. | 7–0 | |||||
| 14. | 10–0 | |||||
| 15. | 25 June 2022 | 3–0 | 7–0 | Friendly | ||
| 16. | 20 July 2022 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |||
| 17. | 2 September 2022 | La Ciudad del Fútbol, Las Rozas de Madrid | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification | |
| 18. | 6 September 2022 | 1–0 | 5–0 | |||
| 19. | 4–0 | |||||
| 20. | 11 October 2022 | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | ||
| 21. | 16 February 2023 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2023 Cup of Nations | ||
| 22. | 22 February 2023 | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, Australia | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 23. | 2–0 | |||||
| 24. | 29 June 2023 | Estadio Román Suárez Puerta, Avilés, Spain | 1–0 | 7–0 | Friendly | |
| 25. | 6–0 | |||||
| 26. | 21 July 2023 | 3–0 | 3-0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup | ||
| 27. | 1 December 2023 | Estadio Municipal de Pasarón, Pontevedra, Spain | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League | |
| 28. | 5 April 2024 | Den Dreef, Leuven, Belgium | 5–0 | 7–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying | |
| 29. | 7–0 | |||||
Atlético Madrid
NJ/NY Gotham FC
Spain U17
Spain