Esther González

Esther González Rodríguez (born 8 December 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi Women's Premier League club Al Qadsiah and the Spain national team. She is the all-time top scorer for Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She also previously played for Atlético Málaga, Sporting de Huelva, Atlético de Madrid, and Real Madrid.

Club career Real Madrid

González played for Real Madrid from 2021 to 2023. She left the club as its all-time top women's scorer with 39 goals in 77 games.

Gotham FC 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. She made her club debut on 2 September, coming on for Sinead Farrelly in a 3–3 draw away to the North Carolina Courage. The following game, she made her first start and scored her first and second NWSL goals in a 2–0 home win over the Washington Spirit. 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 NWSL championship.

On 24 March 2024, Esther began the season with a goal in a 1–0 victory over the Portland Thorns. On 5 October, she assisted Rose Lavelle and scored two goals of her own against Bay FC within 4 minutes and 20 seconds, marking the fastest three-goal contribution in NWSL history. 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. 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.

In May 2025, after starting the season with seven goals in nine games, Esther signed a new contract with Gotham through 2027. On May 25, she scored in the 82nd minute of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup final against Tigres, burying the rebound after Itzel González stopped her penalty kick. Gotham won 1–0 to become the inaugural winners of the competition. She finished the season as the NWSL Golden Boot runner-up with 13 goals before winning her second NWSL Championship in the playoffs.

On 14 March 2026, Esther scored the opening goal of Gotham's season in a 1–0 win over Boston Legacy, coming on as a substitute to earn her 25th career NWSL league goal, the 35th player in the league to reach the milestone. On 26 June, scored scored a penalty in a 2–0 win over the Kansas City Current in the NWSL Challenge Cup, becoming the first NWSL player to score in three different finals. On 27 July, the club announced that Esther had agreed to a mutual contract termination as she took a temporary break from soccer for personal reasons. She left the club as its all-time top scorer in all competitions.

Al Qadsiah FC In August 2026, Al-Qadsiah signed Esther González, making her the first player to win the Women’s World Cup to play in the Saudi Women’s Premier League.

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

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

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.

On 10 June 2025, González was called up to the Spain squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2025. On July 27, 2025, she started in the tournament's final as Spain finished runners up, losing 3–1 on penalties to England following a 1–1 draw.

Personal life González is married to Estefanía Cruz. Cruz gave birth to their first baby on 6 January 2026. After moving to Saudi Arabia, González deleted all images of her family life from social media. Her move drew criticism from LGBTQ+ communities given same-sex relationships and sexual activity are illegal in Saudi Arabia.

Career statistics

Club

International

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 1–0 4–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying 2. 18 February 2021 ASK Arena, Baku, Azerbaijan 1–0 13–0 3. 2–0 4. 3–0 5. 4–0 6. 12–0 7.23 February 2021 La Ciudad del Fútbol, Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain 1–0 3–0 8. 2–0 9. 21 September 2021 Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion, Budapest, Hungary 1–0 7–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification 10. 2–0 11. 25 November 2021 Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville, Spain 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, Spain 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, Spain 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 El Sadar Stadium, Pamplona, Spain 2–0 2–0 Friendly 21. 16 February 2023 Industree Group Stadium, Gosford, Australia 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 Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand 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 League28. 5 April 2024 Den Dreef, Leuven, Belgium 5–0 7–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying29. 7–030. 4 April 2025 Estádio Capital do Móvel, Paços de Ferreira, Portugal 4–2 4–2 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League31. 8 April 2025 Balaídos, Vigo, Spain 7–0 7–132. 30 May 2025 Den Dreef, Leuven, Belgium 1–0 5–133. 2–034. 3 July 2025 Stadion Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland 1–0 5–0 UEFA Women's Euro 202535. 4–036. 7 July 2025 Arena Thun, Thun, Switzerland 3–2 6–237. 11 July 2025 Stadion Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland 3–1 3–1

Honours Atlético Madrid Primera División: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 Copa de la Reina: 2016 Gotham FC NWSL Championship: 2023, 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup: 2026 CONCACAF W Champions Cup: 2024–25 Spain U17 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship runner-up: 2009 Spain FIFA Women's World Cup: 2023 UEFA Women's Championship runner-up: 2025