María Pilar León

María Pilar León Cebrián (born 13 June 1995), commonly known as Mapi León, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a defender for FC Barcelona and the Spain women's national team.

Mapi León
León with Barcelona in 2019
Personal information
Full name María Pilar León Cebrián
Date of birth (1995-06-13) 13 June 1995
Place of birth Zaragoza, Spain
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Left fullback, centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Barcelona
Number 4
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2011 Prainsa Zaragoza B
2011–2013 Prainsa Zaragoza
2013–2014 Espanyol 30 (4)
2014–2017 Atlético Madrid 84 (4)
2017– Barcelona 55 (3)
National team‡
2016– Spain 37 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 April 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 October 2020
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is León and the second or maternal family name is Cebrián.

Early training

León started playing volleyball at age seven and then started indoor football. She enjoyed baseball as well.[1]

Career

After playing a first year in the Spanish Primera División with Prainsa Zaragoza, Mapi joined RCD Espanyol[2] in 2013, where she remained until only one season, before signing to Atlético de Madrid.[3]

On 24 August 2017, León was transferred to Barcelona for €50,000, becoming the first paid transfer in the history of the Spanish women's football.[4]

International career

Her match debut happened on 15 September 2016, coming on as a substitute during Spain's UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying 13–0 win against Montenegro in Las Rozas de Madrid.

Personal life

León's father is a mechanic and her mother came from a poor family.[1] She is openly lesbian.[5] León has also stated that she'd like to focus on her tattoos and tattoo design after retiring from football.[6]

Honours

Club
Atletico Madrid
FC Barcelona

References
  1. Giovio, Eleonora (11 June 2019). "Mapi León, la central que vigila hasta lo que pasa en la grada". El País. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  2. Mapi León and Cláudia Neto, news signings for the Espanyol
  3. "La zaragozana María León ficha por el Atlético de Madrid" [Zaragozan Mapi León signs for Atlético de Madrid] (in Spanish). Espíritu Deportivo. 7 August 2014.
  4. Santiago, Lucãa (24 August 2017). "La aragonesa Mapi León firma por el Barça". Heraldo de Aragón. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  5. "Mapi León: "Ya nos tocaba no estar a la sombra"" [Mapi León: "It was already our turn not to be in the shade"] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018. I do not need to shout to everyone that I am a lesbian, but I do believe that society needed it
  6. "Leon: My blood boils because I hate to lose". FIFA. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.


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