Nahikari García · Biography

The first trophy of Nahikari García Pérez's career came on 11 May 2019 at the Nuevo Los Cármenes in Granada. That day Real Sociedad came from behind to beat Atlético de Madrid 2-1 in the Copa de la Reina final, and she scored the winner in the second half. It was the first major trophy in the history of the Basque club's women's team. The forward was born on 10 March 1997 in Urnieta, in the Spanish province of Gipuzkoa. By the time of that final she had already played for every Spain youth side, and she later played for Real Madrid, Athletic Club, Nottingham Forest and Denver Summit in the United States.

Early years at Añorga

She grew up at Añorga KKE, the San Sebastián club that has long been a nursery for women's football in Gipuzkoa. She joined as a child and spent seven years there before stepping up to the first team in 2012. In January 2014 she moved to Real Sociedad and made her top-flight debut on 5 January that year, shortly before her seventeenth birthday.

Seven seasons at Real Sociedad

At Zubieta she became the team's main attacking reference. Between 2014 and 2021 she made 200 official appearances and scored 104 goals for the club; when Athletic Club announced her signing in 2023, it described her as Real Sociedad's all-time top scorer. Her standout campaign was 2018-19, which ended with the Copa de la Reina in Granada. Atlético, that season's league champions, took the lead through Esther González. Kiana Palacios equalised soon after, and García scored the winner around the hour mark. She stayed for two more seasons, until the summer of 2021.

Real Madrid, Athletic Club and the move to America

Real Madrid confirmed her signing on 1 July 2021. Her first goal for the club came on 13 November 2021, in a 4-1 win at Real Betis, and that same season she played in the UEFA Women's Champions League group stage. She spent two seasons in Madrid before her contract ended in the summer of 2023. On 22 August 2023 she joined Athletic Club on a free transfer. In Bilbao she made 61 appearances and scored 12 goals, and she left when her deal expired on 30 June 2025.

On 4 September 2025, Denver Summit, a new NWSL franchise, announced her signing. The Colorado side was not due to start play until 2026, so it loaned her to Nottingham Forest for the rest of 2025. She made 14 official appearances for the English club and scored twice.

A youth international goalscorer

She first made her name with Spain's under-17 side. At the June 2013 European Championship in Nyon, Switzerland, Spain finished third after beating Belgium 4-0, and García won the tournament's Golden Boot with two goals; no other player scored more than once. In December that year Spain reached the final of the next U17 European Championship, held in England, and lost to Germany on penalties. In 2014 she played at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica, where Spain reached their first final at that level and lost 2-0 to Japan at the Estadio Nacional in San José.

She captained the under-19s at the 2016 European Championship, which ended in another lost final, 2-1 to France. Later that year she also wore the armband at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Papua New Guinea. Spain opened the tournament on 13 November by beating Canada 5-0, and her only goal came on 24 November against South Korea, in the 3-2 defeat that knocked Spain out in the quarter-finals.

Spain national team

Jorge Vilda gave her a first senior call-up in August 2018. She made her debut on 31 August against Finland, coming off the bench and scoring within eight minutes of a 5-1 win. On 20 May 2019 she was named in the 23-player squad for the Women's World Cup in France, Spain's second appearance at the tournament. She played in all three group games: off the bench in the 3-1 win over South Africa, the full 90 minutes of the 1-0 defeat by Germany, and as a starter in the goalless draw with China. Spain reached the World Cup round of 16 for the first time and went out to the United States.

Honours

With Real Sociedad she won the 2019 Copa de la Reina. With Spain's youth teams she took bronze at the 2013 U17 European Championship, silver at the 2014 edition, silver at the 2014 U-17 World Cup and silver at the 2016 U19 European Championship. Individually, she won the Golden Boot at the 2013 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship. Her signing by Denver Summit, announced in September 2025, made her one of the first players on the squad the club took into its debut NWSL season in 2026.