Mapi León

María Pilar León Cebrián (born 13 June 1995), known as Mapi León, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liga F club Barcelona and the Spain national team.

León began her career with her hometown club of Prainsa Zaragoza before moving on to Espanyol and Atlético Madrid.

At Atlético, she made the transition from a left-back to a center-back under the guidance of coach Ángel Villacampa.

León won the first league and Copa de la Reina titles of her career at the club.

María Pilar León Cebrián was born 13 June 1995, to parents Javier and Pilar.

León was raised with an older brother in La Almozara, a district of Zaragoza.

León started playing volleyball at age seven, and played many other sports as a child including baseball.

Later she started playing futsal for local team Gran Vía, where she played as a winger.

Around this age, she was granted a scholarship to go to an art school, but turned down the award to focus on football.

León was discovered by David Magaña, a former Zaragoza CFF sporting director, who noticed her and her brother Javi playing football while shopping in a Carrefour supermarket.

She began training with the club at age 11.

After developing with their B team for two years, León debuted in the Primera División with Prainsa Zaragoza when she was 16.

Her match debut with Zaragoza was against Barcelona.

In addition, she attracted the attention of Atlético Madrid, who finished 3rd in the league in the 2012–13 league season.

In 2013, Zaragoza made it to the final of the Copa de la Reina, where they faced León's future club FC Barcelona.

In her last ever match with the club, León started the final as Zaragoza lost 4–0 to Barcelona, who completed their first domestic double.

At 18, León joined RCD Espanyol in 2013, where she remained for only one season.

Around this time, she began getting call-ups with the senior national team.

In 2014, León joined Atlético Madrid.

In her first season at the club, Atlético finished in second place in the league behind Barcelona, prompting both Atlético and León's debut in the UEFA Women's Champions League.

In 2015, León debuted in the UWCL against Russian side Zorky Krasnogorsk, where they were defeated 2–0 in the first leg.

Atlético later came back 3–0 to win the tie, but were defeated in the Round of 16 by Lyon on a 9–1 aggregate score.

Within her time at Atlético, León switched from playing as a left-back to playing as a centre-back under the influence of former left-back and Atlético head coach Ángel Villacampa.

León plays internationally with the Spanish national team, making her debut in 2016, in qualifiers for the 2017 UEFA Women's Euro.

León won the first league title of her career in the 2016–17 season, when Atlético defeated Real Sociedad on the final matchday of the season.

Her performances throughout the season earned her a place in the league's best XI of the season, as well as putting her on FC Barcelona's radar.

In 2017, León was the first paid transfer in Spanish women's football history when she signed for Barcelona from Atlético Madrid, with a fee of 50,000 euros.

Domestically with Barcelona, she has won four Copas de la Reina, three league titles, and two Supercopa Femenina.

Since then she has featured in three major international competitions for La Roja in UEFA Women's Euro 2017, 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, and UEFA Women's Euro 2022.

During the summer transfer window of 2017, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid underwent a two-month-long transfer saga in their negotiations for León.

Prior to her transfer to Barcelona, she trained away from the group, and later fell ill during contract negotiations.

In her episode of Barcelona's documentary series Dare to Play, Leon recounts how Atlético interpreted this as her faking an illness in an attempt to force through a move to Barcelona.

On 24 August 2017, León's transfer to Barcelona was made official, the club's sixth signing ahead of the 2017–18 season.

With a year remaining on her contract with Atlético Madrid, León signed for a fee of €50,000, becoming the first paid transfer in the history of Spanish women's football.

In her first season at the club, she won the 2018 Copa de la Reina, her first title with Barcelona.

León kept a clean sheet for 120 minutes against her former club Atlético Madrid, as they won the match after a goal late in extra time.

In October 2018, León scored her first ever Champions League goal in the Round of 16 against Glasgow City.

On the continental stage, she has played in three Champions League finals with the club in 2019, 2021, and 2022, winning the 2021 version as part of the first continental treble in the club's history.

In 2019, León played the first Champions League Final of her career against Lyon, where Barcelona conceded four goals within the first 30 minutes of the match, and ultimately lost 1–4 against the European giants.

Following the conclusion of the Champions League, León renewed her contract with Barcelona for three more years until 2022.