Borja López Menéndez (; born 2 February 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Swiss Challenge League club Bellinzona.
He had two spells with Sporting de Gijón, totalling 81 games and two goals in the Segunda División as well as making three appearances for Rayo Vallecano in La Liga, and one for Barcelona on their way to winning the Copa del Rey in 2016–17. Abroad, he featured in a lone Ligue 1 match for Monaco while also playing in Portugal, Croatia, Belgium and Switzerland.
Club career Sporting Gijón Born in Gijón, Asturias, López was a Sporting de Gijón youth graduate. On 18 December 2011, he made his senior debut for the B side against Getafe CF B.
López made his first-team debut on 1 November 2012, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home win over CA Osasuna in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey.El Molinón sigue siendo un fortín (El Molinón still a fortress); Marca, 1 November 2012 (in Spanish) He made his Segunda División debut on the 16th, again starting but in a 2–3 home loss to SD Ponferradina.Los bercianos se adueñan de El Molinón (Bercians take over El Molinón); Marca, 16 November 2012 (in Spanish)
On 31 January 2013, López was promoted to the Asturians' main squad alongside Luis Hernández.Borja pasa a llevar el dorsal 20; Luis Hernández, el 2, y se van cedidos Iñigo Rodríguez y Raúl Rodrigo (Borja changes to number 20; Luis Hérnandez, 2, and Iñigo Rodríguez and Raúl Rodrigo leave on loan) ; Sporting Gijón, 31 January 2013 (in Spanish)
Monaco On 2 August 2013, López signed a four-year contract with high-spending AS Monaco FC of Ligue 1 for a €2.2 million fee.Ligue 1: Monaco sign Spain under-19 international Borja Lopez from Sporting Gijon; Sky Sports, 2 August 2013 He played three games for the principality team, his sole in the league being 20 minutes as a substitute for Marcel Tisserand in a 2–2 draw at FC Sochaux-Montbéliard on 20 October.
López was loaned to La Liga's Rayo Vallecano in late January 2014, until the end of the season.Borja López, cedido por el Mónaco al Rayo Vallecano (Borja López, loaned by Mónaco to Rayo Vallecano) ; Rayo Herald, 29 January 2014 (in Spanish) He made his debut in the competition on 29 March, starting the 5–0 defeat at Real Madrid.
On 29 January 2015, López moved to Deportivo de La Coruña on loan until June.Borja López aterriza mañana en A Coruña (Borja López lands tomorrow in A Coruña); Deportivo La Coruña, 29 January 2015 (in Spanish) On 4 July, in the same situation, he joined Portuguese Primeira Liga club F.C. Arouca.
Barcelona On 29 January 2016, López joined FC Barcelona on a two-and-a-half-year deal, and was assigned to the reserves in the third division. His only official appearance for the main squad took place on 30 November, when he played the entire 1–1 away draw with Hércules CF in the domestic cup.
Later career On 30 June 2017, López switched teams and countries again after signing for HNK Hajduk Split in Croatia. On 6 August 2019, he returned to his first club Sporting on a free transfer.
López agreed to a three-year contract at S.V. Zulte Waregem of the Belgian Pro League in June 2022. On 1 February 2024, after making no appearances in the first half of the campaign, he returned to Spain and its second tier with CD Leganés, on loan. He totalled just 45 minutes for the champions, enough to earn a winners' medal.
On 7 March 2025, López signed a short-term deal with Primera Federación side AD Ceuta FC.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSporting Gijón B2010–11Segunda División B00————002011–1220————202012–1380————80Total100————100Sporting Gijón 2012–13Segunda División19020———210Monaco 2013–14Ligue 1100010——202014–15000010——10Total100020——30Rayo Vallecano (loan)2013–14La Liga3000———30Deportivo (loan)2014–15La Liga0000———00Arouca (loan)2015–16Primeira Liga000030——30Barcelona B2015–16Segunda División B100————1002016–17152———20172Total252———20272Barcelona2016–17La Liga0010—000010Hajduk Split2017–18Croatian Football League28230—50—3622018–1923010—40—2802019–200000—10—10Total51240—100—652Sporting Gijón2019–20Segunda División12210———1322020–2133021———3512021–2217040———210Total62271———561Zulte Waregem2022–23Belgian Pro League19120———2112023–24Challenger Pro League0000———00Total19120———211Career total190712150100202178
Honours Barcelona Copa del Rey: 2016–17
Leganés Segunda División: 2023–24
Ceuta Primera Federación: 2024–25
References
External links