Leila Ouahabi El Ouahabi (born 22 March 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Spain national team. She has also played for the Catalonia national team. A full international since 2016, Ouahabi has represented the Spain national team in the 2019 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2022.
Born in Catalonia, Ouahabi played youth football with Barcelona before being elevated to become a first team player for the 2011–12 season. She left Barcelona to join Valencia in 2013, before returning to the club in 2016. She had won numerous accolades with Barcelona, which includes the UEFA Champions League, Primera División, and Copa de la Reina. She has also previously been a member of Women's Super League club Manchester City and the Chicago Stars of the NWSL.
Club career Ouahabi was born in Mataró, Catalonia, to a family of Moroccan origin. Growing up, she would play futsal with her brother and at one point joined a futsal team of eleven other boys. The first club she joined was a girl's youth team of the club UE Vilassar de Mar.
Ouahabi was thirteen when she joined Barcelona's youth teams in 2007. After five years of elevating through the ranks of La Masia, she became a first-team player for the 2011–12 season. This season saw Barcelona achieve their first ever league title win. Ouahabi was frustrated with a lack of playing time after playing a second year in the Spanish Primera División with Barcelona.
Ouahabi joined Valencia in 2013, where she remained until 2016.
In the summer of 2016, Ouahabi re-signed with Barcelona from Valencia. She went on to win three Primera División titles, five Copa de la Reina titles, two Supercopa de España titles and the UEFA Champions League in her second spell at Barcelona, including the continental treble of Primera División, Copa de la Reina and Champions League in 2021.
Ouahabi joined Manchester City from Barcelona in 2022 on a two-year deal. She made her club debut in a UEFA Women's Champions League tie against FC Tomiris Turan on 19 August 2022, and her goal debut in the first minute of a 5-0 victory against West Ham United, on 21 April 2024. In February 2024, she signed a two-year contract extension with Manchester City, keeping her at the club until the summer of 2026. Ouahabi helped Manchester City to win their first WSL title in 10 years, as well as the 2025-26 Women's FA Cup, completing a domestic double trophy lift in 2026 before Manchester City announced her departure on 29 May 2026.
In June 2026, National Women's Soccer League team Chicago Stars announced that they had acquired Ouahabi upon the expiration of her contract with Manchester City. She signed for the American side on a 3-year deal, with her contract running through until the end of 2028. Ouahabi made her NWSL debut on 18 July 2026, making a substitute cameo in a 2–0 loss to Angel City FC. She made 11 appearances (9 starts) for Chicago before mutually terminating her contract with the Stars three months later.
The same day that her contract was terminated with the Stars, Ouahabi joined Gotham FC on a contract through 2028. Her signing was announced at halftime of the Gotham FC Hello Kitty Day game against Angel City FC.
International career
Ouahabi has played for Spain's U19 national team. She earned her first senior national team callup in February 2016 under newly appointed Spain coach Jorge Vilda. A month later, Ouahabi made her senior international debut for Spain on 4 March 2016, starting a 0–0 friendly draw with Romania in Mogoșoaia.
In February 2017, Ouahabi was called up to the Spain squad for the 2017 Algarve Cup, her first call-up for a senior national team tournament. Her first international goal turned out to be the winning goal in the 2017 Algarve Cup final against Canada.
On 20 May 2019, Ouahabi was called up to the Spain squad for the 2019 FIFA World Cup. At the 2019 World Cup Ouahabi started one group stage match, a 0–0 draw against China. The draw was enough to get them past the group stages for the first time in Spain's history where they would then face the United States in the Round of 16. Ouahabi started that Round of 16 match, where Spain had a convincing performance but lost 1–2 against the eventual tournament winners. She ended the tournament having played 180 minutes.
Ouahabi was part of the Spain squad called up for the UEFA Euro 2022. She was later one of Las 15, a group of players who made themselves unavailable for international selection in September 2022 due to their dissatisfaction with head coach Jorge Vilda, and among the dozen who were not involved 11 months later as Spain won the World Cup.Jorge Vilda Recalls Players Who Resigned Back Into His Spanish World Cup Squad , Asif Burhan, Forbes, June 12, 2023Spain v Sweden: Las 15+3, An International Team In Chaos And Lonely Jorge Vilda , Simon Lillicrap, The Sportsman, 14 August 2023
On 10 June 2025, Ouahabi was called up to the Spain squad for the UEFA Euro 2025.
Career statistics
Club
+Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBarcelona2010–11Primera División2010 — — —302011–12Primera División13100 — — —1312012–13Primera División6100 — — —61Total21210———222València2013–14Primera División29020 — — —3102014–15Primera División26230 — — —2922015–16Primera División30120 — — —321Total85370———923Barcelona2016–17Primera División21030 —71 —3112017–18Primera División6000 —30 —902018–19Primera División21030 —60 —3002019–20Primera División14030 —50202402020–21Primera División22130 —80103412021–22Primera División25140 —9120402Total1092160—382501684Manchester City2022–23Women's Super League160204020 —2402023–24Women's Super League1713030——2312024–25Women's Super League200413080—3512025–26Women's Super League1504040——230Total681131140100—1052Career total28373711404825038711
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSpain20168020171212018102019120202030202180202290202440202590Total661
Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ouahabi goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Leila OuahabiNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition18 March 2017Estádio Algarve, Algarve1–01-02017 Algarve Cup
Honours Barcelona Primera División: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 Copa de la Reina: 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 Supercopa Femenina: 2019–20, 2021–22 Copa Catalunya: 2017, 2018, 2019 UEFA Women's Champions League: 2020–21 Manchester City Women's Super League: 2025–26 Women's FA Cup: 2025–26
Spain UEFA Women's Championship runner-up: 2025 Algarve Cup: 2017
References
External links
Leila Ouahabi at BDFutbol