The keys to Athletic Club's success at the top
Athletic Club’s success from 2024 to 2025, which included winning Spain’s elite cup competition, the Copa Del Rey, and finishing fourth in the 2024/25 La Liga to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, is remarkable. And that’s not only because they’re competing against giants like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
They also have an historic and unique strategy of tradition of only developing, signing and playing footballers of Basque heritage. That means they can only sign players and bring them through if they’re from the Basque regions of Spain and France.
But despite such a limited talent pool to choose from in the transfer market, they are one of only three clubs to never be relegated from La Liga. And they’re having the most success they’ve had for 40 years, when teams around them are spending hundreds of millions on superstar players.
Victor Moreno, Athletic Club’s Director of Sporting Development and Transfers, says: “Our philosophy, far from being a hindrance, is a huge advantage over other clubs. These players feel a sense of pride and belonging that is difficult to match or copy in any other club model. Of course, there are big clubs that pose threats to us. This is the market and the result of increasingly globalised football. In this sense, being different or feeling different can be a virtue that plays in our favour.
“Also relevant is the fact that we are the best club in the world in terms of promoting players to their first team, ensuring that a high percentage of these players who make their debut become permanent members of the elite. These are real statistics, not corporate rhetoric. We combine opportunity with feeling, and we believe this is something highly valuable in this industry.”
Left to right: Athletic Club's Victor Moreno, Mikel Gonzalez (Director of Football), Eneko Bóveda (Academy Director)
More so than anyone, Athletic Club have to innovate to compete with the very best and fight for trophies and Champions League qualification.
That’s why they have turned to a global transfer marketplace: TransferRoom.
TransferRoom is an online platform that is used by the transfer market decision-makers at more than 800 clubs and 550 verified Trusted Agencies across 130 leagues.
Athletic Club, who joined TransferRoom to 2022, get direct access to the right contacts from that global network of clubs and agencies, as well as real-time market intelligence including comprehensive player and player data and what clubs are looking for in the market.
TransferRoom explained
Moreno adds: “There are two clear areas of support. The first is the global vision: statistics, market knowledge, and analysis. Over the years of using and performing with the platform, we have developed our own language and have been able to identify the different business opportunities that best suit us, with a vision of constant expansion and growth. The second is the possibility of exploring and exploiting these opportunities thanks to the connections generated through TransferRoom. Accessing club executives around the world has never been easier.”
Such has been the impact of TransferRoom for Athletic Club’s football department, led by Director of Football Mikel González, in 2025 they decided to upgrade to a higher-value subscription.
A core part of the enhanced offering Athletic Club benefit from is TransferRoom’s API, which provides clubs with a wealth of real-time transfer market data intelligence, through a comprehensive range of datasets in one dashboard that can be easily integrated into a club’s in-house systems.
“Our drive to grow compels us to rely on the best tools available,” Moreno adds. “TransferRoom has experienced significant growth in recent years, and its vision aligns perfectly with ours. By increasing support, we're able to design new tools for management, scouting, and predictive methods. Of course, TransferRoom’s API also played a role in this decision.
What you need to know about TransferRoom's API
“There's a wealth of relevant information on TransferRoom’s API. For us, salary estimates, market knowledge, and optimal loan scenarios for our players are just a few. We also build analyses and predictions based on sporting and market values. The possibilities are endless.
The API allows clubs to make better informed decisions when it comes to recruiting players or loaning and selling talent, and the unique datasets in the dashboard include metrics TransferRoom’s Expected Transfer Value (xTV), Player Ratings and Potential Rating, and other intelligence such as Salary Benchmarking across the global game and a Loans Destination finder tool.
“There are undoubtedly two [main benefits of the API]: centralising our services on the club's internal platform and taking advantage of the excellent market, player, and coach data that the platform provides.
“Above all, it helps us build a picture of the player and his context, both sporting and financial, with a vision focused on the next step. We are able to centralise and automate processes that help us make better decisions, both in terms of the market and internally with our players.
This modern approach of combining real-time market intelligence, unrivalled opportunities to build a global network and building a data-led strategy for squad planning, recruitment and outplacement of players, is also evident when Athletic Club attend TransferRoom’s in-person events, which they get even greater access to through their newly upgraded subscription.
Athletic's Mikel González on value of TransferRoom events
Describing how they approach TransferRoom’s Summits and Deal Days, where 100s of clubs and a select number of agencies meet for one-to-one meetings and exclusive networking and transfer talks within the space of 1-3 days, Moreno says the preparation and groundwork for in-person meetings starts on the TransferRoom platform.
Moreno says: “In a way, it's about consolidating all the work done, starting on the platform and continuing via telephone. Being able to hold in-person meetings and connect directly is the definitive step for relationships to crystallise and consolidate. Having the opportunity to hold meetings with clubs and agents from around the world in a single space is incredibly valuable. The number of participants is constantly increasing, and this increase brings with it greater opportunities for all the clubs who attend with the intention of connecting and making the most of the event.
“We place special importance on creating an efficient agenda, both for the event itself and for individuals. We take advantage of the opportunity to continue meetings after the event has concluded. We also try to prepare our objectives based on platform interactions and the data obtained through it. We try to design a strategy tailored to the clubs' needs, presenting realistic options and supporting contextualised videos and data.”
How to join TransferRoom
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