Txiki Begiristain

Basque winger who starred for Real Sociedad and Barcelona, then became a top football director.

Aitor "Txiki" Begiristain Mujika (born 12 August 1964) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left winger or forward. He was best known for his spells at Real Sociedad and Barcelona, winning eight major titles with the latter, including four La Liga championships and the 1992 European Cup. He represented the Spain national team in one World Cup and one European Championship. Begiristain worked as a director of football after retiring, spending seven years at Barcelona and 13 at Premier League club Manchester City.

Quick Facts

Club appearances: Over 1,000 competitive games (622 in La Liga)

Lore & Background

Begiristain began his professional career with Real Sociedad in 1982. He scored the second goal in the 1987 Copa del Rey final against Atlético Madrid, which was eventually won on penalties after a 2–2 draw. In the 1987–88 campaign, he helped his team to finish runners-up in both league and cup. Within a month, he, along with Bakero and López Rekarte, signed for Barcelona. He scored in his league debut for Barcelona, a 2–0 home win over Espanyol, and finished his first year with 38 games and 12 goals, adding two in nine matches in the victorious UEFA Cup Winners' Cup campaign. During seven seasons at Barcelona, he played 313 official matches and scored 81 goals, with a career-best 15 in 1992–93. Among his best moments were hat-tricks against Real Valladolid in 1991 and Real Zaragoza two years later. In 1995, he signed for Deportivo de La Coruña, where he helped his new team win the Supercopa de España. During the last season in Galicia, he only appeared ten times, but scored against Extremadura in the final round, granting Depor a third-place finish. He closed out his career in 1999 at 35, after three years with the Urawa Red Diamonds in the Japanese J1 League.

Reader's Guide

Begiristain earned 22 caps with six goals for Spain, making his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Czechoslovakia on 24 February 1988 in a friendly held in Málaga. He represented the nation at UEFA Euro 1988 and the 1994 FIFA World Cup, playing his last game in the latter competition, a 3–0 round-of-16 win over Switzerland where he closed the score from a penalty. After retiring, he worked as a commentator for Televisió de Catalunya before becoming director of football at Barcelona in 2003. On 28 June 2010 he declared that, with president Joan Laporta leaving, it was the right time for him to part ways. He joined Manchester City on 28 October 2012 in the same capacity. During his tenure, the team won the national championship seven times – and the treble in the 2022–23 season. In October 2024, Begiristain announced he would be departing City the following June after 13 years, being replaced by Sporting CP's Hugo Viana. He officially left on 31 July 2025.