Raya's remarkable rise through senior football
Raya's remarkable rise through senior football
Sat, May 30, 2026 at 6:57 AM UTC
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Raya's remarkable rise through senior football
Saturday afternoon. Kick-off approaching. Preparations complete. Crowd filing in. Excitement building.
David Raya fastens his gloves and breathes out.
But this is not the Champions League final. This is Moss Rose, home of National League side Macclesfield Town and a teenage Spanish goalkeeper is embarking on a journey that will lead him to the biggest stage in European football.
In front of fewer than 1,500 spectators, Raya was part of a Southport side beaten 3-0 by Macclesfield in September 2014.
Now aged 30, he is set to become only the third person to make the journey from non-league football to the Champions League final when Arsenal face holders Paris St-Germain on Saturday.
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Raya will join Steve Finnan and Chris Smalling in achieving that feat.
Full-back Finnan, who lifted the 2005 title with Liverpool, had earlier played for Welling United in the National League, while centre-back Smalling turned out for Maidstone before going on to be an unused substitute when Manchester United lost the 2011 final to Barcelona.
Even people who have witnessed the journey from a 19-year-old making his first-team breakthrough - after joining Southport on loan from Blackburn Rovers - have struggled to envision Raya's rise.
Paul Carden, Southport's former assistant manager, said: "I don't think anybody could have predicted or scripted it. You wouldn't be 100% surprised but you wouldn't have put a bet on him."
Read the full piece on Raya's ascent here
Source: “AOL Sports”
