1. Early life and youth career
Raúl Fernández was born in Bilbao, Biscay, Spain. His football journey began at a young age, starting with Colegio Francés from 1997 to 1998. At the age of 10, in 1998, he joined the renowned youth system of Athletic Bilbao, known as Lezama. He spent eight formative years progressing through the ranks of Athletic Bilbao's youth academy, honing his skills as a goalkeeper until 2006.
2. Club career
Raúl Fernández's professional club career has spanned over a decade and a half, involving various transfers, loan spells, and significant contributions to multiple Spanish teams.
2.1. Early professional debut and initial loan spells
Fernández made his senior debut with Athletic Bilbao's reserve side, known as Bilbao Athletic, in the Segunda División B during the 2007-08 season, appearing in 19 matches. Following this, he embarked on two consecutive seasons on loan in the same division to gain further experience. First, he joined UB Conquense for the 2008-09 season, playing in 24 league matches and 2 domestic cup games. Subsequently, for the 2009-10 season, he was loaned to Granada CF. During his time at Granada, Fernández played a crucial role as the most utilized goalkeeper, significantly contributing to the club's successful return to the Segunda División after an absence of over two decades. He featured in 22 league matches for Granada during this loan spell.
2.2. Athletic Bilbao first team and subsequent transfers
Following the retirement of veteran goalkeeper Armando, Fernández was definitively promoted to Athletic Bilbao's first team for the 2010-11 season. His La Liga debut came on 23 April 2011, when he started against Basque neighbors Real Sociedad due to the suspension of longtime starter Gorka Iraizoz. He performed well, helping his team secure a 2-1 home victory. He made one appearance in the 2010-11 season, followed by one in 2011-12 (including one continental match) and three in 2012-13 (including two domestic cup and three continental matches), totaling 5 league appearances for Athletic Bilbao's first team.
On 10 July 2013, Fernández was loaned to CD Numancia in the Segunda División for the 2013-14 season, where he made 11 league appearances and 1 domestic cup appearance. After his loan, on 18 July of the following year, he agreed to a one-year deal with Racing de Santander, also in the Segunda División, appearing in 4 league matches. His contract with Racing was terminated on 22 January 2015, and he promptly joined Real Valladolid in the same league, making one appearance. On 30 June 2015, after serving as a backup at Valladolid, he signed with CD Mirandés, another Segunda División club. In his single season with Mirandés, he made 41 league appearances and 9 domestic cup appearances, totaling 50 competitive games.
2.3. Tenure at UD Las Palmas and injury setbacks
As a free agent, Raúl Fernández joined fellow second-tier club Levante UD on 1 July 2016. He played a pivotal role during the 2016-17 season, appearing in 33 league matches and helping the team achieve promotion to La Liga. In the subsequent 2017-18 La Liga season, he made 11 league appearances for Levante.
On 23 July 2018, Fernández signed a three-year contract with UD Las Palmas. However, his tenure at the club was significantly impacted by a series of severe injuries. In April 2019, during a match against Cádiz CF, he sustained a hand injury and a left-knee injury. While initially expected to miss only the remainder of the 2018-19 season, these injuries kept him sidelined for the entirety of the 2019-20 season as well. After experiencing a setback in his recovery, he faced contractual challenges when UD Las Palmas temporarily applied for a temporary employment regulation file (ERTE), which left him unregistered until January 2021. This decision was later revoked, allowing him to be re-registered. He made a total of 32 league appearances in his first season (2018-19) and 28 league appearances in the 2021-22 season for Las Palmas after his long injury layoff.
2.4. Return to Granada and later career
On 18 July 2022, Raúl Fernández returned to Granada CF on a two-year deal, marking his second spell with the club. He was the first-choice goalkeeper during the 2022-23 season, where his stellar performance was instrumental in Granada achieving promotion back to the top tier, La Liga. Despite this success, successive physical problems in the 2023-24 season led him to lose his starting position, first to André Ferreira and subsequently to Augusto Batalla. He departed from Granada in May 2024, having made 31 league appearances in 2022-23 and 4 in 2023-24 during his second stint.
On 13 July 2024, Fernández rejoined CD Mirandés on a one-year contract, making it his second period with the club.
3. Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Basconia | 2006-07 | Tercera División | 29 | 0 | - | - | - | 29 | 0 | |||
| Bilbao Athletic | 2007-08 | Segunda División B | 19 | 0 | - | - | - | 19 | 0 | |||
| Conquense (loan) | 2008-09 | Segunda División B | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 26 | 0 | ||
| Granada (loan) | 2009-10 | Segunda División B | 22 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| Athletic Bilbao | 2007-08 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010-11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2011-12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2012-13 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 8 | 0 | |||
| Total | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | 11 | 0 | |||
| Numancia (loan) | 2013-14 | Segunda División | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 12 | 0 | ||
| Racing Santander | 2014-15 | Segunda División | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | 4 | 0 | |||
| Valladolid | 2014-15 | Segunda División | 1 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Mirandés | 2015-16 | Segunda División | 41 | 0 | 9 | 0 | - | - | 50 | 0 | ||
| Levante | 2016-17 | Segunda División | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2017-18 | La Liga | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 13 | 0 | |||
| Total | 44 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 47 | 0 | ||||
| Las Palmas | 2018-19 | Segunda División | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2021-22 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |||
| Total | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 60 | 0 | |||
| Granada | 2022-23 | Segunda División | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2023-24 | La Liga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 35 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 295 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 316 | 0 | ||
4. Honours
Raúl Fernández has achieved several club titles and individual awards throughout his professional football career.
- Granada
- Segunda División: 2022-23
- Segunda División B: 2009-10
- Levante
- Segunda División: 2016-17
- Individual
- Ricardo Zamora Trophy (Segunda División): 2016-17, 2022-23