Fermín López Breaks Personal Goal + Assist Record

When the fourth official raised the board showing an ominous eight minutes of added time at El Sadar, Fermín López dropped to his knees for a few seconds, hands on his head, anticipating the agony to come. Osasuna had just scored to make it 2-1, and Barcelona was rushing to celebrate a victory that all but sealed the La Liga title.

The scene was striking because the Navarran team had already put the ball back in play with a throw-in in their own half, and the player from El Campillo, Huelva, had his back to the action, cursing those eight minutes that, at that moment, felt like an eternity. A shout from a teammate jolted him back to reality, pulling him out of his own world, and he rushed to press like a madman.

That's Fermín – pure passion, but also untamed talent. In Pamplona, he reached 30 goal contributions in the 46 official matches he's played this season – with 13 goals and 17 assists. The latest was a through ball to Ferran, setting him up to score the second goal at El Sadar. Fermín operates as an attacking midfielder, either centrally or drifting to the left when Raphinha is absent.

With Lamine Yamal injured, he was one of the players who took it upon himself to further increase his influence in the final third until the end of the season. He demonstrated this by opening the scoring for a 1-0 lead against Getafe in a 2-0 victory and by sealing the match in Pamplona with the aforementioned assist.

His 13 goals have already surpassed his most prolific season to date – the one on loan at Linares in Primera RFEF during the 2022/23 season. Those 12 goals caught the attention of Xavi Hernández, who brought him into the first team for the 2023/24 season, where he scored 11 official goals – eight in La Liga, two in the Champions League, and one in the Copa del Rey.

In Hansi Flick's first season, 2024/25, he finished with 8 goals – six in La Liga, one in the Champions League, and one in the Copa del Rey. And in the current 2025/26 campaign, he has already surpassed his previous tallies with four rounds remaining, scoring 13 goals – six in La Liga, six in the Champions League, and one in the Spanish Super Cup. The last one was against Getafe, bringing Barça closer to the La Liga title. In Pamplona, he also increased his assist count.

Analysis by Javier Gascón for "Mundo Deportivo"