# 2023–24 Real Sociedad season

The 2023–24 season was Real Sociedad's 114th season in existence and 14th consecutive season in La Liga. They also competed in the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League, returning to the top European club tournament after a nine-year absence.
This was the club's first season since 2014–15 without Asier Illarramendi, who departed to join American club FC Dallas.

## Players
### First-team squad

    As of 19 January 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ESP | Álex Remiro |
| 2 | DF | ESP | Álvaro Odriozola |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Aihen Muñoz |
| 4 | MF | ESP | Martín Zubimendi |
| 5 | DF | ESP | Igor Zubeldia |
| 6 | DF | ESP | Aritz Elustondo (vice-captain) |
| 7 | FW | ESP | Ander Barrenetxea |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Mikel Merino (3rd captain) |
| 9 | FW | ESP | Carlos Fernández |
| 10 | FW | ESP | Mikel Oyarzabal (captain) |
| 11 | FW | SUR | Sheraldo Becker |
| 12 | MF | RUS | Arsen Zakharyan |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 13 | GK | ESP | Unai Marrero |
| 14 | FW | JPN | Takefusa Kubo |
| 15 | MF | ESP | Urko González de Zárate |
| 16 | MF | ESP | Jon Ander Olasagasti |
| 17 | DF | SCO | Kieran Tierney (on loan from Arsenal) |
| 18 | DF | MLI | Hamari Traoré |
| 19 | FW | NGA | Umar Sadiq |
| 20 | DF | ESP | Jon Pacheco |
| 21 | FW | POR | André Silva (on loan from RB Leipzig) |
| 22 | MF | ESP | Beñat Turrientes |
| 23 | MF | ESP | Brais Méndez |
| 24 | DF | ESP | Robin Le Normand |

### Reserve team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 28 | MF | ESP | Jon Magunazelaia |
| 29 | MF | ESP | Pablo Marín |
| 30 | GK | ESP | Gaizka Ayesa |
| 36 | DF | ESP | Jon Martín |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 37 | GK | ESP | Aitor Fraga |
| 38 | MF | ESP | Alberto Dadie |
| 39 | DF | VEN | Jon Aramburu |
| 40 | FW | NOR | Bryan Fiabema |

### Other players under contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ESP | Martín Merquelanz |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ESP | Álex Sola (at Alavés until 30 June 2024) |
| — | DF | ESP | Diego Rico (at Getafe until 30 June 2024) |
| — | DF | USA | Jonathan Gómez (at Mirandés until 30 June 2024) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ESP | Robert Navarro (at Cádiz until 30 June 2024) |
| — | MF | ESP | Roberto López (at Tenerife until 30 June 2024) |
| — | FW | ESP | Jon Karrikaburu (at Andorra until 30 June 2024) |

## Transfers
### In

| Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee | Date |
| DF | Hamari Traoré | Rennes | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| FW | André Silva | RB Leipzig | Loan | 2 August 2023 |
| MF | Arsen Zakharyan | Dynamo Moscow | €13,000,000 | 19 August 2023 |
| DF | Kieran Tierney | Arsenal | Loan | 28 August 2023 |
| DF | Álvaro Odriozola | Real Madrid | €3,000,000 | 1 September 2023 |
| FW | Sheraldo Becker | Union Berlin | €3,000,000 | 18 January 2024 |
| DF | Javi Galán | Atlético Madrid | Loan | 24 January 2024 |

### Out

| Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee | Date |
| MF | Asier Illarramendi | FC Dallas | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| DF | Modibo Sagnan | Utrecht | €2,900,000 | 1 July 2023 |
| MF | Portu | Getafe | €3,500,000 | 1 July 2023 |
| DF | Aritz Arambarri | Leganés | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| MF | Roberto López | Tenerife | Loan | 1 July 2023 |
| MF | Ander Guevara | Alavés | €1,800,000 | 9 July 2023 |
| MF | David Silva | Retired | Retired | 28 July 2023 |
| DF | Andoni Gorosabel | Alavés | Undisclosed | 11 August 2023 |
| FW | Jon Karrikaburu | Alavés | Loan | 1 September 2023 |
| MF | Robert Navarro | Cádiz | Loan | 1 September 2023 |
| DF | Álex Sola | Alavés | Loan | 1 September 2023 |
| DF | Diego Rico | Getafe | Loan | 1 September 2023 |
| FW | Jon Karrikaburu | Andorra | Loan | 7 January 2024 |
| FW | Mohamed-Ali Cho | Nice | €12,000,000 | 8 January 2024 |

### New contracts

| Position | Player | Until |
| MF | Igor Zubeldia | June 2029 |
| FW | Ander Barrenetxea | June 2030 |
| FW | Takefusa Kubo | June 2029 |

## Pre-season and friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss

## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| La Liga | 12 August 2023 | 25 May 2024 | Matchday 1 | 6th | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 51 | 39 | +12 | 042.11 |
| Copa del Rey | 1 November 2023 | 27 February 2024 | First round | Semi-finals | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 071.43 |
| UEFA Champions League | 20 September 2023 | 5 March 2024 | Group stage | Round of 16 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 037.50 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 53 | 24 | 17 | 12 | 67 | 47 | +20 | 045.28 |
Source: Soccerway

### La Liga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 4 | Atlético Madrid | 38 | 24 | 4 | 10 | 70 | 43 | +27 | 76 | Qualification for the Champions League league phase |
| 5 | Athletic Bilbao | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 61 | 37 | +24 | 68 | Qualification for the Europa League league phase |
| 6 | Real Sociedad | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 51 | 39 | +12 | 60 | Qualification for the Europa League league phase |
| 7 | Real Betis | 38 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 57 | Qualification for the Conference League play-off round |
| 8 | Villarreal | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 65 | 65 | 0 | 53 | |
* 1 2 Since the winners of the 2023–24 Copa del Rey, Athletic Bilbao, qualified for European competition based on league position, the Europa League berth awarded to the Copa del Rey winners was passed to the sixth-placed team, and the Conference League berth awarded to the sixth-placed team was passed to the seventh-placed team.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: La Liga

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | D | D | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | D | L | W | W | D | W | D | D | D | L | W | D | D | L | W | L | L | W | W | W | D | D | L | W | L | W | W | L |
| Position | 9 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Points | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 37 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 43 | 46 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 51 | 54 | 54 | 57 | 60 | 60 |

#### Matches

The league fixtures were unveiled on 22 June 2023.

### UEFA Champions League
#### Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 31 August 2023.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RSO | INT | BEN | SAL |
| 1 | Real Sociedad | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 12 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| 2 | Inter Milan | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 12 | Advance to knockout phase | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Benfica | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 4 | Transfer to Europa League | 0–1 | 3–3 | — | 0–2 |
| 4 | Red Bull Salzburg | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 4 | | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | — |
* 1 2 Tied on head-to-head points, goal difference, and goals scored. Goal difference in all matches: Real Sociedad +5, Inter Milan +3.
* 1 2 Tied on head-to-head points, goal difference, goals scored, and goal difference in all matches. Goals scored in all matches: Benfica 7, Red Bull Salzburg 4.

#### Knockout phase
##### Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 18 December 2023.

## Statistics
### Squad statistics

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | La Liga | La Liga | Copa del Rey | Copa del Rey | UEFA Champions League | UEFA Champions League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ESP | Álex Remiro | 49 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 32 | GK | ESP | Unai Marrero | 5 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | GK | ESP | Aitor Fraga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ESP | Álvaro Odriozola | 15 | 0 | 6+3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Aihen Muñoz | 29 | 0 | 11+10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ESP | Aritz Elustondo | 25 | 0 | 7+8 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | SCO | Kieran Tierney | 26 | 0 | 14+6 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | MLI | Hamari Traoré | 40 | 0 | 27+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | ESP | Jon Pacheco | 31 | 1 | 16+7 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ESP | Robin Le Normand | 43 | 2 | 28+1 | 2 | 6+1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ESP | Javi Galán | 18 | 0 | 13+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ESP | Urko González de Zárate | 8 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | ESP | Jon Martín | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | DF | VEN | Jon Aramburu | 15 | 0 | 5+6 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | ESP | Martín Zubimendi | 45 | 4 | 29+2 | 4 | 4+2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | ESP | Igor Zubeldia | 43 | 0 | 29+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Mikel Merino | 45 | 8 | 27+5 | 5 | 5+1 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| 12 | MF | RUS | Arsen Zakharyan | 40 | 1 | 15+14 | 1 | 5+1 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | JPN | Takefusa Kubo | 41 | 7 | 24+6 | 7 | 2+1 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ESP | Jon Ander Olasagasti | 18 | 0 | 2+12 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ESP | Beñat Turrientes | 41 | 0 | 19+10 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 | 1+5 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ESP | Brais Méndez | 44 | 8 | 27+5 | 5 | 4+1 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
| 28 | MF | ESP | Jon Magunazelaia | 11 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | ESP | Pablo Marín | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | ESP | Ander Barrenetxea | 39 | 5 | 20+9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5+2 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | ESP | Carlos Fernández | 16 | 3 | 5+5 | 2 | 0+2 | 1 | 0+4 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ESP | Mikel Oyarzabal | 44 | 14 | 23+10 | 9 | 3+1 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| 11 | FW | SUR | Sheraldo Becker | 18 | 3 | 8+7 | 2 | 1+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | NGA | Umar Sadiq | 36 | 3 | 12+14 | 3 | 2+4 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | POR | André Silva | 26 | 4 | 9+10 | 3 | 4+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 38 | FW | ESP | Alberto Dadie | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ESP | Álex Sola | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | FRA | Momo Cho | 16 | 0 | 1+10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ESP | Diego Rico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Position | Players | LaLiga | Copa del Rey | Champions League | Total |
| FW | Mikel Oyarzabal | 9 | 3 | 2 | 14 |
| MF | Brais Méndez | 5 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| MF | Mikel Merino | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| MF | Takefusa Kubo | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| FW | Ander Barrenetxea | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| FW | André Silva | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| MF | Martín Zubimendi | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| FW | Sheraldo Becker | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| FW | Carlos Fernández | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| FW | Umar Sadiq | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| DF | Jon Pacheco | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| MF | Arsen Zakharyan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |