Malcom Ares

Born in Bilbao, Biscay to a Basque father and mother originally from Guinea-Bissau (his cousin Álvaro Djaló is also a footballer) Ares began his career locally with Deusto, Danok Bat, Indautxu and Santutxu, where his talent drew the attention of Athletic Bilbao. Having played one season at senior level with Santutxu he joined the Lions in the summer of 2021, aged 19, and was initially assigned to their farm team, Basconia of the Tercera División RFEF (fifth tier). Ares's good form, as well as a need for reinforcements in the squad of the club's reserve team, Bilbao Athletic – struggling to survive in the 2021–22 Primera División RFEF – saw him promoted mid-season, and he continued to perform impressively at the higher (third) level while helping the team avoid relegation.

In the summer 2022 pre-season, Ares was one of the youth players chosen for training and assessment as part of the Athletic senior squad (along with fellow forward Luis Bilbao and goalkeeper Álex Padilla). He was listed among the substitutes by coach Ernesto Valverde for the opening day of the 2022–23 La Liga campaign, and made his top division debut as a late replacement for Iñaki Williams in the closing minutes of the fixture against Mallorca at the San Mamés, which ended goalless. He was a regular with the reserves that season as they suffered relegation from the third tier, and made eight more appearances from the bench towards the end of the campaign for the first team – however, he was only on the…

As of match played 24 August 2024

Copa del Rey: 2023–24