Saúl Ñíguez Esclápez (Spanish pronunciation: [sa'ul '?i?e?]; born 21 November 1994), known as Saúl, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central or defensive midfielder for Atlético Madrid.
After coming through Atlético Madrid's youth academy, he went on to appear in more than 250 competitive matches for the club.
In the 2013–14 season, he was on loan at Rayo Vallecano also in La Liga.
Having represented Spain at various youth levels, Saúl helped the under-21 team finish second in the 2017 European Championship, being top scorer in the process.
He was selected by the senior side to the 2018 World Cup.