12. Nielsen

Born in Aarhus, Denmark on May 10, 1997. He started playing handball at the age of 10 for his hometown club, and he already stood out as great prospect in his country as a youth. In fact, he made his debut at only 17 years old with Aarhus GF.

2014 saw him called up to the Under-18 Danish team, which finished fourth in the European Championship. Emil was named best goalkeeper and included in the tournament's All-Star team.

He signed for the Danish side Skjern Handball in summer 2017, where he remained until his transfer to Nantes in 2019. Nielsen enjoyed great success in northeast France, establishing himself as one of the most promising keepers in the world, lifting trophies with the French side.

Nielsen came to Barça at the start of the 2022/23 season to reinforce the position of goalkeeper. In his first campaign as a blaugrana he shared duties with Gonzalo to create one of the best goalkeeping duos in handball. The Dane's excellent performances over the next two seasons alternating with Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas were a key contribution to Barça's successes, with Nielsen being named ASOBAL keeper of the year in 2024/25. 

With the Danish national side Nielsen was Olympic Champion in 2024 in Paris and also World Champion after victory in the tournament at the start of 2025. 

Technical profile

Emil Nielsen is keeper with great shot anticipation and reflexes when reacting to his opponent's position. He is also very quick between the posts despite his size and brings a lot of assurance to his defence. He is also known for showing character at significant moments.