Carlos Gurpegui Nausia (alternate spelling Gurpegi; born 19 August 1980) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a central defender or defensive midfielder.

[6] Born in Pamplona and raised in the village of Andosilla, Navarre,[2] Gurpegui was a product of Athletic Bilbao's Lezama youth academy, and made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 31 March 2002 in a 5–2 away defeat against Villarreal CF,[7][6] going on to establish himself as the first-choice holding midfielder in the following years with 121 games in four seasons.

[18] On 23 October 2011, having replaced Andoni Iraola at half-time in an eventual 1–1 draw at Valencia CF,[19] he also had to leave the pitch early into the second half, with a torn anterior cruciate ligament which ended his season.

[20][21] After Martínez left in summer 2012 to join FC Bayern Munich, Gurpegui was chosen by Bielsa as the next player to be converted from defensive midfielder to central defender.

[22] After playing a big role in their qualification for the tournament through finishing fourth domestically in 2013–14, partnering the much younger Aymeric Laporte, he featured in defence in six matches in the subsequent edition of the UEFA Champions League.