Alejandro Balde
![]() Balde with Spain U17 in 2019 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Alejandro Balde Martínez[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 18 October 2003||
Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Left-back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Barcelona | ||
Number | 3 | ||
Youth career | |||
2007–2009 | Sant Gabriel | ||
2009–2011 | Espanyol | ||
2011–2021 | Barcelona | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2020–2022 | Barcelona B | 29 | (0) |
2021– | Barcelona | 57 | (1) |
International career‡ | |||
2019 | Spain U16 | 6 | (0) |
2019–2020 | Spain U17 | 9 | (0) |
2019 | Spain U18 | 3 | (0) |
2021 | Spain U19 | 5 | (0) |
2022 | Spain U21 | 2 | (0) |
2022– | Spain | 7 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:02, 17 August 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 October 2023 |
Alejandro Balde Martínez (born 18 October 2003) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team.[3]
Club career
Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, to a Bissau-Guinean father and a Dominican mother,[4] Balde joined Barcelona in 2011 at the age of eight after coming up through ranks at Espanyol.[5] In July 2021, he signed a contract renewal with Barcelona until 2024 with a release clause of 500 million euros.[6]
Balde impressed during pre-season in the summer 2021, and began the new campaign as Jordi Alba's primary back-up at the Camp Nou.[7] He sat on the bench for the opening match against Real Sociedad[8] and the next game against Athletic Bilbao.[9] On 14 September 2021, he played his first official match for Barcelona's first team replacing Alba in the 74th minute of a 3–0 loss to Bayern Munich in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.[10]
From the start of 2022–23 season, Balde was given a more prominent role by coach Xavi, starting in more league matches than Jordi Alba and receiving more minutes in important matches.[11] On 20 September 2023, it was announced that Balde would sign a new contract at the club until 2028, with the buy out clause set at €1 billion.[12] In Thursday, January 24, 2024 he suffered a Hamstring injury in his right foot, he had to undergo surgery after leaving the pitch in tears against Athletic Club in the Copa Del Rey Quarterfinals
International career
Balde is a Bissau-Guinean descent and was eligible to play for Guinea-Bissau or Spain, but pledged allegiance to La Roja. He received a surprise call-up to the Spain national team two days before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as Valencia left-back José Gayà had injured his ankle in the training camp.[13] On 23 November 2022, he made his first international appearance in a 7–0 win against Costa Rica, substituting for Jordi Alba in the 64th minute.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 17 August 2024[14]
Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Barcelona Atlètic | 2020–21 | Segunda División B | 15 | 0 | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
2021–22 | Primera División RFEF | 14 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |||
Total | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
Barcelona | 2021–22 | La Liga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
2022–23 | La Liga | 33 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
2023–24 | La Liga | 18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6[b] | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 28 | 1 | |
2024–25 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 57 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 80 | 2 | ||
Career total | 86 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 110 | 2 |
- ^ Appearance in Segunda División B play-offs
- ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España
International
- As of match played 12 October 2023[15]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Spain | 2022 | 4 | 0 |
2023 | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 7 | 0 |
Honours
Barcelona
Individual
- La Liga Team of the Season: 2022–23[18]
- IFFHS Men's World Youth (U20) Team: 2023[19]
- IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) UEFA Team: 2023[20]
References
- ^ a b "Alejandro Balde Martínez". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ "Alejandro Balde". www.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ The 25 best left backs in world football - ranked 90Min.com https://www.90min.com/posts/the-25-best-left-backs-in-world-football-ranked. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Alejandro Balde: A great opportunity for the la Masia left back". sport.es. 13 July 2021.
- ^ Rogé, Albert (12 November 2020). "Profile: Electric Alejandro Balde has a lot to offer". sport.
- ^ Soldevila, Adrià (11 August 2021). "Alejandro Balde: Barcelona's 'spectacular' teenage left-back with a €500m release clause". Goal. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021.
- ^ "Barca tie down Alejandro Balde, their Jordi Alba backup". sport.es. 22 July 2021.
- ^ "Barcelona vs Real Sociedad lineup in LaLiga". fotmob.
- ^ "Athletic Club vs Barcelona lineup in LaLiga". fotmob.
- ^ "Champions League vs Barcelona".
- ^ "Xavi on Balde: An 18-year-old playing at this level never ceases to amaze". sport.es. 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Balde, culé hasta 2028" (in Spanish). FC Barcelona. 20 September 2023.
- ^ Marsden, Sam; Llorens, Moises (18 November 2022). "World Cup 2022: Barcelona youngster Alejandro Balde replaces injured Jose Gaya in Spain squad". ESPN. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ Alejandro Balde at Soccerway
- ^ "Alejandro Balde". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ "FC Barcelona, Liga champions 2022/23!". FC Barcelona. 14 May 2023.
- ^ "Spanish Super Cup: Barcelona beat Real Madrid". BBC Sport. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Los Premios 'Team Of The Season' de EA SPORTSTM y LaLiga revelan a los mejores 15 jugadores de la temporada" [The EA SPORTSTM and LaLiga 'Team Of The Season' Awards reveal the best 15 players of the season]. La Liga. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ "IFFHS MEN'S YOUTH (U20) WORLD TEAM 2023". IFFHS. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "IFFHS MEN'S YOUTH (U20) UEFA TEAM 2023". 5 February 2024.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- FC Barcelona official profile
- Alejandro Balde at BDFutbol
- Alejandro Balde – UEFA competition record (archive)