Alejandro Balde
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 | 47 | (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 October 2023 ‡ 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.
Club career
Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, to a Bissau-Guinean father and a Dominican mother,[3] Balde joined FC Barcelona in 2011 at the age of eight after coming up through ranks at RCD Espanyol.[4] In July 2021, he signed a contract renewal with Barcelona until 2024 with a release clause of 500 million euros.[5]
Balde impressed during pre-season in the summer 2021, and began the new campaign as Jordi Alba's primary back-up at Camp Nou.[6] He sat on the bench for the opening match against Real Sociedad[7] and the next game against Athletic Bilbao.[8]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.[9]
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.[10] On 20 September 2023, it was announced that Balde would sign a new contract at the club until 2028.[11]
International career
Balde is a Bissau-Guinean descent. Received a surprised call up to the Spain national team two days before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as fellow left-back José Gayà had injured his ankle in training.[12] 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 22 October 2023[13]
Club | Season | League | National cup | 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 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
Total | 47 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 62 | 1 | ||
Career total | 76 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 92 | 1 |
- ^ Appearance(s) in Segunda División B play-offs
- ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España
International
- As of match played 12 October 2023[14]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Spain | 2022 | 4 | 0 |
2023 | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 7 | 0 |
Honours
Barcelona
Individual
References
- ^ a b "Alejandro Balde Martínez". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ "Alejandro Balde". www.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ "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.
External links
- Alejandro Balde at BDFutbol
- FC Barcelona official profile
- 2003 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Barcelona
- Spanish men's footballers
- Spain men's youth international footballers
- Spain men's under-21 international footballers
- Spain men's international footballers
- Spanish people of Bissau-Guinean descent
- Spanish people of Dominican Republic descent
- Sportspeople of Dominican Republic descent
- Men's association football defenders
- La Liga players
- Primera Federación players
- Segunda División B players
- FC Barcelona Atlètic players
- FC Barcelona players
- 2022 FIFA World Cup players
- Spanish football defender stubs