Alejandro Balde

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.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Balde and the second or maternal family name is Martínez.

Alejandro Balde
Balde in October 2019 with Spain U17
Personal information
Full name Alejandro Balde Martínez[1]
Date of birth (2003-10-18) 18 October 2003[1]
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

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 25 October 2023[13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Barcelona Atlètic 2020–21 Segunda División B 150——1[lower-alpha 1]0160
2021–22 Primera División RFEF 140——00140
Total 290000010300
Barcelona 2021–22 La Liga 50002[lower-alpha 2]00070
2022–23 La Liga 331406[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0441
2023–24 La Liga 90003000120
Total 4714011010631
Career total 7614011020931
  1. Appearance(s) in Segunda División B play-offs
  2. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  3. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España

International
As of match played 12 October 2023[14]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain 202240
202330
Total70

Honours

Barcelona

Individual

References
  1. "Alejandro Balde Martínez". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  2. "Alejandro Balde". www.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  3. "Alejandro Balde: A great opportunity for the la Masia left back". sport.es. 13 July 2021.
  4. Rogé, Albert (12 November 2020). "Profile: Electric Alejandro Balde has a lot to offer". sport.
  5. 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.
  6. "Barca tie down Alejandro Balde, their Jordi Alba backup". sport.es. 22 July 2021.
  7. "Barcelona vs Real Sociedad lineup in LaLiga". fotmob.
  8. "Athletic Club vs Barcelona lineup in LaLiga". fotmob.
  9. "Champions League vs Barcelona".
  10. "Xavi on Balde: An 18-year-old playing at this level never ceases to amaze". sport.es. 17 September 2022.
  11. "Balde, culé hasta 2028" (in Spanish). FC Barcelona. 20 September 2023.
  12. 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.
  13. Alejandro Balde at Soccerway
  14. "Alejandro Balde". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  15. "FC Barcelona, Liga champions 2022/23!". FC Barcelona. 14 May 2023.
  16. "Spanish Super Cup: Barcelona beat Real Madrid". BBC Sport. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  17. "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.


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