Théo Hernandez

Théo Bernard François Hernandez (French pronunciation: [te.o ɛʁnɑ̃dɛz, - ɛʁnandɛs];[5] born 6 October 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Serie A club AC Milan and the France national team. Known for his speed, dribbles, and goalscoring ability, he is regarded as one of the best full-backs in the world.[6][7][8][9][10] He is the younger brother of fellow professional footballer Lucas Hernandez, and their father Jean-François Hernandez was also a footballer.

Théo Hernandez
Hernandez with AC Milan in 2022
Personal information
Full name Théo Bernard François Hernandez[1]
Date of birth (1997-10-06) 6 October 1997[2]
Place of birth Marseille, France
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
 AC Milan
Number 19
Youth career
2006–2007 Rayo Majadahonda[4]
2007–2015 Atlético Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Atlético Madrid B 9 (0)
2016–2017 → Alavés (loan) 32 (1)
2017–2019 Real Madrid 13 (0)
2018–2019 → Real Sociedad (loan) 24 (1)
2019– AC Milan 137 (23)
International career‡
2015 France U18 4 (0)
2015–2016 France U19 9 (0)
2016 France U20 3 (1)
2021– France 21 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  France
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up2022 Qatar
UEFA Nations League
Winner2021 Italy
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:40, 7 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2023

Club career

Atlético Madrid

Born in Marseille, Hernandez joined Atlético Madrid's academy in 2007, aged nine.[11] After progressing through the youth categories, he was promoted to the reserves in Tercera División in summer 2015.

On 3 February 2016, Hernandez renewed his contract.[12] Two days later, he was called up to the first team for a La Liga match against Eibar due to injuries,[13] but remained an unused substitute in the 3–1 home win.[14]

Alavés

On 4 August 2016, Hernandez extended his contract until 2021, being immediately loaned to fellow league club Deportivo Alavés for one year.[15][16] He made his professional debut late in the month, starting in a 0–0 home draw with Sporting de Gijón.[17]

On 16 October 2016, Hernandez was given a straight red card in a 1–1 home draw to Málaga after a hard tackle on Ignacio Camacho.[18] He scored his first professional goal the following 7 May, netting the game's only goal in a home victory over Athletic Bilbao.[19]

A regular starter during the Basque team's run in the Copa del Rey, Hernandez helped them reach the final for the first time in their 91-year history. During the decisive match on 27 May 2017, he scored the equaliser through a direct free kick in an eventual 1–3 loss against Barcelona.[20]

Real Madrid
Hernandez celebrating after winning the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid

On 5 July 2017, Hernandez signed a six-year deal with Real Madrid after they met his release clause of €24 million.[21][22][23] He made his competitive debut on 16 August, replacing Marco Asensio in a 2–0 home win against Barcelona for that year's Supercopa de España.[24]

Hernandez made three appearances during the 2017–18 edition of the UEFA Champions League,[25] helping the club win its third consecutive and 13th overall title in the competition.[26] On 10 August 2018, he was loaned to Real Sociedad.[27][28]

AC Milan

On 7 July 2019, Hernandez joined Serie A club AC Milan in a deal worth maximum of €20 million.[29][30] The transfer was approved and carried out by Paolo Maldini, who met with him informally in Ibiza to persuade him to join.[31] Hernandez made his debut on 21 September, playing 18 minutes in the 2–0 defeat against Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina.[32] He scored his first goal for the Rossoneri on 5 October, helping the visitors come from behind to win 2–1 at Genoa.[33] During his first season with Milan he managed to score 7 goals in all competitions and had 3 assists.[34][35]

Hernandez with AC Milan in 2022

On 23 December 2020, Hernandez's 93rd-minute winning goal gave AC Milan a victory over Lazio to keep them top of Serie A.[36] During the 2020–21 season, Hernandez was the only defender in the top five European leagues to have scored two braces. He was also the defender with the most successful dribbles in Serie A that season with 73.[37] During his second season with the team, he managed to score 8 goals and assisted 7 in all competitions.[38]

On 6 January 2022, Hernandez wore the captain's armband for the first time against Roma.[39] Three days later, he scored a brace in a 3–0 win against Venezia, becoming first defender to score at least three braces in AC Milan's Serie A history.[40] On 11 February, Hernandez renewed his contract with Milan until 2026.[41]

On 15 May 2022 against Atalanta, Hernandez ran for 95 metres before scoring the second goal of a 2–0 win.[42] A week later, Milan were crowned with their first Serie A title in 11 years, Hernandez's contributions were 5 goals and 6 assists, the most for any defender in Serie A that season.[43]

On 25 October 2023, Hernandez for the first time faced his older brother, Lucas, as an opponent playing competitive senior football in the UEFA Champions League group stage away game against Paris Saint-Germain, a 3–0 loss for Milan.[44]

International career

On 26 August 2021, he received his first call to the France senior squad.[45] He made his debut on 7 September 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Finland, a 2–0 home victory. He started and played the whole game.[46] In October 2021, ahead of the UEFA Nations League semi-finals against Belgium, Théo for the first time received a call-up to the national team from Didier Deschamps together with his brother Lucas; the two were later fielded in the 3–4–1–2 formation as a left centre-back and a left wing-back, respectively, making it the first time they played together in a senior competitive game.[47] On 7 October, he scored a late-time winner in the 3–2 victory against the aforementioned opponent, sending his team to the final for the first time in history of the tournament.[48]

In November 2022, he was named in the final squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[49] On 14 December, he scored a goal in a 2–0 win over Morocco in the semi-final.[50]

Personal life

Hernandez's father, Jean-François, was also a footballer. A centre-back from France, he too played for Atlético Madrid;[51][52] his older brother Lucas, who plays for Paris Saint Germain and France, was also developed at the club.[53] In 2022, French newspaper L'Équipe found that Jean-François – who went missing in 2004 – was living in Thailand, and had allegedly been legally blocked by his ex-partner from seeing their children.[54]

He has been dating Italian model Zoe Cristofoli since June 2020.[55] On 8 April 2022, the couple's son Theo Junior was born.[56]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 25 October 2023[57][58]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Atlético Madrid B 2015–16 Tercera División 90——1[lower-alpha 2]0100
Alavés (loan) 2016–17 La Liga 32161——382
Real Madrid 2017–18 La Liga 130603[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0230
Real Sociedad (loan) 2018–19 La Liga 24140——281
AC Milan 2019–20 Serie A 33631——367
2020–21 Serie A 3372010[lower-alpha 5]1—458
2021–22 Serie A 325405[lower-alpha 3]0—415
2022–23 Serie A 3241011[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 6]0454
2023–24 Serie A 71003[lower-alpha 3]0—101
Total 137231012911017725
Career total 215252623213027628
  1. Includes Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia
  2. Appearance(s) in Tercera División play-offs
  3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  4. Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España
  5. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  6. Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

International
As of match played 17 October 2023[59]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
France 202141
202291
202380
Total212
As of match played 14 December 2022
Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hernandez goal.[59]
List of international goals scored by Théo Hernandez
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 October 2021Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy2 Belgium3–23–22021 UEFA Nations League Finals
2 14 December 2022Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar12 Morocco1–02–02022 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Alavés

Real Madrid

AC Milan

France

Individual

References
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