Alejandro Balde

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

Alejandro Balde
Balde playing for Spain U17 in 2019
Personal information
Full name Alejandro Balde Martínez[1]
Date of birth (2003-10-18) 18 October 2003 (age 21)[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 73 (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 23:43, 21 December 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] He is considered to be one of the best young full-backs in the world due to his pace, ball-carrying and defensive contribution.[3][4][5][6]

Club career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, to a Bissau-Guinean father and a Dominican Republic mother,[7] Balde joined Barcelona in 2011 at the age of eight after coming up through ranks at Espanyol.[8] In July 2021, he signed a contract renewal with Barcelona until 2024 with a release clause of 500 million euros.[9]

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.[10] He sat on the bench for the opening match against Real Sociedad[11] and the next game against Athletic Bilbao.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14] 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.[15] On 24 January 2024, he suffered a hamstring injury in his right foot, and had to undergo surgery after leaving the pitch in tears against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, which Barcelona lost 4–2, and Balde ended up missing the rest of the season.

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.[16] 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 21 December 2024[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Copa del Rey Europe 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 17 0 0 0 5[b] 0 0 0 22 0
Total 73 1 6 1 19 0 3 0 101 2
Career total 102 1 6 1 19 0 4 0 131 2
  1. ^ Appearance in Segunda División B play-offs
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España

International

As of match played 12 October 2023[18]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Spain 2022 4 0
2023 3 0
Total 7 0

Honours

Barcelona

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b "Alejandro Balde Martínez". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Alejandro Balde". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b 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.
  4. ^ a b "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.
  5. ^ a b "IFFHS MEN'S YOUTH (U20) UEFA TEAM 2023". 5 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Spanish Super Cup: Barcelona beat Real Madrid". BBC Sport. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Alejandro Balde: A great opportunity for the la Masia left back". sport.es. 13 July 2021.
  8. ^ Rogé, Albert (12 November 2020). "Profile: Electric Alejandro Balde has a lot to offer". sport.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Barca tie down Alejandro Balde, their Jordi Alba backup". sport.es. 22 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Barcelona vs Real Sociedad lineup in LaLiga". fotmob.
  12. ^ "Athletic Club vs Barcelona lineup in LaLiga". fotmob.
  13. ^ "Champions League vs Barcelona".
  14. ^ "Xavi on Balde: An 18-year-old playing at this level never ceases to amaze". sport.es. 17 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Balde, culé hasta 2028" (in Spanish). FC Barcelona. 20 September 2023.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Alejandro Balde at Soccerway
  18. ^ "Alejandro Balde". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  19. ^ "FC Barcelona, Liga champions 2022/23!". FC Barcelona. 14 May 2023.
  20. ^ "IFFHS MEN'S YOUTH (U20) WORLD TEAM 2023". IFFHS. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
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