He spent most of his career with Valencia, Real Madrid and Villarreal, winning five major titles between the first two teams and the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League with the third. He amassed La Liga totals of 379 matches and eight goals over 15 seasons, and also played several years in the Italian Serie A with Napoli.
Born in Vilamarxant, Valencian Community,[4] Albiol started playing football with two modest clubs in his native region, moving to local giants Valencia before celebrating his 10th birthday. He made his first-team debut on 24 September 2003 in a UEFA Cupfirst-round tie against AIK at 18 years and 20 days,[5][6] but spent the first year still registered with the reserves.[7]
In August 2004, whilst travelling to sign a deal to join Getafe on loan, Albiol was involved in a serious car accident, being put in intensive care.[8] He managed to recover completely and, after reappearing in January, played an important role in the team surviving the relegation battle.[9][10][11] He made his La Liga debut on 15 January 2005 in a 1–1 home draw with Atlético Madrid,[12] and scored against another side from the capital, Real Madrid, in a 2–1 home win two months later.[13]
During his four-season spell with the first team, Albiol played at least 29 league games, and he helped to victory in the 2007–08 edition of the Copa del Rey.[18]
On 25 June 2009, Albiol joined Real Madrid for a fee thought to be in the region of €15 million,[19] becoming the first Spanish player signed by Florentino Pérez upon his return to the presidency.[20] He scored his first goal on 8 December in a 3–1 Champions League win away to Marseille.[21] He was an undisputed starter during the league campaign, mainly due to Pepe's serious knee injury.[22]
In the 2010–11 season, Albiol was relegated to the bench as Real brought in another player for his position, Ricardo Carvalho, only appearing in the league through injury or suspension to teammates;[23][24] he did start, however, in the club's domestic cup run.[25] On 26 January 2011, in the semi-final first leg against Sevilla (1–0 away victory), he cleared a Luís Fabiano shot just before it crossed the goal line.[26] On 16 April, he was sent off for fouling former Valencia teammate David Villa inside the penalty area during El Clásico with Barcelona, which resulted in the first goal in a 1–1 league home draw.[27]
On 6 August 2012, Albiol renewed his contract until June 2017.[28] On 27 November, in his first appearance as captain, at home against Alcoyano in the Spanish Cup, he had to be stretchered off after only one minute, being sidelined for approximately one month with an ankle injury.[29]
Napoli
On 21 July 2013, Albiol joined Napoli for a reported €12 million,[30] signing a four-year contract.[31] He made his Serie A debut on 25 August, in a 3–0 home win over Bologna.[32]
Albiol scored his first goal for the Rafael Benítez-led team on 25 January 2014, with an 88th-minute equaliser in a 1–1 home draw against ChievoVerona.[33] On 3 May, he played the entire final of the Coppa Italia, helping to a 3–1 defeat of Fiorentina.[34]
Villarreal
On 4 July 2019, the 33-year-old Albiol returned to Spain after agreeing to a three-year deal with Villarreal.[35] He made his debut on 17 August, in a 4–4 home draw with Granada.[36]
Albiol was picked for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but did not leave the bench for the eventual champions after having suffered an injury in training.[46] Again as an unused player, he was also in the squad for the Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine, which also ended in victory.[47]
Albiol was named in Spain's 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup.[48] He made his debut in a major finals in the last group match against Australia with the Spanish already eliminated, playing the whole 90 minutes alongside Sergio Ramos in central defence in a 3–0 victory.[49]
Albiol's nickname is "El Chori".[52] His older brother Miguel was also a footballer, while his father, also named Miguel, appeared in the Segunda División for Sabadell. The youngest sibling, Brian, was named after Brian Laudrup, whom Raúl admired on account of his success with the Denmark national team.[53][54][55][56]
Albiol fathered two daughters with his wife Alicia.[57][58] In 2008, with Guillermo Franco and Marcos Senna, he founded Evangélico FC, an organisation consisting of 140 athletes and 16 coaches which sought to promote Christian values among young athletes in Spain.[59]
^Llamas, Fernando (15 March 2005). "Getafe, otra tumba para el Real Madrid" [Getafe, another grave for Real Madrid]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 August 2015.
^Cerezo, Hugo; Lara, Miguel Ángel (6 February 2012). "Albiol, contra las cuerdas" [Albiol, against the ropes]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 November 2021.
^Calero, Toni (9 January 2010). "El 'alma' valenciana de Albiol" [Albiol's Valencia 'soul' (Alma in English)]. Las Provincias (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 May 2016.
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