Spanish footballer (born 1997) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Lynch Sánchez (born 18 November 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Chelsea and the Spain national team.
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Sánchez with Brighton & Hove Albion in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Robert Lynch Sánchez[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 18 November 1997[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cartagena, Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Chelsea | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Escuela de Fútbol de Santa Ana | |||||||||||||||||
| Cartagena FC | |||||||||||||||||
| Ciudad Jardín | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Levante | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2018 | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 87 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | → Forest Green Rovers (loan) | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | → Rochdale (loan) | 26 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Chelsea | 37 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Spain | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:42, 25 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:12, 18 November 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Sánchez was born in Cartagena, Region of Murcia.[1] He was born to a Jamaican-English father and Spanish mother.[3] He spent his early career playing locally with Escuela de Fútbol de Santa Ana, Cartagena FC and Ciudad Jardín[4] before joining Levante in 2010.[5]
Sánchez moved to England to sign for Brighton & Hove Albion at the age of 15, before signing his first professional contract in June 2015.[6][7] He signed a new three-year contract with the club in April 2018.[8]
In June 2018, Sánchez moved on loan to Forest Green Rovers for the 2018–19 season.[9] He played in the opening game of the season making his debut away at Grimsby where Rovers won 4–1.[10] Sánchez was recalled by parent club Brighton in January 2019 to provide cover as Albion's Mathew Ryan was called up for Australia for the Asian Cup.[11] He made 17 appearances for Forest Green that season, all coming in the league.[10]
On 24 July 2019, Sánchez joined Rochdale on loan for the 2019–20 season.[12] He made his debut for the club in a 3–2 away win over Tranmere Rovers.[13]
On 1 November 2020, Sánchez made his Brighton debut, playing in a 2–1 defeat in a Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur.[14][15] On 23 February 2021, Sánchez signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Brighton, running until June 2025.[16]
Sánchez was sent off in the 1–1 home draw against Newcastle United on 6 November, in Brighton's eleventh match of the 2021–22 season, for fouling Callum Wilson who was within a goalscoring opportunity.[17] He kept a clean sheet in the 4–0 win over Manchester United on 7 May 2022, helping Brighton earn their record top flight victory, with his long-range pass providing a crucial role in Pascal Groß's goal.[18]
In the second half of the 2022–23 season Sánchez lost his number one spot to long standing back-up keeper Jason Steele, with Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi saying that "he is sad for Robert" and that he has "one of the best relationships" with the player.[19] He was selected to play instead of Steele on 19 March, keeping a clean sheet in the 5–0 FA Cup quarter-final win over League Two side Grimsby at Falmer Stadium.[20] On 15 April, with Steele injured, Sánchez played against Chelsea in a 2–1 away win.[21] Eight days later he retained his place, keeping a clean sheet against Manchester United in 120 minutes of play in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, but failing to save a penalty in the eventual shootout loss.[22]
On 3 August 2023, it was reported that Brighton had agreed a transfer fee, with fellow Premier League club Chelsea, worth an initial £20 million, plus £5 million in add-ons, for Sánchez.[23][24] The transfer was completed on 5 August, with the player signing a seven-year contract.[25][26] On 8 August, Chelsea confirmed that he would wear the vacant number 31 shirt for the upcoming 2023–24 season.[27] On 13 August, he made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Liverpool in the Premier League.[28] Following Kepa Arrizabalaga's loan move to Real Madrid, on 17 August, Sánchez opted to switch his shirt number to No.1.[29]
In October 2023, he was described by pundit Karen Bardsley as possibly "Chelsea’s smartest signing" due to "the positive effect he's had on a team which is in transition".[30] By January 2025, new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said he was considering dropping Sánchez, following a series of errors.[31]
Sánchez was born in Spain to an English father and Spanish mother.[32] Sánchez received his first call-up to the Spanish national team in March 2021, for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Greece, Georgia and Kosovo.[33]
He was selected to the Spain squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament in May 2021.[34] Sánchez and David de Gea remained as understudies to Unai Simón and did not make an appearance as Spain were knocked out on penalties against Italy in the semi-final at Wembley Stadium on 6 July.[35]
He made his international debut on 5 September 2021, replacing Simón in the second half of a World Cup qualifier 4–0 win against Georgia in Badajoz.[36]
Sánchez was part of Spain's 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals squad in October.[37] He remained as back-up and did not make an appearance in either the semi-final victory over Italy or the final loss against France as Spain finished as runners-up.[38][39]
On 11 November 2022, Sánchez was named in Spain's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup,[40] but he was not called up for UEFA Euro 2024.[41]
Sánchez has said that he modelled himself on Spanish goalkeepers Iker Casillas and David de Gea.[7]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion U21 | 2016–17[42] | — | — | — | 3[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18[43] | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Total | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2018–19[10] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20[44] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21[45] | Premier League | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22[46] | Premier League | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23[47] | Premier League | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| Total | 87 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 0 | ||
| Forest Green Rovers (loan) | 2018–19[10] | League Two | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Rochdale (loan) | 2019–20[44] | League One | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| Chelsea | 2023–24[48] | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | |
| 2024–25[49] | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| Total | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 167 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 189 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Chelsea
Spain
Individual
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