Álex Baena
Spanish footballer (born 2001) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alejandro "Álex" Baena Rodríguez (born 20 July 2001) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Villarreal and the Spain national team.
 Baena with Spain U19 in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alejandro Baena Rodríguez | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 20 July 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Roquetas de Mar, Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder, left winger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Villarreal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2011 | Roquetas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2019 | Villarreal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Villarreal C | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Villarreal B | 23 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020– | Villarreal | 103 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | → Girona (loan) | 38 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Spain U16 | 3 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Spain U17 | 11 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Spain U18 | 10 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Spain U19 | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Spain U20 | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Spain U21 | 12 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Spain U23 | 5 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Spain | 9 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 April 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 March 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career
Summarize
Perspective
Baena was born in Roquetas de Mar, Almería, Andalusia, and joined Villarreal's youth setup in 2011, from Roquetas.[1][2] He made his senior debut with the C-team on 21 December 2018, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 Tercera División home win against Rayo Ibense.[3]
Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Baena was assigned to the reserves in Segunda División B, and made his debut for the side on 14 September 2019 by starting in a 3–0 win at Llagostera.[4] On 13 July of the following year, he made his first team – and La Liga – debut, replacing fellow youth graduate Manu Trigueros in a 1–2 home loss against Real Sociedad.[5]
Baena scored his first professional goal on 5 November 2020, netting his team's third in a 4–0 UEFA Europa League home routing of Maccabi Tel Aviv.[6] Seven days later, he renewed his contract until 2025.[7]
On 19 August 2021, Baena moved to Segunda División side Girona on a one-year loan deal.[8] He returned to the Yellow Submarine after being a starter in the Catalans' promotion, and scored a brace in a 3–0 away win over Real Valladolid on 13 August 2022.
On 26 August 2022, Baena and teammate Nicolas Jackson were fully promoted to the main squad.[9] In the 2023–24 season, he became the top assist provider in La Liga with 14 assists.[10]
International career
Baena represented Spain at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-20 levels, appearing in the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[11]
In August 2023, Baena received his first call-up to the Spain senior national team by head coach Luis de la Fuente, for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Georgia and Cyprus.[12] Baena went on to score his first goal for Spain on his debut against Cyprus in a 6–0 win.[13] In May 2024, he was named in the 26-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.[14]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 6 April 2025[15]
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Villarreal C | 2019–20 | Tercera División | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Villarreal B | 2019–20 | Segunda División B | 23 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | Segunda División B | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| Villarreal | 2019–20 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | La Liga | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9[a] | 2 | — | 20 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 35 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 9[b] | 4 | — | 48 | 12 | ||
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 34 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8[a] | 2 | — | 45 | 5 | ||
| 2024–25 | La Liga | 27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 6 | |||
| Total | 103 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 26 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 143 | 25 | ||
| Girona (loan) | 2021–22 | Segunda División | 38 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | 45 | 5 | |
| Career total | 165 | 19 | 17 | 3 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 212 | 30 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearances in Segunda División promotion play-offs
International
- As of match played 23 March 2025[16]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2023 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 2 | |
- As of match played 23 March 2025
- Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Baena goal.[16]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 September 2023 | Nuevo Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain | 1 |  Cyprus | 5–0 | 6–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 2 | 15 October 2024 | Estadio Nuevo Arcángel, Córdoba, Spain | 7 |  Serbia | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A |
Honours
Villarreal
Spain U23
- Summer Olympics gold medal: 2024[18]
Spain
Individual
References
External links
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