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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]
.jpg) Balde playing for Spain U17 in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alejandro Balde Martínez[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 18 October 2003[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 | |||
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.
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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.
Club
- As of match played 21 December 2024[17]
| 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 | ||
- Appearance in Segunda División B play-offs
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España
International
- As of match played 12 October 2023[18]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2022 | 4 | 0 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | |
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Barcelona
Individual
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