Alejandro Balde Martínez (born 18 October 2003) is a Spanish professional footballer from Catalonia who plays as a left-back for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team.[3]
Balde with Spain U17 in 2019
| |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alejandro Balde Martínez[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2003-10-18) 18 October 2003 (age 20)[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 | Cs Longueuil | ||
| 2011–2021 | Barcelona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2022 | Barcelona B | 29 | (0) |
| 2021– | Barcelona | 56 | (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 22 January 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 October 2023 | |||
Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, to a Bissau-Guinean father and a Dominican mother,[4] Balde joined Barcelona in 2011 at the age of eight after coming up through ranks at Espanyol.[5] In July 2021, he signed a contract renewal with Barcelona until 2024 with a release clause of 500 million euros.[6]
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.[7] He sat on the bench for the opening match against Real Sociedad[8] and the next game against Athletic Bilbao.[9] 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.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12] In Thursday, January 24, 2024 he suffered a Hamstring injury in his right foot, he had to undergo surgery after leaving the pitch in tears against Athletic Club in the Copa Del Rey Quarterfinals
Balde is a Bissau-Guinean descent and was eligible to play for Guinea-BissauorSpain, 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.[13] 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 | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Continental | 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 | |
| Total | 56 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 79 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 85 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 109 | 2 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2022 | 4 | 0 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | |
Barcelona
Individual
