Álex Baena

Alejandro "Álex" Baena Rodríguez (born 20 July 2001) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger for La Liga club Villarreal.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Baena and the second or maternal family name is Rodríguez.
Álex Baena
Baena with Spain U19 in 2019
Personal information
Full name Alejandro Baena Rodríguez
Date of birth (2001-07-20) 20 July 2001
Place of birth Roquetas de Mar, Spain
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Villarreal
Number 16
Youth career
2007–2011 Roquetas
2011–2019 Villarreal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 Villarreal C 1 (0)
2019–2021 Villarreal B 23 (0)
2020– Villarreal 31 (4)
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– Spain U21 6 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:19, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 March 2023

Club career

Baena was born in Roquetas de Mar, Almería, Andalusia, and joined Villarreal CF's youth setup in 2011, from CD 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 UD 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 UE 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 FC.[6] Seven days later, he renewed his contract until 2025.[7]

On 19 August 2021, Baena moved to Segunda División side Girona FC 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 definitely promoted to the main squad.[9]

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.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 2 April 2023[10]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Copa del Rey Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Villarreal C 2019–20 Tercera División 10———10
Villarreal B 2019–20 Segunda División B 230———230
2020–21 Segunda División B 00———00
Total 230000000230
Villarreal 2019–20 La Liga 1010——20
2020–21 La Liga 60509[lower-alpha 1]2—202
2022–23 La Liga 244429[lower-alpha 2]4—3710
Total 314102186005912
Girona (loan) 2021–22 Segunda División 38530—4[lower-alpha 3]0455
Career total 9391321864012817
  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  3. Appearances in La Liga play-offs

Honours

Villarreal

References
  1. "Álex Baena, la 'perla' que brilla en el filial" [Álex Baena, the 'pearl' who shines in the reserves] (in Spanish). El Periódico Mediterráneo. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  2. "Álex Baena, jugador roquetero del Villarreal, ha sido convocado por la selección española sub16" [Álex Baena, Roquetas-born Villarreal player, was called up to the Spain national under-16 team] (in Spanish). Roquetas de Mar. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  3. "Un eléctrico Villarreal C congela al Rayo Ibense" [An electric Villarreal C freeze Rayo Ibense] (in Spanish). Golsmedia. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  4. "El Villarreal CF B golea en Llagostera y sigue líder" [Villarreal CF B thrash in Llagostera and remain leader] (in Spanish). Golsmedia. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  5. "La Real Sociedad despierta a tiempo y se mete en la pelea por Europa" [Real Sociedad wake up right on time and get inside the fight for Europa] (in Spanish). Marca. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  6. "Villarreal 4–0 Maccabi Tel-Aviv". UEFA.com. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  7. "The Villarreal of the future". Villarreal CF. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  8. "Álex Baena, loaned to Girona FC". Villarreal CF. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  9. "Baena and Jackson officially become first-team players". Villarreal CF. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  10. Álex Baena at BDFutbol
  11. "Who is Alex Baena? Arsenal and Liverpool target set for Premier League transfer battle". Mirror. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
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