Héctor Bellerín Moruno (born 19 March 1995) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right-back or wing-back for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team.
![]() Bellerín playing for Arsenal in 2015 | ||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Héctor Bellerín Moruno[1] | |||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1995-03-19) 19 March 1995 (age 27)[2] | |||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Right-back / Wing-back | |||||||||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||||||||
Current team | Barcelona | |||||||||||||||
Number | 2 | |||||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
2003–2011 | Barcelona | |||||||||||||||
2011–2014 | Arsenal | |||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
2012–2022 | Arsenal | 183 | (8) | |||||||||||||
2013–2014 | → Watford (loan) | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2021–2022 | → Betis (loan) | 23 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2022– | Barcelona | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
2011 | Spain U16 | 6 | (1) | |||||||||||||
2012 | Spain U17 | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2013–2014 | Spain U19 | 9 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2015–2017 | Spain U21 | 14 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2016– | Spain | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:57, 20 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 01:07, 12 November 2020 (UTC) |
Bellerín started his career at Barcelona, and moved to Arsenal in 2011. On 21 November 2016, he signed a long-term contract that tied him to Arsenal until 2023, but returned to Barcelona in September 2022, after spending the previous year on loan at Real Betis.
Bellerín played internationally for Spain from under-16 to under-21 levels. He made his senior debut for Spain in 2016 and was later chosen for the European Championship of that year.[3]
Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Bellerín started his club football career in Barcelona's youth team. He moved to Arsenal in the summer of 2011, and signed his first professional contract the following year.[4] While a youth player at Arsenal, Bellerín also helped the club to reach fourth place of the NextGen Series of 2012–13.
Bellerín made his competitive debut away to West Bromwich Albion in the third round of the League Cup on 25 September 2013, coming on in the 95th minute as a substitute in a penalty shootout victory after a 1–1 draw.[5]
Two months later, Bellerín joined Championship club Watford on a two-month loan deal, and made his debut against Yeovil Town eight days after signing.[6] The loan at Watford was extended until the end of the season,[7] but he was recalled by Arsenal in February 2014.[8]
Following injuries to Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers and Nacho Monreal, Bellerín made his Champions League debut on 16 September 2014 in a 2–0 defeat away to Borussia Dortmund.[9] He scored his first goal for Arsenal on 1 February 2015, in a 5–0 win against Aston Villa,[10] and added a second on 4 April to open a 4–1 win over Liverpool despite also conceding a penalty kick through a foul on Raheem Sterling.[11]
Bellerín was selected to start for Arsenal in the 2015 FA Cup Final on 30 May, helping the team keep a clean sheet in a 4–0 win over Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium.[12]
He signed a new long-term contract before the 2015–16 season and played the entirety of Arsenal's 1–0 win over rivals Chelsea in the 2015 FA Community Shield.[13] He was the sole Arsenal player listed in the season's PFA Team of the Year,[14] and came in third place in Arsenal's Player of the Season voting.[15] On 21 November 2016, he signed a new long-term contract after agreeing to a deal that ties him to the club until 2022.[16][17]
Bellerín featured in the following season throughout Arsenal's victorious 2016–17 FA Cup campaign. He played in the Cup final which Arsenal went on to win by a 2–1 margin against Chelsea.[18] He was again triumphant in the Gunners lifting the 2017 Community Shield by beating Chelsea 4–1 on penalties.[19]
Bellerín scored his first goal of Arsenal's 2017–18 season in Arsenal's 3–1 victory over 1. FC Köln.[20] On 3 January 2018, Bellerín earned a draw for Arsenal against Chelsea with what BBC Sport described as 'stunning injury-time strike' in the 92nd minute, having earlier conceded a penalty for a foul on Eden Hazard.[21] Bellerín played the full time match as Arsenal lost the EFL Cup by 3–0 to Manchester City at Wembley.[22] 7 March 2018, Bellerín was ruled out of the Europa League first leg clash against Milan with an unknown return date.[23]
Bellerín missed out the first five weeks of the 2018–19 season due to a calf problem.[24] During a league game against Chelsea on 19 January he suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee and was stretchered off of the pitch in the 70th minute at the Emirates Stadium. He was later ruled out for nine months, consequently missing the remainder of the season and the start of the 2019–20 season.[25] Arsenal coach Unai Emery perceives Bellerín as "very mature" and believes that "he is already preparing to come back stronger than before".[26][27]
On 24 September 2019, Bellerín made his return from injury as a substitute in Arsenal's 5–0 victory against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup.[28] On 21 January 2020, he scored in the 87th minute to help Arsenal earn a 2–2 draw against Chelsea in the Premier League. That was his only goal of the season.[29] On 1 August 2020, Bellerín was selected to start in the FA Cup Final against Chelsea, and went on to win his third winners' medal as Arsenal won their 14th FA Cup.[30]
On 14 February 2021, Bellerín scored his first goal of the 2020–21 season in a 4–2 win over Leeds United in the Premier League.[31]
On 31 August 2021, Bellerín returned to Spain after a decade, joining Real Betis on a season-long loan.[32]
On 1 September 2022, Bellerín returned to Barcelona following the termination of his contract at Arsenal.[33]
Having reached the semi-finals of the 2013 European Championship with the under-19 team,[34] Bellerín made his debut for Albert Celades's under-21 team on 30 March 2015, playing the full 90 minutes of a 4–0 friendly win over Belarus in León.[35]
On 29 May 2016, after being named as a stand-by player for the year's European Championship, Bellerín made his debut for the full squad by starting in a 3–1 friendly win against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the AFG Arena in St. Gallen, Switzerland.[36] Two days later, he was chosen for the final squad after Dani Carvajal withdrew through injury.[3] He was unused as they reached the last 16.
Early in his career Bellerín was known for his pace, which allowed him to take on opposition defenders as well as provide defensive cover. At the beginning of the 2014–15 season, he broke Theo Walcott's 40-metre (130 ft; 44 yd) Arsenal sprint record by 1/100th of a second. Although having been slowed down due to injury in recent{March 2022} seasons, he was considered to be one of the fastest footballers in the world during his early years at Arsenal and was known for often sprinting in hopes of creating attacking chances for his teammates as well as for making key defensive recoveries.[37]
Bellerín became a vegan in 2017, which he credits for improving his health.[38] In an interview in August 2019, he said that footballers have a responsibility to create awareness around environmental issues and that "It's nice to show what we have—our cars, our watches—but good to send a more meaningful message than 'look how cool we are'."[39]
On the day of the 2019 United Kingdom general election, Bellerin criticised Prime Minister and eventual winner Boris Johnson in a tweet where he encouraged young people to vote accompanied by a hashtag #F*ckBoris.[40]
The 2019–20 Premier League was suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When it returned in June, Bellerin pledged to plant 3,000 trees for every Arsenal victory in the remainder of the season.[41]
Bellerín became the second-largest shareholder of EFL League Two club Forest Green Rovers in September 2020. He praised their commitments to veganism and environmentalism.[42]
Bellerín is also a creative director for the EA Sports FIFA Volta game mode.[43]
In March 2022, Bellerín spoke against what he described as double standards of the West on other issues compared to its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "It is quite difficult to see that we are more interested in this war than in others," he told La Media Inglesa. "I don't know if it is because they are more like us or because the conflict can affect us more directly both economically and in terms of refugees. The Palestinian war has been completely silenced, no one speaks about it. Yemen, Iraq... now Russia not being able to play in the World Cup is something that other countries have faced for many years." He went on to say it was racist to "[turn] a blind eye to other conflicts" and that it also showed "a lack of empathy for the number of lives lost in many conflicts and we are prioritising those that are near to us."[44]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Arsenal | 2012–13 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
2013–14 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
2014–15 | Premier League | 20 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 2 | |
2015–16 | Premier League | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
2016–17 | Premier League | 33 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 42 | 1 | ||
2017–18 | Premier League | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8[lower-alpha 3] | 1 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 47 | 3 | |
2018–19 | Premier League | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
2019–20 | Premier League | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | ||
2020–21 | Premier League | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 35 | 1 | |
2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
Total | 183 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 239 | 9 | ||
Watford (loan) | 2013–14 | Championship | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
Real Betis (loan) | 2021–22 | La Liga | 23 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 4[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
Barcelona | 2022–23 | La Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
Career total | 217 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 39 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 284 | 9 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Spain | 2016 | 3 | 0 |
2017 | 0 | 0 | |
2018 | 0 | 0 | |
2019 | 0 | 0 | |
2020 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 4 | 0 |
Arsenal
Real Betis
Spain U21
Individual
FC Barcelona – current squad | |
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Spain squad – UEFA Euro 2016 | ||
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2015–16 Premier League PFA Team of the Year | |
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