Pere Pons Riera (born 20 February 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Cypriot club AEK Larnaca FC.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pere Pons Riera | ||
| Date of birth | (1993-02-20) 20 February 1993 (age 29) | ||
| Place of birth | Sant Martí Vell, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | AEK Larnaca | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2012 | Girona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012 | Girona B | 8 | (1) |
| 2012–2019 | Girona | 197 | (4) |
| 2014 | → Olot (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | Alavés | 79 | (4) |
| 2022– | AEK Larnaca | 1 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2016– | Catalonia | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:32, 13 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2019 | |||
Born in Sant Martí Vell, Girona, Catalonia, Pons joined Girona FC's youth setup in 2002, aged nine.[1] He started his senior career with the reserves in the regional leagues, in 2012.
On 13 September 2012, Pons made his first-team debut, coming on as a second-half substitute for Joseba Garmendia in a 2–0 away loss against Sporting de Gijón in the second round of the Copa del Rey.[2] He first appeared in Segunda División three days later, again replacing Garmendia in the 5–0 home rout of UD Las Palmas.[3]
Pons scored his first professional goal on 6 October 2013, the first in a 1–1 home draw against CE Sabadell FC. On 29 January 2014, he was loaned to Segunda División B side UE Olot until June.[4] He subsequently returned to the Albirrojos in the summer, and was made first choice by manager Pablo Machín.[5]
On 21 November 2014, Pons renewed his contract with the club, signing until 2017.[6] He contributed two goals[7][8] in 38 matches during the 2016–17 campaign, in a first-ever promotion to La Liga.
Pons agreed to an extension on 15 August 2017, until 2020.[9] He made his debut in the top flight four days later, starting in a 2–2 home draw with Atlético Madrid.[10]
On 4 July 2019, after suffering relegation, Pons signed a three-year contract with Deportivo Alavés still in the top tier.[11]
On 28 December 2016, Pons made his debut for the Catalonia national team, coming on as a half-time substitute for Sergi Roberto in a 3–3 draw against Tunisia (2–4 penalty loss).[12]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Girona | 2012–13 | Segunda División | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | |||
| 2014–15 | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 45 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | 38 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 2 | |||
| 2017–18 | La Liga | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | |||
| Total | 197 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 216 | 4 | ||
| Olot (loan) | 2013–14 | Segunda División B | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |
| Alavés | 2019–20 | La Liga | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | |
| 2020–21 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Total | 40 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 1 | ||
| Career totals | 251 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 272 | 5 | ||
AEK Larnaca – current squad | |
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