Alejandro "Álex" Baena Rodríguez (born 20 July 2001) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger for La Liga club Villarreal.
![]() Baena with Spain U19 in 2019 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Alejandro Baena Rodríguez | ||
Date of birth | (2001-07-20) 20 July 2001 (age 21) | ||
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) |
2018–2019 | Villarreal C | 2 | (0) |
2019–2021 | Villarreal B | 23 | (0) |
2020– | Villarreal | 20 | (4) |
2021–2022 | → Girona (loan) | 38 | (5) |
National team‡ | |||
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 | 3 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:03, 9 November 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 September 2022 |
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]
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.
Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Villarreal B | 2019–20 | Segunda División B | 23 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||
2020–21 | Segunda División B | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
Total | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
Villarreal | 2019–20 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
2020–21 | La Liga | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | — | 20 | 2 | ||
2022–23 | La Liga | 13 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7[lower-alpha 2] | 4 | — | 21 | 9 | ||
Total | 20 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 11 | ||
Girona (loan) | 2021–22 | Segunda División | 38 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 4[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 45 | 5 | |
Career total | 81 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 111 | 16 |
Villarreal CF – current squad | |
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