Alejandro Balde

Club career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, to a Dominican mother and Bissau-Guinean father, Balde joined Barcelona in 2011 at the age of eight after coming up through ranks at Espanyol. In July 2021, he signed a contract renewal with Barcelona until 2024 with a release clause of 500 million euros.

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. He sat on the bench for the opening match against Real Sociedad and the next game against Athletic Bilbao. On 14 September, 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.

From the start of the 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. On 14 May, he scored his first goal for the club in a 4–2 away win over Espanyol, where his team secured the league title.

On 20 September, it was announced that Balde would sign a new contract at the club until 2028, with the buyout clause set at €1 billion. On 24 January 2024, he suffered a hamstring injury in his right leg, having to undergo surgery after leaving the pitch in tears against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, which Barcelona lost 4–2, and ending up missing the rest of the season.

On 12 January 2025, Balde scored his first El Clásico goal in the 2025 Supercopa de España final, scoring Barcelona's fourth goal in an eventual 5–2 victory.