Aleix García Serrano (Catalan: [əˈleʒ ɣəɾˈsi.ə]; Spanish: [aˈleʃ ɣaɾˈθi.a];[A] born 28 June 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Spain national team.
.jpg) García with Spain U18 in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aleix García Serrano[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 28 June 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Ulldecona, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bayer Leverkusen | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2005 | Ulldecona | ||
| 2005–2015 | Villarreal | ||
| 2015–2016 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015 | Villarreal | 1 | (0) |
| 2015–2020 | Manchester City | 4 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | → Girona (loan) | 51 | (3) |
| 2019–2020 | → Mouscron (loan) | 23 | (5) |
| 2020–2021 | Dinamo București | 7 | (0) |
| 2021 | Eibar | 11 | (0) |
| 2021–2024 | Girona | 98 | (4) |
| 2024– | Bayer Leverkusen | 8 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013 | Spain U16 | 2 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Spain U17 | 9 | (1) |
| 2015 | Spain U18 | 2 | (2) |
| 2016 | Spain U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2018 | Spain U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2023– | Spain | 4 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2024 | |||
Club career
editVillarreal
editBorn in Ulldecona, Tarragona, Catalonia, García joined Villarreal CF's youth setup in 2005, aged eight, after starting out at CF Ulldecona.[2] He made his senior debut with the reserves in Segunda División B on 26 April 2014 at only 16 years of age, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 away win against CF Badalona.[3]
García featured for the C team in the 2014–15 season, also appearing for the B side in the same campaign. He made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 23 May 2015, replacing Antonio Rukavina in a 4–0 loss at Athletic Bilbao.[4]
Manchester City
editOn 27 August 2015, García joined Premier League side Manchester City.[5] He was selected by then-City manager Manuel Pellegrini against Chelsea on 21 February 2016 in the fifth round of the FA Cup.[6]
García made his first Premier League appearance on 17 September 2016, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute in a 4–0 home win against Bournemouth.[7] On 21 September, he started in an EFL Cup match against Swansea City, scoring his first goal for the club in the 2–1 away win.[8] He next started a month later on 26 October, in another EFL Cup match, a 1–0 loss to Manchester United.[9]
Girona (loan)
editOn 1 August 2017, García was loaned to newly promoted La Liga club Girona FC until the end of the season.[10] He was loaned again for the 2018–19 season.[11]
Royal Excel Mouscron (loan)
editGarcía was loaned to Belgian side Royal Excel Mouscron for the 2019–20 season.[12]
Dinamo București & Eibar
editOn 8 October 2020, he signed a contract with Romanian club Dinamo București, until the end of the season.[13] On 18 January 2021, after featuring sparingly, he returned to Spain and its top tier after signing for Eibar on a free transfer.[14]
Return to Girona
editOn 23 July 2021, García returned to Girona on a two-year contract, with the club now in Segunda División.[15] He made his return debut for the club on 14 August, the first matchday of the 2021–22 season, starting in a 2–0 victory against Amorebieta.[16] On 2 December 2021, García scored his first goal for the club upon returning, closing the score in a 5–1 away win in the Copa del Rey over fourth tier Calvo Sotelo Puertollano.[17] He made 45 total appearances for the club in his first season, helping the club reach promotion to La Liga in the play-offs.[18]
On 26 February 2023, García opened the score in a historic 3–2 La Liga win over Athletic Bilbao, Girona's first ever win away against Bilbao at San Mamés.[19]
Bayer Leverkusen
editOn 13 June 2024, after a successful season for Girona, Garcia moved to Bayer 04 Leverkusen for more than €18 million.[20][21]
International career
editGarcía was a youth international footballer for Spain. On 10 November 2023, he was called up for the senior national team for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches.[22] On 16 November, he made his debut in a 3–1 away win over Cyprus.[23]
On 27 May 2024, he was selected in the 29-man preliminary squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.[24] However, on 7 June, he was excluded from the final squad prior to the tournament.[25]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 9 November 2024[26]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Villarreal B | 2013–14 | Segunda División B | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 4 | ||||||
| Total | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||||
| Villarreal C | 2014–15 | Tercera División | 27 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 27 | 4 | ||||
| Villarreal | 2014–15 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Manchester City | 2015–16 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 1 | |||
| Girona (loan) | 2017–18 | La Liga | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 1 | |||
| 2018–19 | 31 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 51 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 55 | 3 | |||||
| Mouscron (loan) | 2019–20 | Belgian Pro League | 23 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 5 | |||
| Dinamo București | 2020–21 | Liga I | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Eibar | 2020–21 | La Liga | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Girona | 2021–22 | Segunda División | 38 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 4[c] | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 37 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 40 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 98 | 3 | 8 | 1 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 110 | 4 | ||||
| Bayer Leverkusen | 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 4[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 15 | 1 | |
| Career total | 240 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 271 | 18 | ||
- ^ Includes FA Cup, Copa del Rey, Belgian Cup, Cupa României, DFB-Pokal
- ^ Includes EFL Cup
- ^ Appearances in Segunda División play-offs
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Appearance in DFL-Supercup
International
edit- As of match played 15 October 2024[27]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
Honours
editBayer Leverkusen
Girona
- Supercopa de Catalunya: 2019
Individual
Notes
edit- ^ In isolation, García is pronounced [ɡəɾˈsi.ə]/[ɡaɾˈθi.a], and Aleix [əˈleʃ].
References
edit- ^ "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- ^ "Trabajo con ganas e ilusión para hacerme con un hueco este año en el Villarreal B" [I work with eagerness and hope to fit in to Villarreal B this year]. Levante-EMV (in Spanish). 29 July 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ^ "¡Victoria del Villarreal B en Badalona!" [Victory of Villarreal B in Badalona!] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. 26 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2 September 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ^ "El Athletic monta la fiesta" [Athletic party mounts]. Marca (in Spanish). 23 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ^ Richard Jolly (27 August 2015). "Aleix Garcia joins Manchester City from Villarreal". ESPN. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Man City give five young players debuts in FA Cup game at Chelsea". ESPN. 21 February 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ Sanghera, Mandeep (17 September 2016). "Manchester City 4–0 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
- ^ Mooney, David (21 September 2016). "Teenager Aleix Garcia impresses as Man City defeat Swansea in EFL Cup". ESPN. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- ^ McKeegan, Alice (27 October 2016). "Guardiola praises two Man City players after EFL Cup defeat to Manchester United". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- ^ "Aleix García will strengthen the midfield of Girona" (in Catalan). Girona FC. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ "Manchester City starlet Aleix García heading to Spain for new loan move". City Watch. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "City loans Aleix García... to Mouscron!" (in Spanish). Marca. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ "Aleix Garcia Serrano la Dinamo Bucureşti". fcdinamo.ro (in Romanian). 8 October 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- ^ Barroso, Ander (18 January 2021). "Aleix García, nuevo jugador del Eibar" [Aleix García, new Eibar player]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ "Segona etapa d'Aleix Garcia al Girona FC" [Second spell of Aleix Garcia at Girona FC] (in Catalan). Girona FC. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ "El Girona vence en casa al Amorebieta por 2–0" [Girona beats Amorebieta 2–0 at home]. sport (in Spanish). 14 August 2021. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ Solà, Nil (2 December 2021). "1–5: El Girona arrolla al Calvo Sotelo en Puertollano" [1–5: Girona overwhelm Calvo Sotelo in Puertollano]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "Girona gets promoted to First Division!". Girona FC. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "El Girona hace historia en San Mamés" [Girona make history at San Mamés]. sport (in Spanish). 26 February 2023. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "Official | Bayer Leverkusen sign Aleix Garcia from Girona". Get German Football News. OneFootball. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
- ^ "Bayer Leverkusen signs Girona midfielder Aleix García ahead of Bundesliga title defense". Associated Press. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
- ^ "Spain calls up Girona midfielder Aleix García for final 2 European qualifiers". AP News. 10 November 2023.
- ^ "Aleix García's sweetest moment". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Euro 2024 provisional squad". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ "OFFICIAL | Final Spain squad for the Euro 2024 finals". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ Aleix García at Soccerbase
- ^ "Aleix García". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ "Bayer Leverkusen battle back to beat VfB Stuttgart on penalties in Supercup". Bundesliga. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ "Los Premios 'Team Of The Season' de LALIGA y EA SPORTS desvelan los 15 mejores jugadores de la temporada" (in Spanish). La Liga. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
External links
edit
- Profile at the Girona FC website
- Aleix García at BDFutbol
- Aleix García at Soccerbase