Lucas François Bernard Hernandez (; born 14 February 1996) is a French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or centre back for club

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

and the France national team. Considered one of the best defenders in the world, Hernandez is known for his versatility and defensive prowess. Hernandez started his career with

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

where he made more than 100 competitive appearances, reaching the

2016 UEFA Champions League Final The 2016 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, the 61st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 24th season since it was renamed from the European Champion ...

. He also won the 2018 Europa League and the

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the prev ...

in the same year. He signed for Bayern in 2019, winning the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and Champions League in his first season as part of a

treble Treble may refer to: In music: *Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass *Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range *Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands *T ...

. A French international since 2018, Hernandez was part of the winning squad at the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

and also participated in UEFA Euro 2020.

Club career

Atlético Madrid

Born in Marseille while his father

Jean-François Hernandez Jean-François Hernandez (born 23 April 1969) is a French former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Born in Tours of Spanish descent, Hernandez played for Toulouse FC, FC Sochaux-Montbéliard and Olympique d ...

was playing for

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

, Hernandez moved to Spain at age four (as a result, he would later speak French with a slight Spanish accent), and joined

's youth setup in 2007 at age 11 from

CF Rayo Majadahonda Club de Fútbol Rayo Majadahonda () is a Spanish football team based in Majadahonda, in the autonomous community of Madrid. Founded in 1976 it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at ''Estadio Cerro del Espino'', with ...

. On 9 November 2013, while still a junior, he was called up by manager Diego Simeone for a La Liga match against Villarreal CF, but remained unused in the 1–1 away draw on the following day. Hernandez made his senior debut on 26 April 2014, starting for the reserves in a 0–1 away loss against

Real Sociedad B Real Sociedad de Fútbol "B" (also known as Sanse) is a Spanish football team based in San Sebastián, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1955, it is the reserve team of Real Sociedad and plays in Primera Federación ...

in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

. He appeared in three further matches during the season, as they narrowly avoided relegation; he also signed a new deal with the club in June, running until 2018. Hernandez made his first-team debut on 3 December 2014, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 away success over CE L'Hospitalet in the campaign's Copa del Rey. His maiden appearance in the Spanish top level took place on the 21st, when he came on as a late substitute for Guilherme Siqueira in a 4–1 away win against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

2015–16 season

On 10 August 2015, Hernandez renewed his contract until 2019 and was definitively promoted to the main squad. His maiden appearance in the UEFA Champions League took place on 15 March 2016, as he replaced injured Diego Godín for

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

of the round-of-16 tie against PSV Eindhoven (0–0 after 120 minutes, 8–7 penalty shootout win); he entered at the same point in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, a shootout loss to neighbours

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in the San Siro on 28 May.

2016–17 season

On 6 August 2016, Hernandez signed a contract extension with Atlético until 30 June 2020. He played a more important role for Atlético during the 2016-17 season. Hernandez played in 22 matches in all competitions during the season. He was in the starting lineup in 20 of these matches.

2017–18 season

During the 2017-18 season, Hernandez was a key member of the team as he played in 44 matches in all competitions. Atlético reached the

2018 UEFA Europa League Final The 2018 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, the 47th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 9th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Euro ...

. He started and played the whole match against French club Marseille. Atlético won the match 3-0 and Hernandez won his first international trophy.

2018–19 season

Hernandez scored his first goal as a professional on 19 January 2019, in a 3–0 away defeat of SD Huesca. On 27 March 2019, Atlético confirmed that Hernandez would leave the club in the summer of 2019. Atlético confirmed they offered Hernandez a contract extension, but he decided to sign for Bundesliga club

. Atlético said that the German club activated Hernandez's release clause of €80 million. During the medical examination by Bayern Munich medical staff, a damage to the medial collateral ligament in Hernandez's right knee was found. The injury required a surgical repair. On 28 March 2019, Hernandez had a successful operation on his right knee. The operation ended Hernandez's season with Atlético. Hernandez played in 14 La Liga matches and scored one goal. In all competitions, he played in 22 matches and scored one goal. On 12 October 2019, Hernandez's former coach at Atlético, Diego Simeone, said in an interview with ''

Marca Marca may refer to: Places * Marca, Sălaj, a commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Marca, a tributary of the Barcău in Sălaj County, Romania * an alternative name for Merca, Somalia * Marca District, in the province Recuay, Peru * Marçà, a vil ...

'' that the left back's departure to Bayern had hurt Atlético a great deal: "The exit that hurt us the most was Lucas, who was a boy from the academy ... t hurtMore than ntoine Griezmann," who left Atlético at the same time for Barcelona.

Bayern Munich

On 27 March 2019, Bayern Munich announced that Hernandez would join the club on 1 July 2019 for a club record (and Bundesliga record) fee of €80 million, signing a five-year contract lasting until 2024. He made his debut for Bayern on 10 August in a first round match against Energie Cottbus in the DFB-Pokal as an 89th-minute substitute. On 23 August 2020, along with his Bayern Munich teammates, Hernandez became a Champions League winner. On 3 November 2020, Hernandez scored his first goal for Bayern Munich in a 6–2 away win over Red Bull Salzburg in the

2020–21 UEFA Champions League The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea defeat ...

International career

Hernandez earned his first cap for France on 6 March 2012, playing the full 90 minutes for the under-16 team in 1–1

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

draw against Italy at Coverciano. In 2014, he also appeared with the under-18 and under-19 sides. The following year, he was selected for

2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 14th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship (64th edition if the Under-18 and Junior eras are included), the annual European youth football competition contested by the men's under-19 ...

Team of the Tournament for his performances. In March 2018, Hernandez was called up to the senior team by manager Didier Deschamps for

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

with

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and Russia. He made his debut against the former, replacing Lucas Digne for the last 14 minutes of the 2–3 loss in Paris. Hernandez was selected for the

. He made his debut in the competition on 16 June, playing the entire 2–1 group stage win against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

; he featured in all of the matches for the eventual champions, playing for the full 90 minutes in six of France's seven matches on their way to winning the tournament. In October 2021, ahead of the UEFA Nations League semi-finals against Belgium, Lucas for the first time received a call-up to the national team from Didier Deschamps together with his brother Theo; the two were later fielded in the 3–4–1–2 formation as a left center back and a left wingback, respectively, making it the first time they played together in a senior competitive game, which turned out to be a 3–2 comeback victory for France, with Theo scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute. Hernandez was selected for France's squad ahead of the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

but suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) 13 minutes into the first group match against Australia and was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. His younger brother

Theo Hernandez Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

substituted into the match for him after the injury and played out the remainder of France's World Cup 2022 run in his stead.

Personal life

Hernandez's father,

Jean-François Jean-François is a French given name. Notable people bearing the given name include: * Jean-François Carenco (born 1952), French politician * Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), French Egyptologist * Jean-François Clervoy (born 1958), Fre ...

, was also a footballer who played as a centre back. Of Spanish descent, he also played for Atlético Madrid; Hernandez's younger brother, Theo, was also raised at the club, and played in the same position. In an interview with ''Marca'' in October 2018, he stated that his family had not heard from their father for 12 or 13 years. In 2022, French newspaper '' L'Équipe'' found that Jean-François – who went missing in 2004 – was living in Thailand, and had allegedly been legally blocked by his ex-partner from seeing their children. On 3 February 2017, Hernandez was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend, who was also summoned to appear in court. Both Hernandez and his girlfriend, Amelia Llorente, were sentenced to 31 days of community service, while Hernandez was also served with a restraining order preventing him from being within 500 metres of Llorente. Hernandez was arrested again in June of the same year for violating the restraining order after he and Llorente landed together in Madrid, returning from their honeymoon. For this violation, on 13 October 2021, Hernandez was sentenced to six-months in prison by a Spanish court; Hernandez successfully appealed his sentence and was instead given a four year suspended sentence and ordered to pay a €96,000 fine.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Atlético Madrid * UEFA Europa League: 2017–18 * UEFA Super Cup:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

* UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2015–16 Bayern Munich * Bundesliga: 2019–20,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, 2021–22 * DFB-Pokal: 2019–20 * DFL-Supercup:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

* UEFA Champions League: 2019–20 * UEFA Super Cup:

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

France * FIFA World Cup:

; runner-up:

* UEFA Nations League:

Individual * UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Orders *

Knight of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

: 2018

References

External links

Profile
at the FC Bayern Munich website * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Lucas 1996 births Living people French people of Spanish descent Footballers from Marseille French footballers Association football defenders Atlético Madrid B players Atlético Madrid footballers FC Bayern Munich footballers Segunda División B players La Liga players Bundesliga players UEFA Champions League winning players France youth international footballers France under-21 international footballers France international footballers 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players French expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Germany French expatriate sportspeople in Germany FIFA World Cup-winning players UEFA Nations League-winning players Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Association football people awarded knighthoods