Álvaro Fernández Carreras (born 23 March 2003) is a Spanish 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 lea ...

who plays as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

Club career

Early career

Born in Ferrol, Carreras started his career with Galicia de Caranza, before joining his hometown club

Racing de Ferrol Racing Club de Ferrol, commonly known as Racing de Ferrol, is a Spanish football team based in Ferrol, Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1919, the club currently plays in , holding home games at '' E ...

in 2007. During his time with the club, he played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

, scoring 100 goals in a season in the youth ranks. He joined

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

's youth ranks in 2012, where he was converted to a

, before moving to Real Madrid U13 in 2017.

Manchester United

Carreras signed for

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

from

in September 2020 on a four-year contract, amid interest from other European clubs such as

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. He began training with the first team during the early stages of the 2021–22 season. Carreras was a regular for the under-23 team in his first season at Manchester United, making 20 league appearances and one in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

, as well as seven for the under-18s, and two in the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

. He then played 21 times in the league in 2021–22, all as a starter, as well as playing in all three EFL Trophy matches and six of the seven in the

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the under-19 teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions Le ...

. He received his first call-up to the Manchester United first team in April 2022, when he was named on the bench for the

match at home to Chelsea. He was also named on the bench against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. On 11 May 2022, Carreras was named Manchester United's U23 Player of the Year. He departed the club in 2024 before making his debut for the senior team.

Loan to Preston North End

On 26 July 2022, Carreras joined

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

on loan for the duration of the 2022–23 season. He made his debut on 30 July 2022, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute for

Robbie Brady Robert Brady (born 14 January 1992) is an Irish professional association football, footballer who plays as a left winger, left-back or left wing-back for club Preston North End F.C., Preston North End and the Republic of Ireland national footba ...

in a 0–0 draw away at

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

Loan to Granada

On 1 September 2023, Carreras joined

club

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

on a season-long loan. On 14 January 2024, he was recalled by Manchester United.

Benfica

On 17 January 2024, Manchester United sent Carreras on loan to

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

club Benfica until the end of the 2023–24 season. The loan deal included an optional buy-clause, reported to be €6 million, which became mandatory if he started 50% of Benfica's remaining games during the loan spell. Seven days later, Carreras made his debut for Benfica, coming on as a second-half substitute in the

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

semi-final A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

against

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

; the game ended 1–1, with Benfica being subsequently eliminated by

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. On 4 February, he made his Primeira Liga debut, coming off the bench to replace

Morato Morato or Morató is a surname. It is most prevalent in Brazil, followed by Spain and the Philippines. Notable people with this surname include: * Andrew Eric Feitosa (born 1992), Brazilian footballer commonly known as Morato * António Henriques ...

during the second half of a 3–0 victory over

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, Ben ...

. On 26 May 2024, Manchester United announced that Benfica had exercised the €6 million buy option in Carreras' loan contract, which included €3 million in potential add-ons. Subsequently, he signed a new contract with Benfica until 2029.

Real Madrid

On 14 July 2025, Carreras returned to Real Madrid, signing for his boyhood club on a six-year deal reportedly worth €50 million.

International career

Carreras has played youth international football for Spain at under-19 and under-21 levels. He made his debut for the under-19 team on 26 October 2021, when he started in a friendly match against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Personal life

Originally known as Álvaro Fernández, he later adopted his maternal surname, Carreras, in his career. However, Manchester United listed him under his paternal surname, Fernández, for the group stage of the

2021–22 UEFA Youth League The 2021–22 UEFA Youth League was the eighth season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA. Real Madrid, having won the title in 2019–20, were the title holders, since the 2020–21 edition w ...

. According to Álvaro, this decision made "both his mother and father happy".

Career statistics

Honours

Benfica *

: 2024–25 Individual *

Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year Manchester United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Manchester United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. They play in the Premier League 2, the highest tier of the Professional Development League. The team is effective ...

: 2021–22 *

Young Player of the Year: 2022–23 * Primera Liga Team of The Year: 2024–25https://www.abola.pt/futebol/noticias/ja-e-conhecido-o-onze-do-ano-da-liga-2025060714181817879?srsltid=AfmBOorvNlRb-eBrTT0EJs9eNJiPHJDxpUjFsCFxrkXevR70SuPm-z72

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carreras, Alvaro 2003 births Living people Footballers from Ferrol, Spain Spanish men's footballers Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football fullbacks English Football League players Primeira Liga players La Liga players Manchester United F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Granada CF footballers S.L. Benfica footballers Real Madrid CF players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal 21st-century Spanish sportsmen