Aleix Vidal Parreu (born 21 August 1989) 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 ...

who plays for

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

. Mainly a

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and a player of great speed, he can also operate as a

right-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 ...

. Having spent his early career at a string of lower-league and reserve teams, he became a regular at

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

, helping them to promotion to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

, and also won the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

with

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...

before signing for

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern 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 ...

in 2015 for €17 million. Three seasons later, he returned to Sevilla. Vidal won one cap for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, in 2015.

Club career

Early years

Born in

Valls Valls () is a city and municipality in the province of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. According to the 2014 census it has a population of 24,570. Valls is known for its calçots – a type of scallion or green onion – and the human towers trad ...

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

, and raised in neighbouring

Puigpelat Puigpelat is a municipality in the '' comarca'' of Alt Camp, province of Tarragona Tarragona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, T ...

, Vidal started his career as a forward. He signed for

in 2007 to further his development after having already made his senior debut with CF Reus Deportiu, but never appeared for the former's first team, finishing his only senior season with the club on loan to Panthrakikos F.C. from Greece. On 31 August 2009, Vidal moved to Segunda División side

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2. ...

, but spent the vast majority of the season with CF Pobla de Mafumet, the

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

. He joined

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

in the middle of 2010, being assigned to the reserves in

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 Fo ...

Almería

In mid-June 2011, after suffering relegation, Vidal joined another

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

also in that tier,

UD Almería B Unión Deportiva Almería "B" is a Spanish football team based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 2001, it is the reserve team of UD Almería and currently plays in Tercera Federación – Group 9, holding home ...

. He made his debut for the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

ns' main squad on 27 August 2011, against

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), (from the 2020–21 season onwards competing under the umbrella of Unión Futbolística Cordobesa, S.A.D.) is a Spanish football club based in Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1951 as ...

. Shortly after, he was promoted to the first team and received the No. 8 jersey following the departure of

Albert Crusat Albert Crusat Domènech (born 13 May 1982) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a left winger. After starting out at Espanyol, he spent most of his professional career with Almería, appearing in 212 competitive matches and scoring 34 ...

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 193 ...

. In his second season, Vidal scored four goals in 37 games – 30 starts, nearly 2,600 minutes of action – helping to a return to

after two years. On 6 August 2013, he renewed his link with Almería until 2017, making his top-flight debut on 19 August by starting in a 2–3 home loss to

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

, and scored his first goal roughly a month later, in a 4–2 defeat at

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, 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 professional football club based in ...

Sevilla

On 16 June 2014, Vidal signed with

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Eu ...

for a €3 million fee, penning a four-year contract. He made his competitive debut on 12 August in the 2014 UEFA Super Cup at the Cardiff City Stadium, playing 66 minutes before being substituted for fellow debutant

Iago Aspas Iago Aspas Juncal (; born 1 August 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Celta and the Spain national team. He has spent most of his career with Celta, appearing in 418 official games across 13 seasons and scor ...

in a 0–2 loss to

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 ...

. He found the net on his league debut 11 days later, opening the 1–1 home draw against

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the S ...

. On 7 May 2015, in a game in which he featured as right back until Coke entered the field in the 58th minute – he was often used by manager Unai Emery in that position during the campaign– Vidal scored twice and also provided an assist to

Kevin Gameiro Kevin Dominique Gameiro (born 9 May 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club Strasbourg. He is a strong striker who is known for his clinical finishing, which compensates for his relatively light frame. ...

, in a 3–0 home win over

ACF Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

in the semi-finals of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

. He started in the final 20 days later, a 3–2 defeat of

FC Dnipro Football Club Dnipro ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб «Дніпро́», ) was a Ukrainian football club based in Dnipro. The club was owned by the Privat Group that also owns BC Dnipro and Budivelnyk Kyiv. In 2018 FC Dnipro was forced ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

Barcelona

On 7 June 2015, Vidal signed a five-year contract with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional Football team, football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish footb ...

, for an €18 million fee plus four in add-ons. He underwent a medical on the following day, being also officially presented. Due to an embargo placed on the club by FIFA for breaking rules on signing under-age foreign players, he was not permitted to appear in competitive games until January 2016. Vidal made his official debut for the ''Blaugrana'' on 6 January 2016, replacing

Dani Alves Daniel Alves da Silva (born 6 May 1983), known simply as Dani Alves (), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Liga MX club UNAM and the Brazil national team. Widely considered one of the greatest full-backs of ...

midway through the second half of a 4–1 home victory against former club Espanyol in the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

of the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

. Subsequently, he was completely ostracised by manager

Luis Enrique Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player. A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playing in several different positions, but usually played a ...

. On 14 January 2017, profiting from the absence of habitual starting right-back Sergi Roberto, Vidal opened his league account for Barcelona, contributing to a 5–0 rout of

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Las Palmas, on the island of Gran Canaria in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded on 22 August 1949, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at the ...

at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barc ...

. On 11 February, in the last minutes of a 6–0 away win against

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friends Club, it ...

, he dislocated his ankle following a challenge by Theo Hernandez, being ruled out for the rest of the season.

Return to Sevilla

On 4 August 2018, Vidal returned to Sevilla for a fee of €8.5 million plus 2 million in variables. However, he struggled to settle in the first team, being also deemed surplus to requirements by new manager

Julen Lopetegui Julen Lopetegui Agote (; born 28 August 1966) is a Spanish former professional footballer, currently manager of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. A goalkeeper, he played 149 La Liga matches over nine seasons, representing Real ...

in July 2019. On 28 July 2019, Vidal was loaned out to fellow top-tier club Alavés in a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

-long deal. On 1 July 2021, he and Sevilla parted ways by mutual consent.

Espanyol

Vidal returned to Espanyol on 18 August 2021, after agreeing to a two-year contract.

International career

Vidal made his debut for

on 30 December 2013, playing the second half of a 4–1 win over

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

at the

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (, formerly known as the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc and Estadio de Montjuic) is a stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Originally built in 1927 for the 1929 International Exposition in the city (and Barcelona ...

. On 26 May 2015, he and Sevilla teammate Sergio Rico were the two players called up to the Spanish national team for the first time, ahead of a friendly against Costa Rica and a

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

qualifying match against

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. He made his debut in the 2–1 victory against the former at the

Estadio Reino de León A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

, playing the entire first half before being substituted for his former Sevilla partner Vitolo.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Sevilla *

: 2014–15 Barcelona *

: 2015–16, 2017–18 *

: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...

: 2016 Individual *UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2014–15

References

External links

FC Barcelona official profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Aleix 1989 births Living people People from Valls Sportspeople from the Province of Tarragona Spanish footballers Footballers from Catalonia Association football defenders Association football wingers Association football utility players La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players CF Reus Deportiu players CF Damm players RCD Espanyol B footballers CF Pobla de Mafumet footballers Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers RCD Mallorca B players UD Almería B players UD Almería players Sevilla FC players FC Barcelona players Deportivo Alavés players RCD Espanyol footballers Super League Greece players Panthrakikos F.C. players UEFA Europa League winning players Spain international footballers Catalonia international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece