Alejandro "Alex" Alcalá Solorio (born 20 October 2005) is a 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

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 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 ...

. Born in the United States, he is a youth international for Mexico.

Club career

Early career

Born in Stockton,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Alcalá started his career with local side Stockton TLJ FC Rebels. He spent time training with

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

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

before joining the

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

academy in 2020. He signed professional terms with the Galaxy in February 2021. In July 2021, it was announced that English side Manchester City have a pre-arrangement with La Galaxy to have first refusal to Alcalá's buyout clause once he turns 18. In July 2022, having not yet made his debut for

LA Galaxy II Ventura County FC is an American professional soccer team based in the Greater Los Angeles area town of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, California, United States that plays in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United States soccer league sy ...

, he was named to the

MLS Next MLS Next (stylized as MLS NEXT) is a youth association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is managed, organized, and controlled by Major League Soccer. It was introduced by the league in 2020. It is a successor to th ...

All-Star Game for 2022.

Manchester City

On 11 January 2024, Alcalá signed a five-year deal with Manchester City's Elite Development Squad.

International career

Eligible to represent both Mexico and the United States at international level, Alcalá has been capped by Mexico at various youth level.

Style of play

A skilful and fast midfielder, Alcalá models his play style on Brazilian legend

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

, and states that he admires the playing style of

Jesús Manuel Corona Jesús Manuel "Tecatito" Corona Ruíz (; born 6 January 1993) is a Mexican professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger for Liga MX club C.F. Monterrey, Monterrey. Tecatito made his debut with C.F. Mo ...

. He has been referred to as the "Mexican Messi", due to his stature and playing style being similar to that of Argentine legend

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

. However, Alcalá says that he does not like this comparison, and wants to make his own impact on the game.

Honours

Monarcas Academy *Copa do Campeonato: 2014, 2015 *Fc Elk Grove Champions: 2014 *Summer Classic: 2014 *Turlock FC New Years Tournament: 2015 *Copita Alianza: 2016 Manchester City *

Premier League 2 The Professional Development League is a system of Football in England, English youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Th ...

: 2024–25 Mexico U16 *Torneo Delle Nazioni: 2019 *Trinidad and Tobago Tournament: 2019 Individual *Copa do Campeonato Golden Boot: 2014 *Copa do Campeonato Player of the Tournament: 2015 *

All-Star: 2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcalá, Alex 2005 births Living people Sportspeople from Stockton, California Soccer players from California Mexican men's footballers Mexico men's youth international footballers American men's soccer players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Men's association football midfielders Ventura County FC players MLS Next Pro players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Mexican sportsmen