Raúl Albiol Tortajada (born 4 September 1985) 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

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He spent most of his career with

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

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 ...

and

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

, winning five major titles between the first two teams and the

2020–21 UEFA Europa League The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League was the 50th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 12th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. Villarreal defeated Manchester United i ...

with the third. He amassed

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 ...

totals of 394 matches and eight goals over 16 seasons, and also played several years in the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

with

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

. A Spain international since 2007, Albiol represented the country in two

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

and as many

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, winning three tournaments including the

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

Club career

Valencia

Born in

Vilamarxant Vilamarxant () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Camp de Túria in the Valencian Community, Spain. Notable people *Raúl Albiol, (born 4 September 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Villarreal CF V ...

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

, Albiol started playing football with two modest clubs in his native region, moving to local giants

before celebrating his 10th birthday. He made his first-team debut on 24 September 2003 in a

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

first-round tie against AIK at 18 years and 20 days, but spent the first year still registered with the reserves. In August 2004, whilst travelling to sign a deal to join

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

, Albiol was involved in a serious car accident, being put in

intensive care Intensive care medicine, usually called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes p ...

. He managed to recover completely and, after reappearing in January, played an important role in the team surviving the relegation battle. He made his

debut on 15 January 2005 in a 1–1 home draw with

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

, and scored against another side from the capital,

, in a 2–1 home win two months later. Albiol returned to the

Mestalla Stadium Mestalla Stadium ( , ) is a football stadium in Valencia, Spain. The stadium is the home of Valencia and has a capacity of 49,430 seats, making it the 8th-largest stadium in Spain, and the largest in the Valencian Community. The stadium's name o ...

the following season, and quickly established himself as first-choice due to his versatility. In the opening game of 2006–07, he scored the winner against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

in a 2–1 home victory. He also scored from long distance against

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

on 12 September 2006 in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, which Valencia won 4–2 away. During his four-season spell with the first team, Albiol played at least 29 league games, and he helped to victory in the 2007–08 edition of the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

Real Madrid

On 25 June 2009, Albiol joined Real Madrid for a fee thought to be in the region of €15 million, becoming the first Spanish player signed by

Florentino Pérez Florentino Pérez Rodríguez (; born 8 March 1947) is a Spanish businessman and the president of football club Real Madrid, as well as chairman and CEO of Grupo ACS, a civil engineering company. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest club ...

upon his return to the presidency. He scored his first goal on 8 December in a 3–1 Champions League win away to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. He was an undisputed starter during the league campaign, mainly due to

Pepe Pepe is a pet form of the Spanish and Portuguese name José (Joseph). It is also a surname. * People Mononyms *Pepe (footballer, born 1935), Brazilian footballer José Macia *Pepe (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian-born Portuguese footballer ...

's serious knee injury. In the 2010–11 season, Albiol was relegated to the bench as Real brought in another player for his position,

Ricardo Carvalho Ricardo Alberto Silveira de Carvalho (; born 18 May 1978) is a Portuguese professional association football, football coach and former player who is currently assistant head coach of the Portugal national football team, Portugal national team ...

, only appearing in the league through injury or suspension to teammates; he did start, however, in the club's domestic cup run. On 26 January 2011, in the semi-final first leg against

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) 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 Peninsula. Seville ...

(1–0 away victory), he cleared a

Luís Fabiano Luís Fabiano Clemente (born 8 November 1980), commonly known as Luís Fabiano, is a retired Brazilian professional footballer who played as a striker most notably for Sevilla, São Paulo, and the Brazil national team. He is a prolific goals ...

shot just before it crossed the goal line. On 16 April, he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for

fouling Fouling is the accumulation of unwanted material on solid surfaces. The fouling materials can consist of either living organisms (biofouling, organic) or a non-living substance (inorganic). Fouling is usually distinguished from other surfac ...

former Valencia teammate

David Villa David Villa Sánchez (; born 3 December 1981) is a Spanish former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Villa is th ...

inside the

penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends to each side of the goal and in front of it. If any part of the ball is ove ...

during

El Clásico El Clásico (in Spanish, also in lowercase letters; ) or El Clàssic (in Catalan, ), both meaning "The Classic", is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions he ...

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 ...

, which resulted in the first goal in a 1–1 league home draw. On 6 August 2012, Albiol renewed his contract until June 2017. On 27 November, in his first appearance as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, at home against Alcoyano in the

Spanish Cup The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanish f ...

, he had to be stretchered off after only one minute, being sidelined for approximately one month with an ankle injury.

Napoli

On 21 July 2013, Albiol joined

for a reported €12 million, signing a four-year contract. He made his

debut on 25 August, in a 3–0 home win over

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. Albiol scored his first goal for the

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He was most recently the manager of La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo, Celta Vigo. Beníte ...

-led team on 25 January 2014, with an 88th-minute equaliser in a 1–1 home draw against ChievoVerona. On 3 May, he played the entire

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

, helping to a 3–1 defeat of

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

Villarreal

On 4 July 2019, the 33-year-old Albiol returned to Spain after agreeing to a three-year deal with

. He made his debut on 17 August, in a 4–4 home draw with

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 ...

. Albiol scored twice from 11 appearances in the

, as the club won the first major honour of its 98-year history. In the

2021 UEFA Super Cup The 2021 UEFA Super Cup was the 46th edition of the UEFA Super Cup, an annual football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. The match ...

against Chelsea, he missed the decisive

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

in the shoot-out. On 12 April 2022, Albiol was named

player of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in a 1–1 away draw against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

in the Champions League quarter-finals second leg, securing Villarreal's qualification by winning 2–1 on aggregate. In May 2025, four months shy of his 40th birthday, he left the La Cerámica Stadium.

International career

Having represented Spain at under-21 level, Albiol made his debut for the senior squad on 13 October 2007 in an

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

qualifier against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, a 3–1 away win. In the final stages, he appeared twice for the eventual champions, against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

( subbing in for the injured

Carles Puyol Carles Puyol Saforcada (, ; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played List of one-club men in association football, his entire career for FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Considered one of the grea ...

) and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. New national team coach

Vicente del Bosque Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquess of Del Bosque (; born 23 December 1950) is a Spanish retired football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and is to date the only football manager to ha ...

included Albiol in the squad for the

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth FIFA Confederations Cup, Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton ...

in South Africa. He started in Spain's first game, partnering Puyol in central defence ahead of Valencia teammate Carlos Marchena and helping defeat

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

5–0. Albiol was picked for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, but did not leave the bench for the eventual champions after having suffered an injury in training. Again as an unused player, he was also in the squad for the

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

tournament in Poland and Ukraine, which also ended in victory. Albiol was named in Spain's 23-man squad for the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. He made his debut in a major finals in the last group match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

with the Spanish already eliminated, playing the whole 90 minutes alongside

Sergio Ramos Sergio Ramos García (; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captain (association football), captains Liga MX club C.F. Monterrey, Monterrey. Regarded as one of the gr ...

in central defence in a 3–0 victory.

Style of play

A reliable and physically strong player who excels in the air, Albiol's main asset is his versatility, as he can play as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Personal life

Albiol's nickname is "''El Chori''". His older brother

Miguel --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands *São Miguel (disamb ...

was also a footballer, while his father, also named Miguel, appeared in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

for

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city and municipality in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, where it is one of the two capitals, the other being Terrassa. It is located on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona, a ...

. The youngest sibling, Brian, was named after

Brian Laudrup Brian Laudrup (, born 22 February 1969) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a winger, forward or as a midfielder, and was regarded as one of the most talented players of his generation. He currently works for the various T ...

, whom Raúl admired on account of his success with the Denmark national team. Albiol fathered two daughters with his wife Alicia. In 2008, with Guillermo Franco and Marcos Senna, he founded Evangélico FC, an organisation consisting of 140 athletes and 16 coaches which sought to promote Christian values among young athletes in Spain.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Valencia *

: 2007–08 *

: 2003–04 Real Madrid *

: 2011–12 *Copa del Rey:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

; runner-up: 2012–13 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Napoli *

: 2013–14 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Villarreal *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

: 2020–21 2010 FIFA World Cup Spain with cup

Spain U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Spain *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

runner-up:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

; third place

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Individual * La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2006 *UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2014–15, 2020–21

References

External links

*
CiberChe stats and bio
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Albiol, Raul 1985 births Living people People from Camp de Túria Spanish Protestants 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Valencia Men's association football central defenders La Liga players Segunda División B players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Valencia CF players Getafe CF footballers Real Madrid CF players Villarreal CF players Serie A players SSC Napoli players UEFA Europa League–winning players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2008 players 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2012 players 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players UEFA European Championship–winning players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy