Robert Lynch Sánchez (born 18 November 1997) 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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for club Chelsea and the Spain national team.

Club career

Early life and career

Sánchez was born in Cartagena,

Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in area and had a popul ...

. He was born to a Jamaican-English father and Spanish mother. He spent his early career playing locally with Escuela de Fútbol de Santa Ana,

Cartagena FC Cartagena Fútbol Club is a Spanish football team based in Cartagena, in the autonomous community of Murcia. They were formerly called UD Cartagenera. Founded in 1940, they are focused on youth football, and hold home games at ''Ciudad Deport ...

and Ciudad Jardín before joining Levante in 2010.

Brighton & Hove Albion

Sánchez moved to England to sign for

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 ...

at the age of 15, before signing his first professional contract in June 2015. He signed a new three-year contract with the club in April 2018.

Loan spells

In June 2018, Sánchez moved on

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 ...

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...

for the 2018–19 season. He played in the opening game of the season making his debut away at

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

where Rovers won 4–1. Sánchez was recalled by parent club Brighton in January 2019 to provide cover as Albion's

Mathew Ryan Mathew David Ryan (born 8 April 1992) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for club Lens and captains the Australia national team. Born in Sydney, Ryan played youth football for Marconi Stallions, Blacktown C ...

was called up for

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 ...

for the

Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior list of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the contin ...

. He made 17 appearances for Forest Green that season, all coming in the league. On 24 July 2019, Sánchez joined

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

on loan for the 2019–20 season. He made his debut for the club in a 3–2 away win over

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

Return to Brighton

On 1 November 2020, Sánchez made his Brighton debut, playing in a 2–1 defeat in a

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 ...

match against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. On 23 February 2021, Sánchez signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Brighton, running until June 2025. Sánchez was sent off in the 1–1 home draw against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

on 6 November, in Brighton's eleventh match of the 2021–22 season, for fouling

Callum Wilson Callum Eddie Graham Wilson (born 27 February 1992) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Premier League club Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United and the Englan ...

who was within a goalscoring opportunity. He kept a clean sheet in the 4–0 win over

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 ...

on 7 May 2022, helping Brighton earn their record top flight victory, with his long-range pass providing a crucial role in

Pascal Groß Pascal Alexander Groß ( born 15 June 1991) is a German professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder or full-back (association football), full-back for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national football ...

's goal. In the second half of the 2022–23 season Sánchez lost his number one spot to long standing back-up keeper Jason Steele, with Brighton head coach

Roberto De Zerbi Roberto De Zerbi (; born 6 June 1979) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Ligue 1 club Marseille. Playing career De Zerbi started his professional career at AC Milan. He spent four se ...

saying that "he is sad for Robert" and that he has "one of the best relationships" with the player. He was selected to play instead of Steele on 19 March, keeping a clean sheet in the 5–0 FA Cup quarter-final win over League Two side

at Falmer Stadium. On 15 April, with Steele injured, Sánchez played against Chelsea in a 2–1 away win. Eight days later he retained his place, keeping a clean sheet against

in 120 minutes of play in the FA Cup semi-final at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

, but failing to save a penalty in the eventual shootout loss.

Chelsea

On 3 August 2023, it was reported that Brighton had agreed a transfer fee, with fellow

club Chelsea, worth an initial £20 million, plus £5 million in add-ons, for Sánchez. The transfer was completed on 5 August, with the player signing a seven-year contract. On 8 August, Chelsea confirmed that he would wear the vacant number 31 shirt for the upcoming 2023–24 season. On 13 August, he made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the Premier League. Following

Kepa Arrizabalaga Kepa Arrizabalaga Revuelta (born 3 October 1994), often referred to simply as Kepa, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Chelsea. After progressing through Athletic Bilbao's youth academy, Arrizabalaga be ...

's loan move to

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 ...

, on 17 August, Sánchez opted to switch his shirt number to No.1. In October 2023, he was described by pundit

Karen Bardsley Karen Louise Bardsley (born 14 October 1984) is an American-born English former Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. She played for Sky Blue FC in the previous top-flight American Women' ...

as possibly "Chelsea's smartest signing" due to "the positive effect he's had on a team which is in transition". By January 2025, new Chelsea manager

Enzo Maresca Enzo Maresca (born 10 February 1980) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach of Premier League club Chelsea. After starting out at West Bromwich Albion in 1998, he went on to play for several clubs in ...

said he was considering dropping Sánchez, following a series of errors.

International career

Sánchez was born in Spain to an English father and Spanish mother. Sánchez received his first call-up to the Spanish national team in March 2021, for

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Par ...

matches against

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 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. He was selected to the Spain squad for the delayed

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

tournament in May 2021. Sánchez and

David de Gea David de Gea Quintana (; born 7 November 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Fiorentina. Considered one of the best keepers of his generation, he is known for his reflexes and shot-stopping capabilitie ...

remained as understudies to

Unai Simón Unai Simón Mendibil (born 11 June 1997) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Spain national team. Simón has spent his entire club career with Athletic, developing with their youth academy ...

and did not make an appearance as Spain were knocked out on penalties against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the semi-final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

on 6 July. He made his international debut on 5 September 2021, replacing Simón in the second half of a World Cup qualifier 4–0 win against Georgia in

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

. Sánchez was part of Spain's

2021 UEFA Nations League Finals The 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, 2020–21 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the second season of the international Association football, football competition involving the men' ...

squad in October. He remained as back-up and did not make an appearance in either the semi-final victory over Italy or the final loss against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

as Spain finished as runners-up. On 11 November 2022, Sánchez was named in Spain's 26-man squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, but he was not called up for

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

Style of play

Sánchez has said that he modelled himself on Spanish goalkeepers

Iker Casillas Iker Casillas Fernández (; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Popularly dubbed "''San Iker''" ("Saint Iker") for his ability to produce miracu ...

and

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Chelsea *

UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...

: 2024–25 *

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

runner-up: 2023–24 Spain *

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

runner-up:

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 ...

Individual *

Premier League Save of the Month The Premier League Save of the Month is an association football award that recognises the goalkeeper deemed to have made the best Premier League save in each month of the season from August to April. For sponsorship purposes, it was called the C ...

: September 2023, October 2024

References

External links

Profile
at the Chelsea F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Robert 1997 births Living people Footballers from Cartagena, Spain Spanish men's footballers Spain men's international footballers Spanish people of English descent Spanish people of Jamaican descent Men's association football goalkeepers Cartagena FC players Levante UD footballers Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players UEFA Conference League–winning players English Football League players Premier League players UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Spanish sportsmen