Aleix García

Aleix García Serrano (Catalan: [əˈleʒ ɣəɾˈsi.ə]; Spanish: [aˈleʃ ɣaɾˈθi.a];[A] born 28 June 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Spain national team.

Aleix García
García with Spain U18 in 2015
Personal information
Full nameAleix García Serrano[1]
Date of birth (1997-06-28) 28 June 1997 (age 26)
Place of birthUlldecona, Spain
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Bayer Leverkusen
Youth career
2002–2005Ulldecona
2005–2015Villarreal
2015–2016Manchester City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2014–2015Villarreal C27(4)
2014–2015Villarreal B10(0)
2015Villarreal1(0)
2015–2020Manchester City4(0)
2017–2019Girona (loan)51(3)
2019–2020Mouscron (loan)23(5)
2020–2021Dinamo București7(0)
2021Eibar11(0)
2021–2024Girona98(3)
2024–Bayer Leverkusen0(0)
International career
2013Spain U162(0)
2013–2014Spain U179(1)
2015Spain U182(2)
2016Spain U191(0)
2018Spain U211(0)
2023–Spain2(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 June 2024

Club career

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Villarreal

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Born in Ulldecona, Tarragona, Catalonia, García joined Villarreal CF's youth setup in 2005, aged eight, after starting out at CF Ulldecona.[2] He made his senior debut with the reserves in Segunda División B on 26 April 2014 at only 16 years of age, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 away win against CF Badalona.[3]

García featured for the C team in the 2014–15 season, also appearing for the B side in the same campaign. He made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 23 May 2015, replacing Antonio Rukavina in a 4–0 loss at Athletic Bilbao.[4]

Manchester City

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On 27 August 2015, García joined Premier League side Manchester City.[5] He was selected by then-City manager Manuel Pellegrini against Chelsea on 21 February 2016 in the fifth round of the FA Cup.[6]

García made his first Premier League appearance on 17 September 2016, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute in a 4–0 home win against Bournemouth.[7] On 21 September, he started in an EFL Cup match against Swansea City, scoring his first goal for the club in the 2–1 away win.[8] He next started a month later on 26 October, in another EFL Cup match, a 1–0 loss to Manchester United.[9]

Girona (loan)

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On 1 August 2017, García was loaned to newly promoted La Liga club Girona FC until the end of the season.[10] He was loaned again for the 2018–19 season.[11]

Royal Excel Mouscron (loan)

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García was loaned to Belgian side Royal Excel Mouscron for the 2019–20 season.[12]

Dinamo București & Eibar

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On 8 October 2020, he signed a contract with Romanian club Dinamo București, until the end of the season.[13] On 18 January 2021, after featuring sparingly, he returned to Spain and its top tier after signing for Eibar on a free transfer.[14]

Return to Girona

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On 23 July 2021, García returned to Girona on a two-year contract, with the club now in Segunda División.[15] He made his return debut for the club on 14 August, the first matchday of the 2021–22 season, starting in a 2–0 victory against Amorebieta.[16] On 2 December 2021, García scored his first goal for the club upon returning, closing the score in a 5–1 away win in the Copa del Rey over fourth tier Calvo Sotelo Puertollano.[17] He made 45 total appearances for the club in his first season, helping the club reach promotion to La Liga in the play-offs.[18]

On 26 February 2023, García opened the score in a historic 3–2 La Liga win over Athletic Bilbao, Girona's first ever win away against Bilbao at San Mamés.[19]

Bayer Leverkusen

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On 13 June 2024, after a successful season for Girona, Garcia moved to Bayer 04 Leverkusen for more than €18 million.[20][21]

International career

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García was a youth international footballer for Spain. On 10 November 2023, he was called up for the senior national team for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches.[22] On 16 November, he made his debut in a 3–1 away win over Cyprus.[23]

On 27 May 2024, he was selected in the 29-man preliminary squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.[24] However, on 7 June, he was excluded from the final squad prior to the tournament.[25]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 24 May 2024[26]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup[a]League cup[b]ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Villarreal B2013–14Segunda División B3030
2014–157074
Total100100
Villarreal C2014–15Tercera División274274
Villarreal2014–15La Liga10000010
Manchester City2015–16Premier League0010000010
2016–174020210081
Total4030210091
Girona (loan)2017–18La Liga20110211
2018–1931230342
Total51340553
Mouscron (loan)2019–20Belgian Pro League23520255
Dinamo București2020–21Liga I701080
Eibar2020–21La Liga11000110
Girona2021–22Segunda División380314[c]0451
2022–23La Liga30120321
2023–2437330403
Total98381401104
Career total2321518121004025617

International

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As of match played 5 June 2024[27]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain202310
202410
Total20

Honours

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Individual

Notes

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  1. ^ In isolation, García is pronounced [ɡəɾˈsi.ə]/[ɡaɾˈθi.a], and Aleix [əˈleʃ].

References

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  1. ^ "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Trabajo con ganas e ilusión para hacerme con un hueco este año en el Villarreal B" [I work with eagerness and hope to fit in to Villarreal B this year]. Levante-EMV (in Spanish). 29 July 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  3. ^ "¡Victoria del Villarreal B en Badalona!" [Victory of Villarreal B in Badalona!] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. 26 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2 September 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  4. ^ "El Athletic monta la fiesta" [Athletic party mounts]. Marca (in Spanish). 23 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  5. ^ Richard Jolly (27 August 2015). "Aleix Garcia joins Manchester City from Villarreal". ESPN. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Man City give five young players debuts in FA Cup game at Chelsea". ESPN. 21 February 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  7. ^ Sanghera, Mandeep (17 September 2016). "Manchester City 4–0 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  8. ^ Mooney, David (21 September 2016). "Teenager Aleix Garcia impresses as Man City defeat Swansea in EFL Cup". ESPN. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  9. ^ McKeegan, Alice (27 October 2016). "Guardiola praises two Man City players after EFL Cup defeat to Manchester United". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Aleix García will strengthen the midfield of Girona" (in Catalan). Girona FC. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  11. ^ "Manchester City starlet Aleix García heading to Spain for new loan move". City Watch. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  12. ^ "City loans Aleix García... to Mouscron!" (in Spanish). Marca. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  13. ^ "Aleix Garcia Serrano la Dinamo Bucureşti". fcdinamo.ro (in Romanian). 8 October 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  14. ^ Barroso, Ander (18 January 2021). "Aleix García, nuevo jugador del Eibar" [Aleix García, new Eibar player]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Segona etapa d'Aleix Garcia al Girona FC" [Second spell of Aleix Garcia at Girona FC] (in Catalan). Girona FC. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  16. ^ "El Girona vence en casa al Amorebieta por 2–0" [Girona beats Amorebieta 2–0 at home]. sport (in Spanish). 14 August 2021. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  17. ^ Solà, Nil (2 December 2021). "1–5: El Girona arrolla al Calvo Sotelo en Puertollano" [1–5: Girona overwhelm Calvo Sotelo in Puertollano]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Girona gets promoted to First Division!". Girona FC. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  19. ^ "El Girona hace historia en San Mamés" [Girona make history at San Mamés]. sport (in Spanish). 26 February 2023. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Official | Bayer Leverkusen sign Aleix Garcia from Girona". Get German Football News. OneFootball. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Bayer Leverkusen signs Girona midfielder Aleix García ahead of Bundesliga title defense". Associated Press. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Spain calls up Girona midfielder Aleix García for final 2 European qualifiers". AP News. 10 November 2023.
  23. ^ "Aleix García's sweetest moment". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 15 November 2023.
  24. ^ "Euro 2024 provisional squad". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  25. ^ "OFFICIAL | Final Spain squad for the Euro 2024 finals". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  26. ^ Aleix García at Soccerbase
  27. ^ "Aleix García". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Los Premios 'Team Of The Season' de LALIGA y EA SPORTS desvelan los 15 mejores jugadores de la temporada" (in Spanish). LaLiga. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
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