Álex Baena

Alejandro "Álex" Baena Rodríguez (born 20 July 2001) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Villarreal and the Spain national team.

Club career
Baena was born in Roquetas de Mar, Almería, Andalusia, and joined Villarreal CF's youth setup in 2011, from CD Roquetas. He made his senior debut with the C-team on 21 December 2018, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 Tercera División home win against UD Rayo Ibense.

Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Baena was assigned to the reserves in Segunda División B, and made his debut for the side on 14 September 2019 by starting in a 3–0 win at UE Llagostera. On 13 July of the following year, he made his first team – and La Liga – debut, replacing fellow youth graduate Manu Trigueros in a 1–2 home loss against Real Sociedad.

Baena scored his first professional goal on 5 November 2020, netting his team's third in a 4–0 UEFA Europa League home routing of Maccabi Tel Aviv FC. Seven days later, he renewed his contract until 2025.

On 19 August 2021, Baena moved to Segunda División side Girona FC on a one-year loan deal. He returned to the Yellow Submarine after being a starter in the Catalans' promotion, and scored a brace in a 3–0 away win over Real Valladolid on 13 August 2022.

On 26 August 2022, Baena and teammate Nicolas Jackson were fully promoted to the main squad. In the 2023–24 season, he became the top assist provider in La Liga with 14 assists.

International career
Baena represented Spain at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-20 levels, appearing in the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

In August 2023, Baena received his first call-up to the Spain senior national team by head coach Luis de la Fuente, for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Georgia and Cyprus. Baena went on to score his first goal for Spain on his debut against Cyprus in a 6–0 win. In May 2024, he was named in the 26-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.

International

 * Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Baena goal.

Honours
Villarreal
 * UEFA Europa League: 2020–21

Spain
 * UEFA European Championship: 2024

Individual
 * La Liga top assist provider: 2023–24