Laia Aleixandri

Laia Aleixandri López (born 25 August 2000) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as defender for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the Spain national team.

In January 2020, she was named by UEFA as one of the 10 most promising young players in Europe.

Youth
Laia started playing soccer when she was 4 years old. Between 2006 and 2008 she played for CE Arrabal Calaf in the youngest category. In 2008 she started playing at CE Sant Gabriel where she stayed for four years. She entered the youth ranks of FC Barcelona at the age of 11 and played for three seasons.

FC Barcelona "B"
In the 2015/16 season Laia joined FC Barcelona B, making her debut in the Second Division at the age of 14 on the U17 team. They were proclaimed champion of their group with 72 points in 26 games.

In the 2016/17 season she was once again part of the club's B squad. That season they once again became champions of their category with 60 points.

Atlético Madrid
Laia signed for Atlético Madrid and made her debut on September 2, 2017 in the First Division in an away match against Fundación Albacete, earning a 3-1 victory.

On April 25, 2018, she suffered a fracture of the ulna and radius of her right arm while playing with the U20 national team. Laia played seven league games in the 2017–18 season and ended up becoming champion of the League and runner-up in the Cup with Atlético Madrid.

Laia played in the U-20 World Cup with an outstanding performance, establishing herself as a starter in the 2018–19 season. On November 4 she scored her first goal with Atlético against Levante and was chosen Player of the Match. She continued to be a starter throughout the League, missing only one game due to injury and another due to suspension. In May 2019 she achieved her second League title. In the Copa de la Reina she had a prominent role in the semi-finals and played in the final where Atlético were runners-up to Real Sociedad.

During the 2019–20 season she established herself as a starter. She played 20 league games before it was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and finished runner-up in the league.

In the 2020–21 season she debuted as captain in November, and was named fourth captain in December. In December she was included in the Football Draft Golden Eleven for her performances during the season. In January 2021 she won the Super Cup and was named best player of the championship. Then she was chosen best player of the month for February and March by the fans. In March the IFFHS included her in its UEFA Under-20 Team of the Year 2020.

In the 2021–22 season she scored a double in the 5-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano. In October she was chosen in the Golden Eleven of Football Draft. A regular starter in the team, in January 2022 the commemorative plaque was installed on the club's legends walk, which certifies having played more than 100 games for Atlético Madrid.

Manchester City
After another year being a key pillar at Atlético Madrid, on June 9, 2022, both Laia and Manchester City announced she would join the club at the beginning of the 2022–23 season.

Laia scored in the 74th minute in the 1-0 win over Arsenal in the fifth round of the 2023–24 FA Cup, advancing Manchester City to the quarterfinals.

Youth
With the U-16 national team Laia was called up to play in the UEFA Development Tournament on February 9, 2015. She was proclaimed champion of the tournament along with her teammates after beating Scotland, Germany, and Netherlands.

Laia debuted with the Spain U-17 team on March 11, 2015 at the age of 14 in Spain's 1-0 victory over England in a friendly match, in which she scored the winning goal. On March 22 she debuted in an official match against Russia with a three-zero victory, scoring one of the goals. That summer she was called up for the U-17 European Championship where she became champion by defeating Switzerland by 5-2 in the final. Laia was chosen as part of the Best Team of the tournament.

In 2016 she played again in the U-17 European Championship where Spain lost the final on penalties against Germany, and Laia was again chosen in the ideal team of the tournament. That same year she played in the U-17 World Cup where Laia started in all the matches. She scored against New Zealand in the group stage and was chosen Player of the Match. She was nominated for the Golden Ball of the tournament. And she was chosen in the Best Team of the tournament. Spain won the bronze medal.

In 2017 she played her third U-17 European Championship, captaining the team and losing on penalties in the final. Laia was once again part of the tournament's best team.

Laia played a total of 34 games with the U-17 national team and scored 7 goals, being the player who has played the most games in this category.

On September 5, 2017, Laia was called up to the U-19 national team. Laia debuted in this category on September 12, 2017 in Florence against Italy in a match that ended with a 2-2 draw.

Laia was called up with the U-20 national team to compete in the 2018 World Cup in France. She started as a substitute but an injury to Ona Batlle in the first match allowed her to play the rest of the games as a starter. Spain was runner-up in the world after losing in the final 3-1 against Japan.

She participated as a starter in the qualification for the 2019 U-19 European Championship. She played all four matches in the finals in Scotland as a starter, making her debut against Belgium as captain of the team and scoring the team's second goal by heading in a corner kick in a 2-1 victory. In the second match they beat England 1-0, with which they qualified for the semi-final and for the 2020 U-20 World Cup. In the third match they tied 0-0 against Germany, being second group by goal difference. In the semifinal against France they tied the game and lost 3-1 in extra time. At the end of the tournament she was chosen as part of the championship's ideal eleven.

Senior
She debuted with the senior national team on May 17, 2019 in a friendly against Cameroon in preparation for the World Cup in France, in which she scored a goal. On November 27, 2020 she played her second match and her first in official competition in the 10-0 victory over Moldova. Since then she was regularly called up as a replacement for the starting centre-backs, Mapi León and Irene Paredes. She started the first qualifying match for the 2023 World Cup against the Faroe Islands in which she scored the last goal of the match, concluding with a result of 10-0.

She was called up to the first list of those selected for the Euro 2022. On June 27 she was part of the final call to compete in the Euro.

In 2023, she was part of Las 15, a group of 15 players that withdrew themselves from the national team in a rift with the national team coach Jorge Vilda.

International

 * Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Aleixandri goal.

Honours
Atletico de Madrid
 * Primera División: 2016–2017, 2017–2018, 2018–2019
 * Copa de la Reina runner-up: 2018, 2019

Barcelona B
 * Segunda División: 2015-16, 2016–17

Spain
 * UEFA Women's Nations League: 2023–24

Spain U20
 * FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup runner-up: 2018