Robin Le Normand

Robin Aimé Robert Le Normand (born 11 November 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Real Sociedad. Born in France, he plays for the Spain national team.

Le Normand started his professional career in France at Brest, where he made one first-team appearance, before joining Spanish side Real Sociedad in 2016.

Le Normand obtained Spanish nationality in 2023, and was part of the Spain squad that won the UEFA Nations League in the same year, before also winning the UEFA European Championship in 2024.

Brest
Born in Pabu, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany Le Normand represented Brest as a youth player. On 21 September 2013 he made his senior debut, starting with the reserve team in a 1–0 CFA 2 away loss against Lannion.

Le Normand scored his first senior goal on 19 March 2016, netting his team's third in a 3–3 draw at Fougères. On 15 April, he made his professional debut by starting in a 2–1 away loss against Sochaux for the Ligue 2.

Real Sociedad
On 5 July 2016, Le Normand signed a two-year deal with Real Sociedad, being assigned to the B-team in Segunda División B. He received a new contract in August 2018, for two more years.

Le Normand made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 26 November 2018, starting in a 2–1 home win against Celta Vigo. The following 12 February, he renewed his contract with the Txuri-urdin until 2022,  and was definitely promoted to the main squad on 9 June.

After the departure of Héctor Moreno, Le Normand became an integral part of the starting XI. He scored his first La Liga goal on 30 November 2019, opening the scoring in a 4–1 home win against Eibar. He was rewarded with a contract extension until 2024 on 4 June 2020. On 19 December, he scored in an 8–0 win at Tercera División club Becerril in the first round of the Copa del Rey; he also played in the 1–0 win over Basque derby rivals Athletic Bilbao in the COVID-delayed final on 3 April 2021.

Le Normand was chosen as La Liga Player of the Month for October 2021, the first defender since Diego Godín of Atlético Madrid in 2014. He played 48 out of 51 games in 2021–22, missing only one league game by suspension, and then extended his contract until 2026.

International career
In May 2023, the Spanish Council of Ministers granted Spanish nationality to Le Normand after living in Spain for almost seven years, meaning he would be eligible to play for the Spanish national team. On 2 June, he was included in their 23-man squad for the UEFA Nations League, debuting 13 days later in their 2–1 semi-final win over Italy, where he started in central defence alongside another naturalised Frenchman, Aymeric Laporte. On 18 June, he started in the final as Spain defeated Croatia in a penalty shootout to win their first Nations League title.

On 19 November 2023, Le Normand scored his first goal for Spain in their final UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier – a 3–1 win over Georgia.

In June 2024, Le Normand was named in Spain's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 finals in Germany. He started the team's first group match, playing the full match in central defence as Spain beat Croatia 3–0 at Berlin's Olympiastadion. With Spain's victory over England, 2–1, in the final, Le Normand, along with the rest of the squad, became European champions.

Personal life
Le Normand's younger brother, Théo, is also a professional footballer, who made his debut for Guingamp in 2021.

International

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

Honours
Real Sociedad
 * Copa del Rey: 2019–20

Spain


 * UEFA European Championship: 2024


 * UEFA Nations League: 2022–23

Individual
 * La Liga Player of the Month: October 2021