Álvaro González (footballer, born 1990)


Álvaro González Soberón, known simply as Álvaro, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for French club Olympique de Marseille as a central defender.

Club career

Racing Santander

Born in Potes, Cantabria, Álvaro was a product of hometown club Racing de Santander's youth ranks, and made his professional debut in the 2009–10 season, appearing in 23 games for the reserves in the third division and suffering relegation. He made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 1 May 2011, starting and playing 82 minutes in a 2–0 home win against RCD Mallorca.
Due to injuries to teammates, Álvaro started 2011–12 campaign in Racing's starting XI. Shortly before, he had signed his first professional contract for the Cantabrians.
On 14 November 2011, Racing rejected a €2 million offer for Álvaro made by FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. He remained a starter until the end of the season, being relegated at its closure.

Zaragoza

On 11 July 2012, Álvaro signed a four-year deal with Real Zaragoza. In his first year he was again first-choice, but the Aragonese also dropped down to the second level.
Álvaro scored his first goal on 10 November 2012, in a 5–3 victory over Deportivo de La Coruña.

Espanyol / Villarreal

On 28 July 2014, Álvaro returned to the top flight after agreeing to a five-year contract with RCD Espanyol. In preparation for 2016–17 he was made fourth captain behind Javi López, Víctor Sánchez and Víctor Álvarez, but on 31 August 2016, however, he was transferred to fellow league team Villarreal CF on a four-year deal. He made his competitive debut for the latter on 15 September in a 2–1 home win against FC Zürich for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, and his maiden league appearance came ten days later in the 3–1 home defeat of CA Osasuna where he also played 90 minutes, also committing a penalty on Sergio León which resulted in the opposition's goal.

Marseille

On 19 July 2019, Álvaro joined French club Olympique de Marseille on a season-long loan, with a mandatory purchase option of €5 million on 30 June 2020. As it was greed, Marseille announced on 30 June 2020 that they had signed Alvaro on a permanent deal worth €5m

International career

Álvaro won his only cap for Spain at under-21 level on 12 June 2013, in a 3–0 defeat of the Netherlands in the group phase of the UEFA European Championship as the tournament in Israel eventually ended in conquest.

Honours

Spain U21