Gerard_Moreno_(footballer)

Gerard Moreno

Gerard Moreno

Spanish association football player

For the American fencer, see Gerard Moreno (fencer).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Moreno and the second or maternal family name is Balagueró.

Gerard Moreno Balagueró (born 7 April 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Villarreal and the Spain national team.

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...

In his career, he has played for Villarreal, Mallorca and Espanyol, winning the 2021 Europa League and two Zarra Trophies with the first club.

Moreno made his full debut for Spain in 2019, being part of the squad at UEFA Euro 2020.

Club career

Villarreal

Born in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Barcelona, Catalonia, Moreno joined Villarreal in 2010 from local Badalona.[2] On 5 March 2011, while still a junior, he made his debut with the reserves, appearing as a late substitute in a 1–2 home loss against Rayo Vallecano.[3] During his early spell he also represented the third team, scoring at an astonishing rate in the Tercera División.[4]

Moreno scored his first goal as a professional on 10 December 2011, contributing to a 3–1 Segunda División home victory over Xerez.[5] He played his first official game with Villarreal's main squad roughly one year later, starting in a 1–0 loss at Elche.[6] He scored his first goal for the Yellow Submarine on 25 January 2013, opening a 3–0 defeat of Sabadell.[7]

On 8 July 2013, Moreno signed with Mallorca of the second tier in a season-long loan.[8] He subsequently returned to Villarreal, being definitely promoted to the first team now in La Liga.[9]

Moreno made his debut in the Spanish top flight on 14 September 2014, starting in a 0–0 away draw against Granada.[10] He scored his first goal in the competition ten days later, in a 1–1 draw at Eibar.[11]

Espanyol

On 13 August 2015, Moreno signed a five-year deal with fellow league side Espanyol,[12] who bought 50% of his rights for a €1.5 million fee. The following 23 January, he scored in a 2–2 home draw against his former team before being sent off.[13]

Moreno netted 16 times in the 2017–18 season, in an 11th-place finish.[14]

Villarreal return

Moreno returned to Villarreal on 12 June 2018, agreeing to a five-year contract. Having retained 50% of the player's rights previously, his former club paid Espanyol €20 million in the transfer to buy back the remaining 50% and acquire the player outright.[15]

Moreno finished 2019–20 with 18 league goals, thus winning the Zarra Trophy.[16] He renewed the accolade the following season with 23 and a team-best seven assists,[17] scoring a further seven times in their victorious run in the UEFA Europa League;[18][19][20] he was later voted the Europa League's Player of the Season, beating Manchester United duo Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani.[21]

On 10 August 2021, Moreno signed a new six-year deal.[22][20] The following day, he scored in the UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea,[23] surpassing Giuseppe Rossi to become the club's all-time top scorer at 83 goals.[24][25][20]

Moreno featured much less in the 2021–22 and 2022–23 campaigns, due to injury problems.[26][27][28]

International career

Moreno was never capped for Spain at any youth level. He made his senior debut on 15 October 2019, playing the entire 1–1 draw in Sweden for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers.[29][30] One month later, for the same competition and also as a starter, he scored his first goal in a 7–0 rout of Malta in Cádiz for the already qualified hosts.[31] On 18 November, he added a brace in the 5–0 victory over Romania,[32] being included in Luis Enrique's 24-man squad for the finals on 24 May 2021.[33]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 14 April 2024[34][35][4]
More information Club, Season ...
  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 22 March 2024[36]
More information National team, Year ...
As of match played 31 March 2021
Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Gerard goal.[36]
More information No., Date ...

Honours

Espanyol

Villarreal

Individual

References

  1. [1]
    "Gerard" (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  2. [2]
    Irigoyen, Juan Ignacio (27 February 2018). "Gerard Moreno, la esencia del Espanyol" [Gerard Moreno, the essence of Espanyol]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  3. [3]
    "El Rayo saca partido de su efectividad" [Rayo take advantage of effectiveness]. Marca (in Spanish). 5 March 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  4. [4]
    Pérez, Javier (15 January 2015). "Goleador en la sombra" [Scorer in the shadow]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  5. [5]
    "Porcar se carga al Xerez" [Porcar kills Xerez]. Marca (in Spanish). 10 December 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  6. [6]
    Marín, David (2 December 2012). "El Elche se confirma como el 'gallito' de la categoría" [Elche the confirmed 'underachiever' in category]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  7. [7]
    De Andrés, Rubén (25 January 2013). "El Villarreal se engancha a los puestos de ascenso" [Villarreal reach promotion zone]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  8. [8]
    "Gerard Moreno jugará cedido en el Mallorca" [Gerard Moreno will play with Mallorca on loan]. Marca (in Spanish). 8 July 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  9. [9]
    Franch, Víctor (14 August 2014). "El reto de Gerard Moreno" [Gerard Moreno's goal]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  10. [10]
    Melero, Delfín (14 September 2014). "Demasiado tarde" [Too late]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  11. [11]
    "Eibar 1–1 Villarreal". ESPN FC. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  12. [12]
    "Principi d'acord per Gerard Moreno" [Agreement in principle for Gerard Moreno] (in Catalan). RCD Espanyol. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  13. [13]
    Estepa, Javier (23 January 2016). "Musacchio rasca un punto en el caos" [Musacchio scrapes a draw amidst the chaos]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  14. [14]
    Navarro, Cristina (22 May 2018). "Gerard Moreno: "Mi corazón siempre será blanquiazul"" [Gerard Moreno: "My heart will always be white-and-blue"]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  15. [15]
    "Official: Gerard Moreno joins Villarreal from Espanyol". Sport. Spain. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  16. [16]
    Alfaro, Javier (20 July 2020). "Gerard Moreno, máximo goleador español de LaLiga" [Gerard Moreno, top Spanish scorer in LaLiga]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  17. [17]
    "Gerard Moreno se corona Zarra por segunda vez" [Gerard Moreno crowned Zarra for the second time] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  18. [18]
    "Finalista de la Europa League: Villarreal" [Europa League finalists: Villarreal] (in Spanish). UEFA. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  19. [19]
    Stone, Simon (26 May 2021). "Villarreal 1–1 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  20. [20]
    Harris, Thom (12 August 2021). "Gerard Moreno: The making of a Villarreal legend". Medium. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  21. [21]
    "Gerard Moreno named 2020/21 Europa League Player of the Season". UEFA. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  22. [22]
    "Gerard Moreno's 'Masked Singer' contract extension announcement". Sports Illustrated. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  23. [23]
    Sterling, Mark (11 August 2021). "Chelsea 1–1 Villarreal (Chelsea win 6–5 on penalties)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  24. [24]
    "Moreno has scored 83 goals for Villarreal. He broke the record of Rossi". Show Sport. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  25. [25]
    "Gerard Moreno has now scored more goals for Villarreal (83) than any other player in the club's history, breaking Giuseppe Rossi's record". 11 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via Twitter.
  26. [26]
    Mata, Javier (9 February 2022). "Gerard Moreno frena en seco; no estará en la ida ante la Juventus" [Gerard Moreno stopped in his tracks; he will miss first leg against Juventus]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  27. [27]
    "Gerard Moreno se retiró con una lesión muscular frente al Getafe" [Gerard Moreno retired with muscle injury against Getafe]. Estadio Deportivo (in Spanish). 17 April 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  28. [28]
    Franch, Víctor (29 March 2023). "La pesadilla sin fin de Gerard" [Gerard's never-ending nightmare]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  29. [29]
    Bell, Arch (15 October 2019). "Rodrigo sends Spain to Euro 2020". Marca. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  30. [30]
    Andrés, José Manuel (15 October 2019). "Gerard Moreno, debut participativo pero sin gol" [Gerard Moreno, willing but goalless debut]. La Verdad (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  31. [31]
    Gillingham, Geoff (15 November 2019). "Mr. Santi Cazorla, you are a legend". Marca. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  32. [32]
    "Gerard Moreno bags brace as Spain finish group campaign with easy win over Romania". Belfast Telegraph. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  33. [33]
    Braidwood, Jamie (24 May 2021). "Euro 2020 news LIVE: Sergio Ramos left out of Spain squad plus latest before England announcement". The Independent. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  34. [34]
    Gerard Moreno at BDFutbol
  35. [35]
    Gerard Moreno at Soccerway
  36. [36]
    "Gerard Moreno". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  37. [37]
    Torelló, Roger (25 October 2016). "El Espanyol gana la Supercopa" [Espanyol win the Supercup]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  38. [38]
    "Messi supera a Zarra con su séptimo trofeo Pichichi" [Messi overtakes Zarra with his seventh Pichichi trophy] (in Spanish). Notimérica. 19 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  39. [39]
    Stanley, Anton (26 May 2021). "UNDERRATED Only Lionel Messi has more LaLiga goals than Gerard Moreno, the Villarreal striker who gets assists like Manchester United transfer target Harry Kane and could end their Europa League dream". Talksport. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  40. [40]
    "UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season 2020/21". UEFA. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  41. [41]
    Hunter, Graham (11 August 2021). "Chelsea 1–1 Villarreal (pens: 6–5): Kepa edges Blues to silverware". UEFA. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
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