Alberto Tomás Botía Rabasco (; born 27 January 1989) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Super League Greece 2 The Super League Greece 2 () is the second division of professional Association football, football in Greece, serving as a feeder league to the top level Super League Greece, Super League 1. Made up of 20 teams in two groups, it is usually played ...

club A.E. Kifisia. He made 140

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

appearances, mostly for

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

but also

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

and one for

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, where he started his career. Additionally, he spent four years with

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

, winning the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

three times.

Club career

Barcelona

Botía was born in Alquerías,

Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in area and had a popul ...

. Aged just eight years old he began playing for Beniel, soon joining neighbours

Real Murcia Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in , playing home matches at Estadio Nueva Condo ...

and remaining there for three years. In 2003 he moved to

, being inserted into its B team after a further three seasons. In late May 2009 Botía, alongside fellow youth graduate

Marc Muniesa Marc Muniesa Martínez (born 27 March 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays mainly as a centre-back or left-back. Muniesa began his career with Barcelona, making his debut at the end of the 2008–09 season at the age of 17. H ...

, was first called to the main squad for a

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

match against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. He made his official debut on the 30th, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Gerard Piqué Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered to be one of the best defenders of his generation. Initially a talented student athlete at Barcelona's La ...

in the final game of the campaign, a 1–1 away draw against

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

Sporting Gijón

On 14 July 2009, Botía was sent to fellow

club

on a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

-long loan. A regular starter throughout his first year in the top tier, he decided to extend his stay with the

Asturians Asturians () are a Romance ethnic group native to the autonomous community of Asturias, in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula. Culture and society Heritage The Asturians have Celtic ( Astures) and Latin cultural origins, most notably f ...

in a four-year deal, with Barcelona keeping a buy-back clause for the first three. Botía scored his first top-flight goal on 12 September 2010, opening a 2–0 home win over

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

. On 14 November, he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in the last minute of a 1–0 loss to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

also at

El Molinón Estadio El Molinón (), officially Estadio Municipal El Molinón-Enrique Castro "Quini", is an association football stadium in Gijón, Asturias, Spain. The stadium is the home ground of Sporting de Gijón, Real Sporting de Gijón. With a capacity ...

for a foul on

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

Sevilla

On 8 August 2012, following Sporting's relegation, Botía signed with

for a fee believed to be in the region of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

3 million. He was brought in with the help of the Doyen Group, an Anglo-Portuguese investment firm. He made his official debut for his new team 18 days later, playing the second half of a 1–1 away draw against

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

. On 23 February 2013, Botía put the visitors ahead at former side Barcelona, but in an eventual 2–1 loss. For the 2013–14 campaign, after 25 official appearances for the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

n team, he was loaned to

alongside teammates

Manu del Moral Manuel "Manu" del Moral Fernández (born 25 February 1984) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as either a forward or winger, and the current manager of Getafe CF B. He played 272 games and scored 53 goals in La Liga, repre ...

and

Miroslav Stevanović Miroslav Stevanović (; born 29 July 1990) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Swiss Super League club Servette. Stevanović started his professional career at Vojvodina, who loaned him to Palić in 2009 and to Bor ...

. Botía's spell at the

Estadio Martínez Valero The Estadio Martínez Valero is a stadium located in the Spanish city of Elche in the province of Alacant, province of Alicante, Valencian Community. It is the home stadium of Elche CF, a team that is currently playing in Segunda División. Its n ...

ended prematurely on 3 May 2014, when he was ejected for kicking the ball at a

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

player in a 0–1 home defeat and then confronted the referee, earning him a two-match suspension.

Olympiacos

On 1 August 2014, Botía joined Greek club

on a four-year contract, for €2 million. He contributed 26 appearances in all competitions in his debut season, helping them to win the double. Botía was also regularly played in 2015–16, under new manager

Marco Silva Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva (; born 12 July 1977) is a Portuguese Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a right-back. He is the manager of club Fulham F.C., Fulham. He played fo ...

. On 25 October 2015, he scored both of his team's goals in a 2–1 away victory over

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C., a football team based in Peristeri, Greece * Atromitos Piraeus, a football team based in Piraeus, Greece * Atromitos Yeroskipou Atromitos Yeroskipou () was a Cy ...

, becoming the club's first defender to achieve this since

Avraam Papadopoulos Avraam Papadopoulos (; born 3 December 1984) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Greek parents. Club career Aris Papadopoulos started his professional career with Aris ...

two years earlier. On 6 November 2016, Botía netted the opening goal of a 3–0 home defeat of Panathinaikos in the derby of the eternal enemies. His contract was terminated by mutual consent on 4 May 2018.

Saudi Arabia

Botía became new manager

Jorge Jesus Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. Most recently he was the manager of Saudi Professional League, Saudi P ...

' first signing for Al Hilal on 26 June 2018, when the 29-year-old agreed to a two-year deal with the option for a further season. On his debut on 18 August, the club won the

Saudi Super Cup The Saudi Super Cup () is the annual super cup tournament in Saudi Arabian football. Founded in 2013 as a two-team competition, the Super Cup has been contested by four teams since 2022: the winners and runners-up of the King's Cup and the Sa ...

with a 2–1 win over Al Ittihad at

Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...

, London. After the

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

-based side finished runners-up to

Al Nassr Al-Nassr Football Club () is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The club competes in the Saudi Pro League, the top tier of the Saudi football league system. Al-Nassr is one of only three clubs to have participated ...

, Botía left for Al Wehda also of the

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

. He scored the equaliser on his debut, a 2–1 home loss to

Abha Club Abha Football Club () is a professional Saudi football club based in Abha that is currently playing in the Saudi First Division League, the second tier of Saudi football. They were first promoted to the top flight in 2005 when they finished a ...

on 30 August.

Return to Greece

In July 2023, aged 34, Botía returned to the Greek top division with A.E. Kifisia.

International career

On 7 February 2007, Botía was summoned for the Spain under-19 team, being an unused squad member at the "XXXIII International Atlantic Cup". Almost exactly two years later he received his first under-21 callup, for a friendly with

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. On 25 August 2011, Botía was selected for the first time to the full side by manager

Vicente del Bosque Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquess of Del Bosque (; born 23 December 1950) is a Spanish retired football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and is to date the only football manager to ha ...

, for games against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

. He was included in Luis Milla's

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, playing the last two matches against

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

as the team were eliminated without scoring a goal.

Personal life

In 2017, Botía began a relationship with

Eleni Foureira Eleni Foureira (; born Entela Fureraj, ; 7 March 1987) is an Albanian-born Greek singer. She began her music career in 2007 as a member of the Greek girl group Mystique, pursuing a solo career after the group disbanded in 2009. She has released ...

, an Albanian singer who represented

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. Their son was born in 2023.

Career statistics

Honours

Barcelona *

: 2008–09 Olympiacos *

: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 *

Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

: 2014–15; runner-up: 2015–16 Al-Hilal *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Spain U20 *

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Spain U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Botia, Alberto 1989 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Murcia Men's association football central defenders La Liga players Segunda División B players Tercera División players FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players Sporting de Gijón players Sevilla FC players Elche CF players Super League Greece players Super League Greece 2 players Olympiacos F.C. players A.E. Kifisia F.C. players Saudi Pro League players Saudi First Division League players Al-Hilal Saudi FC players Al Wehda FC players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's under-23 international footballers Olympic footballers for Spain Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in football Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Spain Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia