Marc Bartra Aregall (, ; born 15 January 1991) 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

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 ...

club

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

. He started his career at

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 played 103 professional games and scored six goals across seven seasons, winning 13 honours including five

titles and two

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 ...

trophies (including a

continental treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A continental treble involves winning the club's top-level domestic league competition, main domestic cup competition, and main continental tro ...

in 2015). In 2016, he joined

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

for €8 million, lifting the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

in his first season. He returned to Spain in 2018, playing 146 total games for Betis and winning the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. Bartra won the 2013 European Championship with Spain's under-21 team. He made his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

debut in 2013, and was selected in the squad for

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

Club career

Barcelona

Born in Sant Jaume dels Domenys,

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, Bartra joined Espanyol as a child before moving to

's youth system, ''

La Masia La Masia de Can Planes, usually shortened to La Masia (; ), is FC Barcelona's youth academy. It includes more than 300 young players and has been an instrumental factor in Barcelona's European success, producing several world class players and ...

'', at age 11. After progressing through its ranks, he was promoted to the

B side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

in 2009. Bartra made his first-team debut on 14 February 2010, coming on as a substitute for

Jeffrén Suárez Jeffrén Isaac Suárez Bermúdez (born 20 January 1988), known simply as Jeffrén, is a Venezuelan former footballer who played as a forward or a winger. He started his career with Barcelona, appearing rarely and signing for Sporting CP in 201 ...

for the final 30 minutes of a 2–1 loss to

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

at the

Vicente Calderón Stadium The Vicente Calderón Stadium ( ) was the home stadium of Atlético Madrid from its completion in 1966 to 2017, with a seating capacity of 54,907. It was located on the banks of the Manzanares, in the Arganzuela district of Madrid, Spain. The ...

. He started his first

game one year and three months later, playing the entire 0–0 home 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 ...

, and scored his first goal on 21 May 2011 to help them come from behind to win 3–1 at

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 ...

in the season's last round. In the 2012–13 campaign, Bartra joined the first team squad permanently, but manager

Tito Vilanova Francesc "Tito" Vilanova Bayó (17 September 1968 – 25 April 2014) was a Spanish professional football central midfielder and manager. After a career which consisted of a total of 26 La Liga matches in three seasons, all with Celta, he went ...

tended to field

Javier Mascherano Javier Alejandro Mascherano (; born 8 June 1984) is an Argentine Association football, football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. As a player, he played as a centre-back or defensive ...

Alex Song Alexandre Dimitri Song Billong (born 9 September 1987), better known as Alex Song, is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a central or defensive midfielder. He also played as a central defender. Originally a utility play ...

and

Adriano Adriano is the form of the Latin given name ''Hadrianus'' commonly used in the Italian language; the form Adrião can be used in the Portuguese language while the form Adrian is used in the English language. Notable people with the name include: ...

ahead of him, and only appeared in 16 matches in all competitions. He signed a new three-year contract in March 2014. On 16 April 2014, in the final of the

against

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 ...

, with five minutes remaining,

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, and the Wales national ...

outsprinted Bartra from the halfway line – with the former running off the field at one point – before scoring the 2–1 winner. He himself had levelled the score midway into the second half, from a

Xavi Xavi () is a Catalan given name, usually used as a nickname for Xavier. Notable people with the name include: Football * Xavi Hernández (born 1980), Spanish football manager and former player * Xavi Andorrà (born 1985), Andorran footballe ...

corner kick A corner kick, commonly known as a corner, is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defe ...

. He remained a third or fourth choice under new manager

Luis Enrique Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player. He is the manager of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playin ...

, making 25 appearances and scoring once as the team won the treble in 2014–15.

Borussia Dortmund

On 3 June 2016, Bartra was sold to German club

for an estimated fee of €8 million, signing a four-year deal. He made his competitive debut on 14 August, playing the entire 2–0 loss against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

in the

DFL-Supercup The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup or ''German Super Cup'' is a one-off association football, football match in Germany that features the winners of the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal. The competition is run by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (E ...

, and a month later scored his first goal in a 6–0 victory at

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

of the

. On 11 April 2017, when Dortmund was heading to

Westfalenstadion Westfalenstadion (, ) is a football stadium in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, which is the home stadium of Borussia Dortmund. Officially called Signal Iduna Park for sponsorship reasons and BVB Stadion Dortmund in UEFA competitions, ...

for their Champions League quarter-final tie against

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, the team bus was hit by three explosions. Bartra, who broke the radial bone in his arm and had debris lodged in his hand in the bombing, underwent an operation the following day, when the Germans played the rescheduled game and lost 3–2; he later described the event as the "longest and hardest 15 minutes of my life", and returned to training 29 days after his surgery. Bartra's first match after returning took place on 20 May 2017, and he played the entire 4–3 home win over

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

– he had also been an unused substitute in the previous fixture against

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...

. One week later, he helped to the conquest of the

after starting in the 2–1 defeat of

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Betis

On 30 January 2018, Bartra completed his transfer to

on a five-and-a-half-year contract. He scored his first goal for his new team on 12 May, putting the hosts ahead in an eventual 2–2

derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

home draw against

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 ...

. From December 2020 to the following March, Bartra was sidelined with

tendonitis Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tenn ...

in his

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

and a

gallbladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow Organ (anatomy), organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath t ...

issue, leading to significant weight loss. He played the full 120 minutes of the 2022 Copa del Rey final on 23 April, a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

win over

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Trabzonspor

On 14 August 2022, Bartra signed for

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

in the Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

for €1.25 million. He made his debut two days later in the Champions League play-off first leg away to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, as a substitute in a 2–1 loss; his first goal on 18 September came in added time to win 3–2 at home to

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

. On 28 December, he equalised away to

Fatih Karagümrük Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...

but 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 ...

with a straight

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

before half time in a 4–1 defeat. Bartra left the

Şenol Güneş Sports Complex The Papara Park, officially known as the Şenol Güneş Spor Complex Papara Park (Turkish: Şenol Güneş Spor Kompleksi), is a stadium located in Trabzon, Turkey. It opened to public on 18 December 2016 and has a capacity of 40,980 spectators. ...

on 11 July 2023, by mutual agreement.

Return to Betis

On 24 July 2023, Bartra rejoined Betis on a one-year contract. In October, he was diagnosed with Haglund's syndrome in the Achilles tendon of his right leg and missed several months.

International career

Bartra won 37

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

across all youth levels, including 16 for the under-21s. He made his debut for the full side on 16 November 2013, playing the entire 2–1 friendly win in

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

. This game was later annulled by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

as they had not been notified early enough that the referee would be from Equatorial Guinea, and his first valid appearance took place on 8 September 2014 as he came on as a 68th-minute substitute for

Sergio Ramos Sergio Ramos García (; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captain (association football), captains Liga MX club C.F. Monterrey, Monterrey. Regarded as one of the gr ...

in a 5–1 home victory against

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

for the

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

qualifiers. On 17 May 2016, Bartra was named in

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 ...

's provisional squad of 25 for the finals in France, and he also made it to the final list of 23. As the tournament ended at the round of 16, he was an unused member. Bartra scored the only goal for his country on 11 October 2018, contributing to a 4–1 friendly defeat of

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

Style of play

Bartra is known for his pace and passing. He is mentally strong, is skilled in the air and is able to play as a

right-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 ...

, where he can cut in and assist.

Personal life

Bartra's fraternal twin brother, Èric, also came through

. He started a relationship with

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

journalist Melissa Jiménez in February 2014, and welcomed daughter Gala on 18 August of the following year.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Barcelona *

: 2009–10,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2014–15, 2015–16 *

: 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, 2014–15 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

Borussia Dortmund *

: 2016–17 Betis *Copa del Rey: 2021–22 Spain U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

runner-up:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

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 ...

Individual *UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament:

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

La Liga Team of The Season: 2017–18

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartra, Marc 1991 births Living people People from Baix Penedès Spanish twins 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Tarragona Men's association football central defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players Real Betis players Bundesliga players Borussia Dortmund players Süper Lig players Trabzonspor footballers UEFA Champions League–winning players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2016 players Catalonia men's international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Survivors of terrorist attacks