Marc Cucurella Saseta (born 22 July 1998) 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

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

left wing-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 club Chelsea and the Spain national team. Cucurella made his senior club debut 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 ...

, but spent most of his time there with the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

. He went on to play over 100

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 ...

games for

Eibar Eibar (, ) is a city and municipality within the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Euskadi. It is the capital of the '' eskualde / comarca'' of Debabarrena. Eibar has 27,138 inhabitants ( Eustat, 2018). Its chief industry is ...

and

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

, before joining

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

in 2021. He spent a season with Brighton before joining Chelsea in 2022. Cucurella was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

for Spain over every youth level from under-16 to under-23, winning the silver medal with the latter at the 2020 Olympic tournament. He made his debut for the senior team in 2021, representing the side at

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

, where the team won the tournament.

Club career

Barcelona and Eibar

Cucurella was born in

Alella Alella () is a village in the ''comarca'' of Maresme in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast on the southwest side of the granite Catalan Coastal Range. The town is known for its wines, cava and perfumes, but is also a commuter town ...

, Catalonia. He started playing

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

with FS Alella before joining

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

's youth teams in 2006, and in 2012, he moved to

. On 26 November 2016, while still a junior, he made his senior debut with the reserves by starting in a 4–0 home win over L'Hospitalet in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. Cucurella contributed with 17 appearances for the side, achieving promotion to the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

via the play-offs. On 7 July 2017, he renewed his contract until 2021, with a €12 million clause. He made his professional debut on 1 September, starting in a 2–2 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 ...

. He made his first-team debut on 24 October, coming on as a late substitute for

Lucas Digne Lucas Digne (born 20 July 1993) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left back for club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa and the France national football team, France national team. Digne began his career at Li ...

in a 3–0

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 ...

away win against

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 ...

. He scored his first senior goal for Barcelona B on 17 March 2018, equalising in a draw away to Lorca. On 31 August 2018, Cucurella was loaned to fellow

club

SD Eibar Sociedad Deportiva Eibar (in ) is a Spanish football league teams, Spanish professional football club based in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country. Founded on 30 November 1940, the men’s te ...

, for one year with a €2 million buyout clause. He made his top-flight debut on 25 September in a 1–0 loss away to Espanyol. Appearing as one of eight changes by manager

José Luis Mendilibar José Luis Mendilibar Etxebarria (born 14 March 1961) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, currently manager of Super League Greece club Olympiacos. He played no higher than Segunda División, making 290 appea ...

, he was praised by ''

Marca Marca may refer to: Places * Marca, Sălaj, a commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Marca, a tributary of the Barcău in Sălaj County, Romania * an alternative name for Merca, Somalia * Marca District, in the province Recuay, Peru * Marçà, a vil ...

'' journalist Ander Barroso despite the result. He scored his first La Liga goal on the final day of the season on 9 May 2019, opening the scoring in 2–2 draw at home to his parent club.

Getafe

At the end of his loan, Eibar exercised Cucurella's clause, making him a permanent player for the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

team; along with the transfer, Barcelona added a €4 million buyback option. On 16 July 2019, after just sixteen days as a permanent Eibar player, this clause was activated, only for him to be loaned to

two days later for the upcoming season, with an option to buy for €6 million and 40% of the rights remaining to Barcelona. Cucurella made his European debut on 19 September 2019 as a substitute for Kenedy in a 1–0 home win over

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

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

group stage. He played eight games of that campaign, which ended 11 months later with a 2–0 loss on aggregatre to

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

in the last 16. On 3 March 2020, Getafe triggered his option to buy for €6 million, no longer connecting him to Barcelona. The club fully exercised his option to buy on 30 June.

Brighton and Hove Albion

On 31 August 2021, Cucurella joined

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

on a five-year contract. He made his debut for Brighton on 11 September, starting and playing 82 minutes before being substituted in the 1–0 away win over

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

. Eight days later, he made his home debut, playing the whole of the 2–1 victory over

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. His chipped cross set up

Danny Welbeck Daniel Nii Tackie Mensah Welbeck (born 26 November 1990) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., Brighton & Hove Albion. Welbeck m ...

's headed equaliser in added time, finishing 1–1 away to Chelsea on 29 December. On 7 May 2022, he scored his first goal for the club; he netted the second of a 4–0 win over

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 ...

by shooting from Leandro Trossard's pull back. Three days later, at the club's end of season awards, Cucurella won Players' Player of the Season as well as being voted Player of the Season.

Chelsea

On 5 August 2022, Cucurella signed for Premier League club Chelsea on a six-year contract. The fee was reported to be worth an initial £55 million, potentially rising to £62 million in add-ons, which was a record fee received by Brighton. On 6 August, he made his debut as a substitute in a 1–0 away win against Everton in the Premier League. On 7 March 2023, he was named Player of the Match in the Champions League round-of-16-second leg match against

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 ...

, which ended in a 2–0 win and qualification to the quarter-final. On 17 March 2024, he scored his first goal for the club by netting the opener in a 4–2 victory over Leicester City in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

quarter-finals. On 15 December 2024, Cucurella scored his first Premier League goal for Chelsea, a headed opener assisted by

Noni Madueke Chukwunonso Azuka Tristan "Noni" Madueke (born 10 March 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Chelsea and the England national team. Early life Madueke is of Igbo Nigerian descent. He was born in Barn ...

in a 2–1 home victory over

. In the same game, Cucurella would receive his first career red card, being shown a second yellow for a scuffle with Brentford's

Kevin Schade Kevin Schade (born 27 November 2001) is a German professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for club Brentford and the Germany national team. Club career SC Freiburg Schade joined the SC Freiburg youth system in 2018 after a f ...

after the final whistle which Schade also received a yellow card for.

International career

After representing Spain at under-16, under-17 and under-19 level, Cucurella was called up to the Spain under-21 team in September 2019, playing

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification The 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-21 association football, football tournament that determined the 14 teams that would be joining the automatically qualified co-hosts Hungary national under-21 fo ...

matches against

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. He captained Spain to the semi-final stage of the 2021 European U21 championship, where they were beaten by

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Cucurella was also part of the Spain under-23 team that won the silver medal at the

2020 Olympic Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, that took place in 2021 due to the previous year's postponement as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In November 2020, 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 ...

called up Cucurella to the senior

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 ...

squad for

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

games against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, as

José Gayà José Luis Gayà Peña (; born 25 May 1995) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for La Liga club Valencia, which he captains, and the Spain national team. An academy graduate of Valencia, he made his senior debut in ...

was injured. He was an unused substitute for the fixtures. Due to the isolation of some national team players following the positive

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

test of

Sergio Busquets Sergio Busquets Burgos (, ; born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. A deep-lying playmaker capable of directing gameplay through short and calm passe ...

, Spain's under-21 squad were called up for the international friendly against

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

on 8 June 2021. Cucurella made his debut, acting as captain, in this match that Spain won 4–0. On 26 March 2024, Cucurella won his second cap for the Spain senior team, playing the full 90 minutes at left back in a 3–3 draw with

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

at the

Estadio Santiago Bernabéu es:Estadio is the spanish language word for Stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered s ...

. In June 2024, Cucurella was named in Spain's squad for

in Germany. He made his competitive debut in the team's opening match of the tournament, starting at left back as ''La Furia Roja'' beat

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

3–0 at Berlin's Olympiastadion. In the

quarter-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

against Germany, Cucurella was the center of controversy when he touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area, yet no penalty was awarded from the referee because he wasn't considered to be "unnaturally enlarging his body" with his arm when the ball hit his hand. Cucurella also provided the assist on

Mikel Oyarzabal Mikel Oyarzabal Ugarte (born 21 April 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger or forward for La Liga club Real Sociedad, whom he captains, and the Spain national team. He has spent his entire professional career ...

's winning goal as Spain defeated

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

2–1 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. He was also named in the Team of the Tournament.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Barcelona *

: 2017–18 Chelsea *

UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...

: 2024–25 Spain U23 *

Summer Olympic The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

silver medal:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Spain *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

runner-up: 2024–25 Individual *

UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament At the end of each UEFA European Championship tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game. Awards There are currently five post-tournament awards, a ...

Players' Player of the Season: 2021–22 *Brighton & Hove Albion Player of the Season: 2021–22 * 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament

References

External links

Profile
at the Chelsea F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cucurella, Marc 1998 births Living people People from Maresme Footballers from the Province of Barcelona Spanish men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players SD Eibar footballers Getafe CF footballers Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Segunda División B players Segunda División players La Liga players Premier League players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2024 players Olympic footballers for Spain Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Olympic silver medalists for Spain Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England UEFA European Championship–winning players UEFA Conference League–winning players 21st-century Spanish sportsmen