Gerard Moreno (footballer)

Gerard Moreno Balagueró, known simply as Gerard (Catalan: [ʒəˈɾaɾt] born 7 April 1992), is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Villarreal CF and the Spain national team.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Moreno and the second or maternal family name is Balagueró.

Gerard
Gerard with Spain in 2019
Personal information
Full name Gerard Moreno Balagueró[1]
Date of birth (1992-04-07) 7 April 1992[1]
Place of birth Santa Perpètua, Spain
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Villarreal
Number 7
Youth career
2000–2001 Damm
2001–2007 Espanyol
2007–2010 Badalona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Villarreal C 39 (34)
2011–2013 Villarreal B 29 (13)
2012–2015 Villarreal 40 (10)
2013–2014 → Mallorca (loan) 31 (11)
2015–2018 Espanyol 107 (36)
2018– Villarreal 87 (38)
National team‡
2019– Spain 9 (4)
2014– Catalonia 3 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 February 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2020

Club career

Villarreal

Born in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Barcelona, Catalonia, Gerard joined Villarreal CF in 2010 from local CF Badalona. 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.[2] During his early spell he also represented the third team, scoring at an astonishing rate in Tercera División.

Gerard scored his first goal as a professional on 10 December 2011, contributing to a 3–1 Segunda División home victory over Xerez CD.[3] He played his first official game with Villarreal's main squad roughly one year later, starting in a 0–1 loss at Elche CF.[4] He scored his first goal for the Yellow Submarine on 25 January 2013, opening a 3–0 defeat of CE Sabadell FC.[5]

On 8 July 2013, Gerard signed with RCD Mallorca of the second level in a season-long loan.[6] He subsequently returned to Villarreal, being definitely promoted to the first team now in La Liga.[7]

Gerard made his debut in the Spanish top flight on 14 September 2014, starting in a 0–0 away draw against Granada CF.[8] He scored his first goal in the competition ten days later, in a 1–1 draw at SD Eibar.[9]

Espanyol

On 13 August 2015, Gerard signed a five-year deal with fellow league club RCD Espanyol,[10] 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.[11]

Gerard netted 16 times in the 2017–18 campaign, helping to an 11th-place finish.[12]

Villarreal return

Gerard 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.[13]

Gerard finished 2019–20 with 18 league goals, thus winning the Zarra Trophy.[14]

International career

Gerard 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.[15][16] 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.[17] On 18 November, he added a brace in the 5–0 victory over Romania.[18]

Career statistics

Club
As of 8 January 2021
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total Ref.
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Villarreal C 2010–11 Tercera División 3934—3934
Villarreal B 2010–11 Segunda División 10—10 [19][20]
2011–12 41—41 [19][20]
2012–13 Segunda División B 2412—2412 [19][20]
Total 29130000002913 –
Villarreal 2012–13 Segunda División 14300—143 [19]
2014–15 La Liga 267657[lower-alpha 1]4—3916 [19][20]
Total 40106574005319 –
Mallorca (loan) 2013–14 Segunda División 311111—3212 [19][20]
Espanyol 2015–16 La Liga 32740—367 [19][20]
2016–17 371310—3813 [19][20]
2017–18 381663—4419 [19][20]
Total 10736113000011839 –
Villarreal 2018–19 La Liga 3583111[lower-alpha 1]4—4913 [19]
2019–20 351822—3720 [19][20]
2020–21 1610003[lower-alpha 1]0—1910 [19][20]
Total 8636531440010543 –
Career total 332140231221800376160 –
  1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 17 November 2020[21]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain 201933
202061
Total94

International goals
As of match played 14 November 2020 (Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Moreno goal)[21]
International goals by date, venue, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 15 November 2019Ramón de Carranza, Cádiz, Spain Malta6–07–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
2 18 November 2019Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain Romania2–05–0
3 3–0
4 14 November 2020St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland  Switzerland1–11–12020–21 UEFA Nations League A

Honours

References
  1. "Gerard" (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  2. "El Rayo saca partido de su efectividad" [Rayo take advantage of effectiveness]. Marca (in Spanish). 5 March 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  3. "Porcar se carga al Xerez" [Porcar kills Xerez]. Marca (in Spanish). 10 December 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. "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.
  7. Franch, Víctor (14 August 2014). "El reto de Gerard Moreno" [Gerard Moreno's goal]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  8. Melero, Delfín (14 September 2014). "Demasiado tarde" [Too late]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  9. "Eibar 1–1 Villarreal". ESPN FC. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  10. "Principi d'acord per Gerard Moreno" [Agreement in principle for Gerard Moreno] (in Catalan). RCD Espanyol. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. "Official: Gerard Moreno joins Villarreal from Espanyol". Sport. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  14. 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.
  15. Bell, Arch (15 October 2019). "Rodrigo sends Spain to Euro 2020". Marca. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  16. 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.
  17. Gillingham, Geoff (15 November 2019). "Mr. Santi Cazorla, you are a legend". Marca. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  18. "Gerard Moreno bags brace as Spain finish group campaign with easy win over Romania". The Northern Echo. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  19. Gerard Moreno at BDFutbol
  20. Gerard Moreno at Soccerway
  21. "Gerard Moreno". European Football. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  22. "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.
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