Martin Braithwaite

Martin Christensen Braithwaite (/ˈbrɛθweɪt/;[3] born 5 June 1991) is a Danish professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Barcelona and the Denmark national team. Mainly a forward, he can also play as a winger.

Martin Braithwaite
Personal information
Full name Martin Christensen Braithwaite[1]
Date of birth (1991-06-05) 5 June 1991
Place of birth Esbjerg, Denmark
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Barcelona
Number 9
Youth career
SGI
2003–2007 Esbjerg fB
2007 Midtjylland
2007–2009 Esbjerg fB
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2013 Esbjerg fB 89 (17)
2013–2017 Toulouse 136 (35)
2017–2019 Middlesbrough 36 (8)
2018 → Bordeaux (loan) 14 (4)
2019 → Leganés (loan) 19 (4)
2019–2020 Leganés 24 (6)
2020– Barcelona 30 (3)
National team‡
2008 Denmark U17 3 (0)
2009–2010 Denmark U19 11 (2)
2012–2013 Denmark U21 2 (0)
2013– Denmark 46 (7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:07, 7 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2020

Club career

Esbjerg fB

Braithwaite started out in the academy at Sædding-Guldager Idrætsforening (SGI), after which he joined the biggest club in his city, Esbjerg fB. He then spent a short time at FC Midtjylland's sports academy, before moving back to Esbjerg, signing a three-year youth contract in 2007.[4] During his second stint at the Esbjerg academy, Braithwaite went on trials with both Reggina and Newcastle United.[5][6] He eventually made his Esbjerg debut in 2009, making 63 Superliga appearances for the club and scoring 12 goals, including nine in the 2012–13 season during which he appeared in every league game for the club.[7] He won the Danish Cup with the club in 2012–13, scoring two goals in the semi-final second leg win over Brøndby IF.

Following his impressive displays for Esbjerg in the 2013 Superliga spring season and the Danish Cup he was called up to the Danish national squad in the summer of 2013. At the same time he was being rumoured to be attracting the interest of a number of European clubs including Auxerre, Rennes, Celtic and Hull City.[8][9][10]

Toulouse

On 14 August 2013, while away on national duty for a friendly international against Poland, Danish public broadcaster DR reported that Braithwaite had been sold to French club Toulouse FC for an estimated DKK 15 million (roughly €2 million).[11] Braithwaite started the match and scored Denmark's second goal.

Middlesbrough

On 13 July 2017, Braithwaite signed a four-year contract with EFL Championship club Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around £9 million.[12] Under the initial management of Garry Monk,[13] he became the club's third signing of the season, after Jonny Howson and Cyrus Christie.[14][15]

Braithwaite made his league debut for the club on 5 August 2017 at the Molineux Stadium, where Middlesbrough were defeated 1–0 by Wolverhampton Wanderers.[16] He scored his first goal for the club on 30 September 2017, in a 2–2 draw against Brentford at the Riverside Stadium.[17]

Braithwaite was loaned out to Bordeaux on 31 January 2018 for the rest of the season.[18] He returned to Middlesbrough for the 2018-2019 season. However, while Braithwaite did start the season in Middlesbrough, he quickly expressed his desire to leave the club and go to Spain to play instead. This was much to the dismay of his Middlesbrough manager, Tony Pulis.[19] After his unsuccessful attempt to leave the club in the 2018 summer transfer window, Braithwaite played the first half of the season for Middlesbrough, scoring three goals in 18 appearances.

Leganés

Braithwaite joined Spanish La Liga side CD Leganés at the beginning of the 2019 January transfer window in a loan deal until the end of season.[20] He made his league debut for the club on 12 January, in a 1–0 victory against SD Huesca, coming on as a substitute for Guido Carrillo for the last 26 minutes, and scored his first goal four days later in a 1–0 Copa del Rey home win against Real Madrid.

Braithwaite scored his first league goal in a 1–3 loss at FC Barcelona on 20 January 2019, and finished the campaign with four goals in 19 league appearances. On 24 July, he agreed to a permanent four-year deal with the Pepineros for a rumoured fee of €5 million, hence becoming the second most expensive player in the club's history.[21][22]

Barcelona

On 20 February 2020, Barcelona triggered Braithwaite's release clause of €18 million and signed him on a four-and-a-half year contract. His release clause was set to €300 million.[23] Barcelona were granted an emergency exception to sign Braithwaite outside of a transfer window because of the long-term injury of Ousmane Dembélé.[24] Two days after signing, Braithwaite made his debut in a home match against Eibar, coming on as a substitute in the 72nd minute. He assisted the fourth and fifth goals in the 5–0 win, both off deflections.[25] On 13 June 2020, Braithwaite scored his first goal for Barcelona following an assist by Lionel Messi in a 4–0 victory against RCD Mallorca.[26][27]

On 24 November 2020, Braithwaite scored his first two Champions League goals in a 4–0 away win over Dynamo Kyiv, a match in which he also had an assist, in the 2020–21 season.[28]

International career

Having already represented several Danish national youth teams, in the summer of 2012 Braithwaite was offered the chance to represent Guyana, being eligible through his Guyanese father. He declined the offer[29] and went on to make his senior debut for the Danish national team in June 2013 in a friendly against Georgia, starting the game and playing the first half. He remained in the squad for the 2014 World Cup qualification match against Armenia.[30] Braithwaite scored his first international goal in his second match in a friendly in August 2013 against Poland.

In May 2018 he was named in Denmark’s final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[31]

Personal life

Braithwaite has a Guyanese father[32] and his younger sister Mathilde (born 2002) plays football for KoldingQ and for Denmark's U-16 national women's football team.[33]

Braithwaite is the nephew and business partner of the American based, Danish born, real estate developer, Philip Michael.[34][35] They co-own real estate in the New York Market and are building a historic high-rise in Jersey City, NJ.[36][37]

Braithwaite is married to French entrepreneur, journalist and TV-personality, Anne-Laure Louis Braithwaite. They have three sons together and are expecting a fourth child in 2020.[38][39]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 7 February 2021[40][41]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Esbjerg fB 2009–10 Superliga 10000———100
2010–11 Superliga 16020———180
2011–12 1st Division 26510———275
2012–13 Superliga 33952———3811
2013–14 Superliga 4300———43
Total 89178200——9719
Toulouse 2013–14 Ligue 1 3272120——368
2014–15 Ligue 1 3461010——366
2015–16 Ligue 1 36112231——4013
2016–17 Ligue 1 34111011——3612
Total 136357372——14940
Middlesbrough 2017–18 Championship 1952100——216
2018–19 Championship 1730020——193
Total 3682120——409
Bordeaux (loan) 2017–18 Ligue 1 1440000——144
Leganés (loan) 2018–19 La Liga 19421———215
Leganés 2019–20 La Liga 24632———278
Total 431053———4813
Barcelona 2019–20 La Liga 11100———111
2020–21 La Liga 19231004320276
Total 30331004320387
Career total 34677251092432038692

    International
    As of match played 29 November 2020[42]
    Appearances and goals by national team and year
    National teamYearAppsGoals
    Denmark 201351
    201420
    201550
    201620
    201730
    2018122
    2019104
    202070
    Total467
    As of match played 29 November 2020. Denmark score listed first, score column indicates score after each Braithwaite goal.[42]
    List of international goals scored by Martin Braithwaite
    No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
    114 August 2013PGE Arena Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland2 Poland2–12–3Friendly
    216 October 2018MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark27 Austria2–02–0
    316 November 2018Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales28 Wales2–02–12018–19 UEFA Nations League B
    410 June 2019Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark33 Georgia5–15–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
    515 October 2019Aalborg Stadium, Aalborg, Denmark37 Luxembourg1–04–0Friendly
    615 November 2019Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark38 Gibraltar3–06–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
    718 November 2019Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland39 Republic of Ireland1–01–1

    Honours

    Esbjerg fB

    References
    1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Middlesbrough" (PDF). English Football League. p. 23. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
    2. "Martin Braithwaite". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
    3. "Sådan udtales Braithwaite: Sjov detalje bag Barcelona-danskers navn". BT. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
    4. bold.dk. "Esbjerg skriver med Braithwaite". bold.dk.
    5. bold.dk. "Reggina tester Esbjerg-talenter". bold.dk.
    6. bold.dk. "Esbjerg-talent glad for engelsk prøvetræning". bold.dk.
    7. Martin Braithwaite, Danskfodbold.com. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
    8. bold.dk. "Medie: EfB'er varm i England og Skotland". bold.dk.
    9. bold.dk. "Braithwaite kender til fransk interesse". bold.dk.
    10. Slevison, Andrew (9 August 2013). "Celtic and Hull City keen on Esbjerg's Braithwaite". Tribal Football.
    11. "Martin Braithwaite til Toulouse".
    12. "Martin Braithwaite: Middlesbrough sign Denmark forward from Toulouse". BBC Sport. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
    13. "Middlesbrough appoint Monk as new manager". Reuters. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
    14. "Cyrus Christie Set For Boro Medical". Middlesbrough Official Site. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
    15. "Boro Set To Swoop For Jonny Howson". Middlesbrough Official Site. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
    16. "Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 5 August 2017.
    17. "Middlesbrough 2-2 Brentford". BBC Sport. 30 September 2017.
    18. Officielt: Braithwaite til Bordeaux‚ bold.dk, 31 January 2018
    19. Martin Braithwaite: Middlesbrough striker wants to leave club for Spain, bbc.co.uk, 30 August 2019
    20. Middlesbrough's Martin Braithwaite joins Leganes on loan Sky Sports, 3 January 2019
    21. "Braithwaite Joins Leganes". Middlesbrough FC. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
    22. "C.D. Leganés signs the goals of Martin Braithwaite". CD Leganés. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
    23. "FC Barcelona sign Martin Braithwaite". FC Barcelona. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
    24. "Martin Braithwaite: Barcelona make emergency signing from Leganes". BBC Sport. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
    25. "Barcelona 5–0 Eibar: Lionel Messi scores four in thumping win". BBC Sport. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
    26. "Griezmann should be worried: Braithwaite a better fit for Barcelona attack right now". Goal. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
    27. ""He is the striker that Barcelona need" – Five things learned from the Blaugrana's 4-0 battering of Mallorca". Squawka. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
    28. "Dynamo Kyiv 0–4 Barcelona". UEFA. 24 November 2020.
    29. bold.dk. "Esbjerg-profil takker nej til landshold". bold.dk.
    30. bold.dk. "EfB-duo og Stryger i Olsens hat". bold.dk.
    31. Crawford, Stephen (4 June 2018). "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists". Goal.com.
    32. "Martin Braithwaite (left) rejected an offer to play for Guyana in favour of birthplace Denmark". BBVC. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
    33. "Debut til Mathilde Braithwaite på U16 Pigelandsholdet..." KoldingQ. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
    34. Jason Pettigrove,"New Barcelona Signing Martin Braithwaite And His Uncle Just Broke Ground On Smart Home Project In Philadelphia". forbes.com. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
    35. Luis Mazariegos,"Braithwaite could start El Clásico for Barcelona". barcablaugranes.com. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
    36. "World Cup Star Reveals His Favorite Investment Strategy". blackenterprise.com. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
    37. "EXCLUSIVE: World Cup Star Reveals His No. 1 Investment Strategy (And It's Brilliant)". wealthlab.co. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
    38. Juan Castro,"Ten interesting facts about Martin Braithwaite". marca.com. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
    39. "Martin Braithwaite On His Journey From Middlesbrough To Barcelona". soccerbible.com. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
    40. "MARTIN BRAITHWAITE L'EQUIPE Profile". L'Equipe. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
    41. Martin Braithwaite at Soccerway
    42. Martin Braithwaite at National-Football-Teams.com
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