 Pozuelo withToronto FC in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alejandro Pozuelo Melero[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1991-09-20)20 September 1991 (age 33)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Seville, Spain[2] | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al-Fayha | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Betis | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2012 | Betis B | 44 | (16) |
| 2011–2013 | Betis | 29 | (3) |
| 2013–2014 | Swansea City | 22 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Rayo Vallecano | 11 | (0) |
| 2015–2019 | Genk | 106 | (17) |
| 2019–2022 | Toronto FC | 88 | (26) |
| 2022 | Inter Miami | 12 | (2) |
| 2023 | Konyaspor | 12 | (4) |
| 2023–2024 | Al Jazira | 21 | (3) |
| 2024– | Al-Fayha | 21 | (4) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:58, 15 March 2025 (UTC) | |||
Alejandro Pozuelo Melero (born 20 September 1991) is a Spanish professionalfootballer who plays forSaudi Pro League clubAl-Fayha asattacking midfielder.
Developed in theBetis system, he amassedLa Liga totals of 40 matches and three goals for that club andRayo Vallecano. In 2014 he signed withGenk fromSwansea City, going on to spend several seasons in theBelgian Pro League with the former team. In 2019, he joinedMajor League Soccer sideToronto FC, moving toInter Miami three years later.
Born inSeville,Andalusia, Pozuelo spent his youth career at his local clubReal Betis.[3] He made his senior debut withthe B team, spending two seasons in theSegunda División B.[4][5][6]
Pozuelo made his official debut with the main squad on 2 October 2011, playing the second half of a 1–0La Liga home loss againstLevante UD.[7] On 18 December he scored his first league goal for theVerdiblancos, as well as beingsent off in the 2–0 win atAtlético Madrid.[8]
Pozuelo was promoted to Betis' first team for the2012–13 campaign.[9] He appeared in a total of 13 games in all competitions, netting his only goal in a 5–3 away victory overAthletic Bilbao.[10]
In total, Pozuelo made 33 appearances during his tenure, scoring three goals.[6]
On 2 July 2013, Pozuelo joinedSwansea City on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, signing alongside teammateJosé Cañas and becoming the seventh Spaniard in the squad.[11] He scored on his debut for the club, rounding off the scoring in a 4–0 home defeat ofMalmö FF in the first leg of thethird qualifying round of theUEFA Europa League.[12] He netted his second in the same competition and also at theLiberty Stadium on 22 August 2013 in a 5–1 play-off round win againstRomania'sFC Petrolul Ploiești.[13]
During his spell in Wales, Pozuelo played 36 matches across all competitions, scoring twice and adding sixassists.[6][14]
Pozuelo returned to his country's top division on 24 July 2014, joiningRayo Vallecano for an undisclosed fee.[15] His first competitive appearance took place on 14 September, as he came on as a 61st-minutesubstitute in a 3–2 home loss toElche CF.[16]
Pozuelo took part in 13 official games in hisonly season, registering one goal in theCopa del Rey againstValencia CF.[6][17]
On 31 August 2015, Pozuelo moved abroad again, signing a two-year deal atBelgian Pro League teamK.R.C. Genk.[18] He scored six goals in2016–17, helping to a final eighth position in the regular season. He later became theircaptain,[19][20] and collected a total of 175 appearances in all competitions over five seasons, with 25 goals and 60 decisive passes.[6]
In February 2019,Toronto FC planned to trigger Pozuelo's €8 million release clause, however, a disagreement ensued with Genk questioning the validity of the release clause and refusing to allow the player to move. Following a lengthy transfer discussion, the two sides reached a compromise for the player to finish out the main portion of the season with the latter and join the former on 18 March.[21] When he left, his team were sitting in first place in thedomestic league.[6][22]
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On 4 March 2019, Pozuelo signed withMajor League Soccer side Toronto FC as adesignated player,[23] as a replacement for the recently departedSebastian Giovinco and compatriotVíctor Vázquez in the creative midfield role,[24] also inheriting thenumber ten shirt which had previously been worn by the Italian.[25] He made his debut late in the same month in a 4–0 home win overNew York City FC, assisting the opening goal of the match by teammateJozy Altidore and later scoring two himself – one from thepenalty spotPanenka-style and onechipped over thegoalkeeper.[26] He finished as the team's top scorer in theregular season with twelve goals while also adding twelve assists,[27] and was named to theMLS Best XI.[28]
On 23 October 2019, Pozuelo scored twice in a 2–1 win over New York City FC in theplayoffs' Eastern Conference semi-finals, including a 90th minute Panenka-style penalty kick which was his third of the campaign in that fashion.[29][30] On 10 November, he set up Altidore's injury-time goal in a 3–1 away defeat toSeattle Sounders FC in theMLS Cup Final.[31]
Pozuelo started every match during the2020 campaign, scoring nine goals and recording ten assists (the joint most in the league) as he led his side to the second best record in the regular season. He was named to the Best XI for a second consecutive year,[32] and on 7 December was awarded theLandon Donovan MVP Award for the league's best player.[33] On 2 July 2022, he played his 100th official match, a 2–0 home loss against Seattle Sounders.[34]
On 7 July 2022, Pozuelo was traded toInter Miami CF for $150,000 inGeneral Allocation Money as well as additional conditional GAM depending on certain performance metrics.[35] On 14 August, his brace helped the hosts to defeat New York City 3–2.[36]
On 3 March 2023, Pozuelo agreed to a short-term deal at Turkish clubKonyaspor.[37] On 16 May, he scored twice in a 3–0 win away atAlanyaspor, his second goal being the team's 900th in theSüper Lig.[38]
On 9 July 2023, Pozuelo joinedAl Jazira Club of theUAE Pro League after his contract expired.[39] In August 2024, he moved toSaudi Pro League sideAl-Fayha FC on a one-year deal.[40]
A versatile and creativemidfielder with good ball skills, technique and an eye for goal, Pozuelo usually played in aplaymaking role as an attacking midfielder, although he also featured as acentral midfielder. Although naturally right-footed, he was capable of playing off of either foot, and is known for his vision and ability to provide assists for teammates. Toronto FC president Bill Manning described him as "a guy who can pull the strings, someone who can manage the game, make the special plays that make goals", while the club's managerGreg Vanney described him as "an attacking player first and foremost. We want to use him in that role. He'll play close to [Altidore] and we'll use him a lot in setting up our attacks. He's outstanding at understanding how to move around, manipulate numbers on the field, play between lines. [He has] the vision for the final pass and the ability to spring some of our guys as runners. But it's also his ability to finish plays off in different ways. For us it's the engine through that final phase of our attack."[21][24][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]
Pozuelo was also used as afalse-nine on occasion.[48]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs[a] | National cup[b] | League cup[c] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Betis B | 2010–11 | Segunda División B | 30 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | 30 | 5 | |||||
| 2011–12 | 14 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 11 | |||||||
| Total | 44 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 16 | ||
| Betis | 2011–12 | La Liga | 18 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 20 | 2 | ||||
| 2012–13 | 11 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 3 | ||
| Swansea City | 2013–14 | Premier League | 22 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11[d] | 2 | — | 36 | 2 | ||
| Rayo Vallecano | 2014–15 | La Liga | 11 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||||
| Genk | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 21 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 38 | 4 | |||
| 2016–17 | 29 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 15[d] | 1 | — | 53 | 8 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 28 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 44 | 6 | |||||
| 2018–19 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 13[d] | 2 | — | 42 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 106 | 17 | 27 | 4 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 177 | 25 | ||
| Toronto FC | 2019 | Major League Soccer | 30 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 14 | |||
| 2020 | 23[e] | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1[f] | 0 | 25 | 9 | ||||
| 2021 | 19 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 1 | |||||
| 2022 | 16 | 4 | — | 2[g] | 2 | — | — | — | 18 | 6 | ||||||
| Total | 88 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 30 | ||
| Inter Miami | 2022 | Major League Soccer | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 2 | |||
| Konyaspor | 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 12 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 4 | |||||
| Al Jazira | 2023–24 | UAE Pro League | 21 | 3 | — | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 3 | |||
| Al-Fayha | 2024–25 | Saudi Pro League | 21 | 4 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 23 | 5 | ||||
| Career total | 366 | 75 | 33 | 6 | 34 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 477 | 91 | ||
Toronto FC
Individual
