 Sánchez withChelsea in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Lynch Sánchez[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1997-11-18)18 November 1997 (age 28)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cartagena, Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Chelsea | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Escuela de Fútbol de Santa Ana | |||||||||||||||||
| Cartagena | |||||||||||||||||
| Ciudad Jardín | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Levante | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2018 | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 87 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | →Forest Green Rovers (loan) | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | →Rochdale (loan) | 26 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Chelsea | 60 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Spain | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:25, 22 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:12, 18 November 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Robert Lynch Sánchez (born 18 November 1997) is a Spanish professionalfootballer who plays as agoalkeeper forPremier League clubChelsea and theSpain national team.
Sánchez was born inCartagena,Region of Murcia.[1] He was born to a Jamaican-English father and Spanish-French mother.[3][4][5][6] He spent his early career playing locally with Escuela de Fútbol de Santa Ana,Cartagena and Ciudad Jardín[7] before joiningLevante in 2010.[8]
Sánchez moved to England to sign forBrighton & Hove Albion at the age of 15, before signing his first professional contract in June 2015.[9][10] He signed a new three-year contract with the club in April 2018.[11]
In June 2018, Sánchez moved onloan toForest Green Rovers for the 2018–19 season.[12] He played in the opening game of the season making his debut away atGrimsby where Rovers won 4–1.[13] Sánchez was recalled by parent club Brighton in January 2019 to provide cover as Albion'sMathew Ryan was called up forAustralia for theAsian Cup.[14] He made 17 appearances for Forest Green that season, all coming in the league.[13]
On 24 July 2019, Sánchez joinedRochdale on loan for the2019–20 season.[15] He made his debut for the club in a 3–2 away win overTranmere Rovers.[16]
On 1 November 2020, Sánchez made his Brighton debut, playing in a 2–1 defeat in aPremier League match againstTottenham Hotspur.[17][18] On 23 February 2021, Sánchez signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Brighton, running until June 2025.[19]
Sánchez was sent off in the 1–1 home draw againstNewcastle United on 6 November, in Brighton's eleventh match of the2021–22 season, for foulingCallum Wilson who was within a goalscoring opportunity.[20] He kept a clean sheet in the 4–0 win overManchester United on 7 May 2022, helping Brighton earn their record top flight victory, with his long-range pass providing a crucial role inPascal Groß's goal.[21]
In the second half of the2022–23 season Sánchez lost his number one spot to long standing back-up keeperJason Steele, with Brighton head coachRoberto De Zerbi saying that "he is sad for Robert" and that he has "one of the best relationships" with the player.[22] He was selected to play instead of Steele on 19 March, keeping a clean sheet in the 5–0FA Cup quarter-final win overLeague Two sideGrimsby at Falmer Stadium.[23] On 15 April, with Steele injured, Sánchez played againstChelsea in a 2–1 away win.[24] Eight days later he retained his place, keeping a clean sheet againstManchester United in 120 minutes of play in the FA Cup semi-final atWembley, but failing to save a penalty in the eventual shootout loss.[25]
On 3 August 2023, it was reported that Brighton had agreed a transfer fee, with fellowPremier League clubChelsea, worth an initial £20 million, plus £5 million in add-ons, for Sánchez.[26][27] The transfer was completed on 5 August, with the player signing a seven-year contract.[28][29] On 8 August, Chelsea confirmed that he would wear the vacant number 31 shirt for the upcoming2023–24 season.[30] On 13 August, he made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw againstLiverpool in the Premier League.[31] FollowingKepa Arrizabalaga's loan move toReal Madrid, on 17 August, Sánchez opted to switch his shirt number to No.1.[32]
In October 2023, he was described by punditKaren Bardsley as possibly "Chelsea's smartest signing" due to "the positive effect he's had on a team which is in transition".[33] By January 2025, new Chelsea managerEnzo Maresca said he was considering dropping Sánchez, following a series of errors.[34]
On 13 July 2025, Sánchez won the2025 FIFA Club World Cup final in a 3–0 victory overParis Saint-Germain.[35] He was widely praised for his performance in the final, making several key saves to preserve the clean sheet, thus helping him win the tournament's Golden Glove award.[36][37][38]
On 20 September 2025, Sanchez was given a straight red card for a foul onBryan Mbeumo outside the box just 5 minutes into the first half. This was the second time that he has been dismissed in nearly four years. In his absence, Chelsea went on to lose 1–2 toManchester United.[39]
Sánchez received his first call-up to theSpanish national team in March 2021, for2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches againstGreece,Georgia andKosovo.[40]
He was selected to the Spain squad for the delayedUEFA Euro 2020 tournament in May 2021.[41] Sánchez andDavid de Gea remained as understudies toUnai Simón and did not make an appearance as Spain were knocked out on penalties againstItaly in the semi-final atWembley Stadium on 6 July.[42]
He made his international debut on 5 September 2021, replacing Simón in the second half of a World Cup qualifier 4–0 win against Georgia inBadajoz.[43]
Sánchez was part of Spain's2021 UEFA Nations League Finals squad in October.[44] He remained as back-up and did not make an appearance in either the semi-final victory over Italy or the final loss againstFrance as Spain finished as runners-up.[45][46]
On 11 November 2022, Sánchez was named in Spain's 26-man squad for the2022 FIFA World Cup,[47] but he was not called up forUEFA Euro 2024.[48]
Sánchez has said that he modelled himself on Spanish goalkeepersIker Casillas andDavid de Gea.[10]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion U21 | 2016–17[49] | — | — | — | — | 3[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 2017–18[50] | — | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||||||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2018–19[13] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20[51] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2020–21[52] | Premier League | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22[53] | Premier League | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23[54] | Premier League | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| Total | 87 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 0 | ||
| Forest Green Rovers (loan) | 2018–19[13] | League Two | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Rochdale (loan) | 2019–20[51] | League One | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | |
| Chelsea | 2023–24[55] | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25[56] | Premier League | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 2025–26[57] | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| Total | 60 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 76 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 190 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 222 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Chelsea
Spain
Individual
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Spain squads | |||||||
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