Sergi Palencia Hurtado (born 23 March 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC.

Sergi Palencia
Palencia in 2012
Personal information
Full name Sergi Palencia Hurtado
Date of birth (1996-03-23) 23 March 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Badalona, Spain
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
Los Angeles FC
Number 14
Youth career
2004–2006 Badalona
2006–2015 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2019 Barcelona B 97 (2)
2018–2019Bordeaux (loan) 25 (0)
2019–2023 Saint-Étienne 6 (0)
2020–2022Leganés (loan) 71 (0)
2020 Saint-Étienne B 1 (0)
2023– Los Angeles FC 25 (0)
International career
2018 Spain U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:31, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Formed at Barcelona, where he was only a reserve, he played in Ligue 1 for Bordeaux and Saint-Étienne and in Major League Soccer for Los Angeles FC.

Club career

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Barcelona

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Born in Badalona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Palencia started playing football for hometown club Badalona at the age of 8, moving to Barcelona's youth system, La Masia, in 2006. In 2013, he was compared to Bayern Munich full back Philipp Lahm by Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo.[2]

On 29 March 2015, while still a youth player, Palencia was called up to the Barcelona reserve team for a Segunda División match against Tenerife,[3] and played his first match as a professional hours later, starting in a 1–1 home draw.[4] He and Álex Grimaldo were sent off on 25 April 2015 in a 2–1 win over Ponferradina at the Mini Estadi.[5] Palencia played eleven matches in a season which saw his team relegated to Segunda División B, scoring his first goal on 31 May in a 5–2 home loss to Leganés.[6]

On 10 August 2016, Palencia was named the B-team's captain.[7] He achieved promotion back to the second level at the end of the campaign, and renewed his contract until 2020 on 5 October 2017.[8]

On 16 August 2018, Palencia joined Ligue 1 side Bordeaux in a season-long loan deal.[9] He played 31 total games, starting on 19 August in the season-opening 2–1 loss at rivals Toulouse in the Derby de la Garonne.[10]

Saint-Étienne

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On 5 July 2019, Palencia joined Saint-Étienne for a fee of €2 million, with an additional €1 million in variables. Barcelona maintained 20% of his future transfer fee.[11] On his debut on 1 September, a 1–0 loss at Marseille, he sprained his right ankle under a challenge from Jordan Amavi and was ruled out for six weeks.[12]

On 28 September 2020, Palencia returned to Spain and its second division after agreeing to a one-year loan deal with Leganés.[13] The following July, after playoff defeat to nearby Rayo Vallecano, his loan was extended for another year; he was out of Saint-Étienne manager Claude Puel's plans and the French club needed to balance the books.[14]

Los Angeles FC

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On 2 February 2023, Palencia joined Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC on a two-year deal with the option for a third, reuniting him with former Saint-Étienne teammate Denis Bouanga.[15] He made his debut on 12 March, starting in a 4–0 home win over the New England Revolution.[16]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 12 December 2023[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona B 2014–15 Segunda División 11 1 11 1
2015–16 Segunda División B 20 0 20 0
2016–17 Segunda División B 35 1 6[a] 0 41 1
2017–18 Segunda División 31 0 31 0
Total 97 2 6 0 103 2
Bordeaux (loan) 2018–19 Ligue 1 25 0 1 0 1 0 4[b] 0 31 0
Saint-Étienne 2019–20 Ligue 1 6 0 1 0 1 0 1[b] 0 9 0
2022–23 Ligue 2 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Total 15 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 18 0
Saint-Étienne B 2020–21 Championnat National 3 1 0 1 0
Leganés (loan) 2020–21 Segunda División 36 0 1 0 2[c] 0 39 0
2021–22 Segunda División 35 0 0 0 35 0
Total 71 0 1 0 2 0 74 0
Los Angeles FC 2023 Major League Soccer 25 0 0 0 6[d] 0 4[e] 0 35 0
Career total 234 2 3 0 2 0 11 0 12 0 218 2
  1. ^ Six appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
  2. ^ a b All appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Two appearances in Segunda División play-offs
  4. ^ Appearances in CONCACAF Champions Cup
  5. ^ Three appearances in Leagues Cup and one appearance in Campeones Cup

Honours

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Barcelona U19

Saint-Étienne

References

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  1. ^ "Sergi Palencia" (in French). AS Saint-Étienne. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Sergi Palencia, el doble de Lahm" [Sergi Palencia, Lahm's double]. El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 3 October 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  3. ^ "Barça B–CD Tenerife: ¡A por los tres puntos!" [Barça B–CD Tenerife: For the three points!] (in Spanish). Barcelona's official website. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Barça B – CD Tenerife: Valuable draw (2–2)". Barcelona's official website. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Una genialidad de Munir da aire a un filial que acabó con nueve" [Genius from Munir gives air to a reserve team which finished with nine] (in Spanish). Marca. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Result: Barcelona B thrashed by Leganes". Sports Mole. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Sergi Palencia, nuevo capitán del Barça B" [Sergi Palencia, new captain of Barça B]. El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 10 August 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Sergi Palencia signa fins al 2020" [Sergi Palencia signs until 2020] (in Catalan). FC Barcelona. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Sergi Palencia (Barça) prêté à Bordeaux (officiel)" [Sergi Palencia (Barça) loaned to Bordeaux (official)]. L'Équipe (in French). 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Toulouse avec le jeune Todibo, Bordeaux ferá débuter Palencia et Kalu" [Toulouse with the youngster Todibo, Bordeaux will give debuts to Palencia and Kalu]. Le Figaro (in French). 19 August 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Agreement with Saint-Etienne for transfer of Sergi Palencia". FC Barcelona. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  12. ^ Couladaize, Alyssa (2 September 2019). "Entorse de la cheville droite et 6 semaines d'indisponibilité pour Sergi Palencia" [Right-ankle sprain and 6 weeks of unavailability for Sergi Palencia] (in French). Be Soccer. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  13. ^ "C.D Leganés completes its right back with Sergi Palencia". CD Leganés. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  14. ^ Martín, J. (16 July 2021). "Oficial: El Leganés ficha a Palencia" [Official: Leganés sign Palencia]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  15. ^ "LAFC Signs Defender Sergi Palencia". Los Angeles FC. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  16. ^ Gross, Josh (12 March 2023). "Denis Bouanga scores 2 goals as LAFC routs New England". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  17. ^ Sergi Palencia at Soccerway
  18. ^ "First Youth League title goes Barcelona's way". UEFA.com. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  19. ^ "Mbappé suffers ankle injury as PSG beat 10-man Saint-Étienne to lift French Cup". The Guardian. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
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