Wikipedia

Alex Král

Alex Král (born 19 May 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Spanish La Liga club Espanyol on loan from German side Union Berlin. Born in Slovakia, he represent Czech Republic national team at international level.

Alex Král
Král with Spartak Moscow in 2019
Personal information
Full name Alex Král[1]
Date of birth (1998-05-19) 19 May 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Košice, Slovakia[2]
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder[4]
Team information
Current team
 Espanyol
(on loan from Union Berlin)
Number 20
Youth career
2004–2007 Moravská Slavia Brno
2007–2012 Zbrojovka Brno
2012–2017 Slavia Prague
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Teplice 43 (1)
2019 Slavia Prague 18 (0)
2019–2023 Spartak Moscow 53 (0)
2021–2022 → West Ham United (loan) 1 (0)
2022–2023 → Schalke 04 (loan) 29 (0)
2023– Union Berlin 24 (0)
2024– → Espanyol (loan) 10 (0)
International career‡
2014–2015 Czech Republic U17 18 (1)
2015–2016 Czech Republic U18 13 (1)
2016–2017 Czech Republic U19 20 (1)
2017 Czech Republic U20 3 (0)
2017–2018 Czech Republic U21 9 (1)
2019– Czech Republic 43 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024

Early life

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Born in Slovakia, Král's family moved to Štýřice, Brno in the Czech Republic, when he was a child. He began playing football at SK Moravská Slavia Brno aged six, before joining Zbrojovka Brno aged nine. At 14, he was scouted and recruited by Slavia Prague moving to Prague to continue his development.[5]

Club career

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Slavia Prague

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In January 2019, he signed a four-year contract with Slavia Prague.[6]

Spartak Moscow

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On 1 September 2019, he signed a five-year contract with the Russian Premier League club Spartak Moscow. He has since played for the club for several seasons, which included participation in the UEFA Champions League.[7]

Loan to West Ham United

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On 31 August 2021, Král joined English side West Ham United on a season-long loan with an option to make the deal permanent.[5] He made his debut on 22 September in a 1–0 win against Manchester United in the EFL Cup at Old Trafford.[8] His league debut followed when he came on as a substitute in a 4–1 win at Watford on 28 December 2021.[9] Král made one appearance in the Premier League, three times in the Europa League and once in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup before his loan ended.[10]

Contract suspension and Schalke 04

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On 1 July 2022, Spartak announced that Král suspended his contract with Spartak Moscow for the 2022–23 season using FIFA's special regulations related to the international response and other fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[11] On 14 July 2022, Schalke 04 announced the signing of Král to a one-year contract, and under FIFA regulations he remained a Spartak player temporarily playing for Schalke 04.[12]

Union Berlin

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On 2 June 2023, Union Berlin announced the signing of Král ahead of the new season.[13] In his first season at the club, Král made 24 appearances in the Bundesliga, two appearances in the DFB-Pokal, and a further six appearances in Union Berlin's maiden campaign in the Champions League.[14]

Loan to Espanyol

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On 7 August 2024, Král was loaned out to newly promoted La Liga side Espanyol.[15]

International career

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Král made his debut for the Czech Republic national team on 26 March 2019 in a friendly against Brazil, as a 69th-minute substitute for David Pavelka.[16]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 5 May 2024[17][18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Teplice 2016–17 Czech First League 3 0 0 0 — — 3 0
2017–18 Czech First League 23 1 3 1 — — 26 2
2018–19 Czech First League 17 0 2 0 — — 19 0
Total 43 1 5 1 — — 48 2
Slavia Prague 2018–19 Czech First League 12 0 3 0 6[b] 1 — 21 1
2019–20 Czech First League 6 0 — 2[c] 0 1[d] 0 9 0
Total 18 0 3 0 8 1 1 0 30 1
Spartak Moscow 2019–20 Russian Premier League 19 0 4 0 — — 23 0
2020–21 Russian Premier League 29 0 1 0 — — 30 0
2021–22 Russian Premier League 5 0 0 0 2[c] 0 — 7 0
Total 53 0 5 0 2 0 — 60 0
West Ham United (loan) 2021–22 Premier League 1 0 1 0 3[b] 0 1[e] 0 6 0
Schalke 04 (loan) 2022–23 Bundesliga 29 0 2 0 — — 31 0
Union Berlin 2023–24 Bundesliga 24 0 2 0 6[c] 1 — 32 1
Espanyol (loan) 2024–25 La Liga 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Career total 168 1 18 1 19 2 2 0 207 4
  1. ^ Includes Czech Cup, Russian Cup, FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ Appearance in Czechoslovak Supercup
  5. ^ Appearance in EFL Cup

International

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As of match played 19 November 2024[19]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Czech Republic 2019 9 2
2020 7 0
2021 13 0
2022 5 0
2023 5 0
2024 4 0
Total 43 2
Scores and results list the Czech Republic's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Alex Král
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 14 October 2019 Generali Arena, Prague, Czech Republic   Northern Ireland 2–3 2–3 Friendly
2. 14 November 2019 Doosan Arena, Plzeň, Czech Republic   Kosovo 1–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

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Slavia Prague

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  2. ^ Alex Král | Football Talent Scout, footballtalentscout.net
  3. ^ "Alex Král". FC Schalke 04. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  4. ^ Profile on WorldFootball, worldfootball.net
  5. ^ a b "West Ham United bring in Czech Republic midfielder Alex Král on loan". West Ham United F.C. (Press release). 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Návrat Krále. Slavia hlásí posilu do defenzívy". SK Slavia Praha. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Vítej, Алекс Крал!" [Welcome, Alex Kral] (Press release) (in Russian). FC Spartak Moscow. 1 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Manchester United 0-1 West Ham United". BBC Sport. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Watford 1-4 West Ham". BBC Sport. 28 December 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  10. ^ "He Thought He'd Play More At West Ham – National Team Boss On Hammers Loanee". Inside Futbol. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Крал приостановил действие контракта со "Спартаком"" (Press release) (in Russian). FC Spartak Moscow. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Alex Král joins Schalke 04 for 2022/23". schalke04.de (Press release). FC Schalke 04. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Alex Kral moves to Köpenick". 1. FC Union Berlin. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Alex Král to Espanyol". 1. FC Union Berlin. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Král, nou jugador del RCD Espanyol" [Král, new RCD Espanyol player] (in Catalan). Espanyol. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Czech Republic v Brazil game report". ESPN. 26 March 2019.
  17. ^ Alex Král at Soccerway. Retrieved 31 August 2021.  
  18. ^ Alex Král at WorldFootball.net  
  19. ^ "Alex Král". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  20. ^ "BANÍK OSTRAVA VS. SLAVIA PRAGUE 0 - 2". Soccerway. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  21. ^ "Technical Report". UEFA.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
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