Irene Paredes
FullnameIrene Paredes Hernández[1]
Birth date4 July 1991 (age 35)[1]
Birth placeLegazpi, Spain[2]
Height1.77 m[1]
CurrentclubBarcelona
Clubnumber2
PositionCentre-back
Youthyears 12005–2006
Youthclubs 1Ilintxa
Youthyears 22006–2007
Youthclubs 2Urola
Youthyears 32007–2008
Youthclubs 3Zarautz
Years 12008–2011
Clubs 1Real Sociedad
Caps 182
Goals 16
Years 22011–2016
Clubs 2Athletic Bilbao
Caps 2128
Goals 218
Years 32016–2021
Clubs 3Paris Saint-Germain
Caps 385
Goals 313
Years 42021–
Clubs 4Barcelona
Caps 490
Goals 48
Nationalyears 12011–
Nationalteam 1Spain
Nationalcaps 1117
Nationalgoals 114
Nationalyears 22012–2022
Nationalteam 2Basque Country
Nationalcaps 24
Nationalgoals 20
Club-update20:24, 10 May 2024 (UTC)
Nationalteam-update18:52, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

Irene Paredes Hernández (born 4 July 1991) is a Spanish[3] professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga F club Barcelona and captains the Spain national team.[4]

Club career

Real Sociedad

Born in Legazpi, Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country, Paredes joined local side Zarautz in 2007. She then moved to Real Sociedad a year later. On 5 October 2008, she made her senior debut against Málaga in a league game.[5]

Athletic Bilbao

After spending three seasons at Real Sociedad, Paredes signed for their local rivals, Athletic Bilbao, in 2011. She was sent off for the first time in her career in their 2–1 loss to Espanyol after extra time in the 2012 Copa de la Reina final, and further disappointment followed in the next two years as Athletic lost a title-deciding league fixture against Barcelona in 2013,[6] then were defeated by the same opposition in the 2014 Copa de la Reina final with Paredes the only player not to score their kick in the penalty shootout.[7] However, in the last of her five seasons there, 2015–16, the club finished as league champions.[8][9] She also won three Copa Euskal Herria against her former club Real Sociedad in 2011, 2013 and 2015.

Paris Saint-Germain

In 2016, Paredes signed for Paris Saint-Germain. She played her first UEFA Champions League season after joining PSG and reached the final, where her team lost 6–7 on penalties to Lyon.[10]

On 31 May 2018, she won her first trophy with the club as PSG defeated Lyon 1–0 in the final of the 2018 Coupe de France Féminine.[11] She was named as captain of PSG before the start of the 2018–19 season.[12]

In May 2019, Paredes extended her contract with PSG for two more years, keeping her at the club till 30 June 2021.[13] On 21 September, Paredes played in her first final as captain as PSG were defeated 3–4 on penalties by Lyon in the inaugural Trophée des Championnes.[14]

On 4 June 2021, Paredes led PSG to their first ever league title, ending Lyon's run of 14 consecutive titles.[15] She also led PSG to the semifinals of the Champions League where her team lost to eventual champions Barcelona.

Barcelona

On 8 July 2021, Paredes signed a two-year deal with Barcelona after her contract with PSG expired.[16] On 4 September, Paredes made her official Barcelona debut in a 5–0 routing of Granadilla Tenerife.[17] On 17 October, Paredes scored her first goal for Barcelona in a 5–0 victory against Sporting Huelva. On 17 November, she scored her first Champions League goal for Barcelona as she headed in the second goal in a 5–0 defeat of 1899 Hoffenheim in the group stage.[18]

On 23 January 2022, Paredes won her first title with Barcelona after her side thrashed Atlético Madrid 7–0 in the final to win their second Supercopa de España Femenina title.[19] On 9 February, Paredes returned after recovering from Covid-19 and scored the fourth goal in the 9–1 thrashing of Real Sociedad.[20] On 13 February, Paredes suffered a muscle tear in her left thigh during their 3–0 win against Athletic Bilbao and was ruled out for over four weeks.[21] On 13 March, Paredes won her second Spanish league title, and her first with Barça, after Barcelona won 5–0 against Real Madrid.[22] On 22 March, Paredes returned from her injury when she came on at the 65th minute in a 3–1 victory against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter final.[23] On 30 March, she made her Camp Nou debut in the return leg of Barça's 5–2 quarter final victory against Real Madrid.[24] On 21 May, Paredes started against Lyon as Barcelona were defeated 1–3 in the Champions League final at the Allianz Stadium in Turín.[25] On 29 May, she won her third trophy with Barcelona as her team thrashed Sporting Huelva 6–1 in the Copa de la Reina final.[26]

On 18 August, Paredes was announced as the fifth captain of Barcelona before the start of the new season.[27]

On 19 January 2023, Paredes was sent-off during Barcelona's 3–1 victory over Real Madrid in the semi-final of the 2022-23 Supercopa de España Femenina and was subsequently suspended for the final. Three days later, her side defeated Real Sociedad 3–0 to win the trophy.[28] On 27 January, Paredes extended her contract with Barcelona until June 2025.[29] On 30 April, she won her second league title with Barcelona when her side beat Sporting Huelva 3–0.[30] On 3 June, Paredes played the entire match as Barcelona won 3–2 against VfL Wolfsburg in the final to win her first Champions League title.[31]

She began the 2023–24 season with some injury and illness problems, but recovered to become the leader of the team's defense in the absence of Mapi León with long-term injury. To end Barcelona's perfect season, Paredes made a goal line clearance in the 2024 Champions League final against Lyon, helping to win her second consecutive Champions League title.[32]

International career

She played her first minutes for the Spain national team in November 2011 against Romania.[33] In June 2013, national team coach Ignacio Quereda confirmed Paredes as a member of his 23-player squad for the UEFA Euro 2013 finals in Sweden.[34] On 27 October 2013, she scored her first goal for Spain, in a 6–0 home win against Estonia at a 2015 FIFA World Cup qualification match. She was also called up to be part of Spain's squad at the 2015 World Cup in Canada[1] and at the 2019 World Cup in France.[35][36] On 5 March 2018, she marked her 50th appearance for Spain by opening the scoring with a header in a 2–0 victory against Czech Republic in the last group match of the Cyprus Cup.[37]

On 14 February 2022, Paredes was ruled out of the inaugural edition of the Arnold Clark Cup after suffering a muscle tear in her left thigh and was replaced by Sheila García.[38]

Paredes was part of the Spain squad called up for the Euro 2022.[39]

Paredes was called up to the 23-player Spain squad for the 2023 World Cup.[40]

On 6 April 2023, Paredes made her return to the national team in a 4–2 international friendly win against Norway after she had resigned from the national team, along with her captaincy role in October 2022, following disagreements between a few players and the RFEF over unfavourable conditions in the dressing room.[41] On 20 August, she won the World Cup after Spain defeated England 1–0 in the final. On 1 December, she returned from injury to play her 100th match for the national team in a 2–3 defeat against Italy in a group stage match of the 2023–24 UEFA Nations League.[42]

On 25 July 2024, Paredes was called up to the Spain squad for the 2024 Olympics where they lost to Germany in the Bronze Medal Match.[43]

On 10 June 2025, Paredes was called up to the Spain squad for the Euro 2025.[44]

Personal life

Paredes is in a relationship with former Spain hockey player Lucía Ybarra.[45] During her stint at PSG, the couple lived together in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.[46]

In April 2021, Paredes and Ybarra announced that they were expecting their first child together.[47] On 13 September, Paredes announced the arrival of their son Mateo, who was born the day before, in an Instagram post.[48] Paredes had already asked coach Jorge Vilda not to summon her to the national squad for 2023 FIFA World Cup qualification due to the forthcoming birth.[49] Ybarra and Mateo accompanied Paredes to the 2023 World Cup tournament in New Zealand and Australia.[50] In February 2026, Paredes and her partner Ybarra welcomed their second child, Lea Paredes Ybarra, whose name was announced via Ybarra's Instagram post a week after the child's birth.

Style of play

She is a ball-playing defender who contributes to the build-up by moving the ball up the field and connecting with attackers. She is also a target inside the opponent's penalty area during free-kicks and corners, where she has scored goals via headers.[51][52]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupUWCLOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Real Sociedad2008–09Superliga Femenina27000––270
2009–1028420––304
2010–1127251––323
Total82671––897
Athletic Bilbao2011–12Primera División33220––352
2012–1319221––213
2013–1430250––352
2014–1521310––223
2015–1625910––269
Total12819111––13920
Paris Saint-Germain2016–17Division 1 Féminine1822093–295
2017–1820352––255
2018–191223040–192
2019–2014052501[a]0252
2020–21216–62–278
Total85131542451012522
Barcelona2021–22Primera División244201012[b]0385
2022–23252001121[b]0374
2023–2418050602[b]0310
2024–252324110220395
Total9081113757014414
Career total3854644761108049863
  1. ^ Appearance in Trophée des Championnes
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España Femenina

International

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Paredes goal.
List of international goals scored by Irene Paredes
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
127 October 2013Ciudad Deportiva Collado Villalba, Collado Villalba, SpainEstonia6–06–02015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
220 September 2016Butarque, Leganés, SpainFinland2–05–0UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying
33–0
423 October 2017Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, IsraelIsrael1–06–02019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
53–0
628 November 2017Estadi de Son Moix, Palma, SpainAustria3–04–02019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
75 March 2018AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis, Larnaca, CyprusCzech Republic1–02–02018 Cyprus Women's Cup
86 April 2018Telia 5G -areena, Helsinki, FinlandFinland1–02–02019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
98 October 2019Ďolíček, Prague, Czech RepublicCzech Republic4–05–1UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying
108 July 2022Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, EnglandFinland1–14–1UEFA Women's Euro 2022
112 September 2022La Ciudad del Fútbol, Las Rozas de Madrid, SpainHungary2–03–02023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
124 June 2024Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, SpainDenmark2–23–2UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying
133 August 2024Stade de Lyon, Décines-Charpieu, FranceColombia2–22–22024 Summer Olympics
147 July 2025Arena Thun, Thun, SwitzerlandBelgium2–16–2UEFA Women's Euro 2025

Honours

Athletic Bilbao

Paris Saint-Germain

Barcelona

Spain

Individual

References

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