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Iker Bravo

Iker Bravo
Personal information
Full name Iker Bravo Solanilla
Date of birth (2005-01-13) 13 January 2005 (age 19)
Place of birth Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Udinese
Number 21
Youth career
2008–2010 Espluguenc
2010–2021 Barcelona
2021–2022 Bayer Leverkusen
2022–2024Real Madrid (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2024 Bayer Leverkusen 1 (0)
2022–2024Real Madrid B (loan) 25 (3)
2024– Udinese 7 (1)
International career
2019–2020 Spain U15 6 (1)
2021–2022 Spain U17 15 (10)
2021–2024 Spain U19 17 (3)
2024– Spain U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:57, 30 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:34, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

Iker Bravo Solanilla (born 13 January 2005) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie A club Udinese.

Club career

Bayer Leverkusen

Scouted by Barcelona at the age of 5 while playing for CFA Espluguenc,[1] Bravo joined La Masia and was part of their youth academy until signing with the German club Bayer Leverkusen on 28 July 2021.[2] He made his professional debut with Leverkusen as a late substitute in a 2–1 DFB-Pokal loss to Karlsruher SC on 27 October 2021.[3] At 16 years, 9 months and 15 days, Bravo was the youngest ever debutant for Leverkusen, taking the record from Florian Wirtz.[4] On 7 November 2021, Bravo debuted for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga in a 1–1 tie with Hertha; at 16 years and 298 days he was briefly the second youngest ever Bundesliga debutant and youngest ever for Bayer Leverkusen, before being passed by his teammate Zidan Sertdemir in the same game.[5]

Loan to Real Madrid Castilla

On 29 August 2022, Bravo was registered with Primera Federación's Real Madrid Castilla, on a 1-year loan from Leverkusen.[6][7] On 4 September, Bravo was called up for Real Madrid's squad for the UEFA Champions League match against Celtic.[8] On 17 September, Bravo scored his first goal for Real Madrid Castilla, winning the match against San Sebastián de los Reyes by 5-1.[9] On June 11, 2023, Bravo was instrumental in Castilla's remarkable 3-0 turnaround against Barcelona Atlètic, scoring one of the goals that propelled them into the promotion playoff final against Eldense, competing for a spot in the Segunda División.[10]

On 17 June 2024, Bravo's loan to Real Madrid was terminated with immediate effect, and he returned to Bayer Leverkusen.

Udinese

On 31 July 2024, Bravo signed a four-year contract with Serie A club Udinese.[11][12]

International career

Bravo is a youth international for Spain, having represented the Spain U15s and Spain U17s.[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 October 2024[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bayer Leverkusen 2021–22 Bundesliga 1 0 1[a] 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Real Madrid Castilla (loan) 2022–23 Primera División RFEF 22 2 3[b] 1 25 3
Udinese 2024–25 Serie A 7 1 1 0 8 1
Career total 30 3 2 0 0 0 3 1 35 4
  1. ^ Appearances in DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ Appearances in Primera Federación play-offs

Honours

Spain U19

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Promesas de La Masía: Iker Bravo, el '9' ejemplar". Vavel.com (in Spanish). 19 November 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  2. ^ "NACHWUCHSSTÜRMER VOM FC BARCELONA VERSTÄRKT U19". bayer04.de. 28 August 2021.
  3. ^ GmbH, LigaInsider (27 October 2021). "Youngster Iker Bravo feiert Debüt für Bayer Leverkusen". ligainsider.de.
  4. ^ "Leverkusen dumped out of German Cup by 2nd-tier Karlsruher". theScore.com. Agence France-Presse.
  5. ^ "Erst Bravo, dann Sertdemir: Das ist der jüngste Bundesligaspieler der Werkself". 7 November 2021.
  6. ^ "El Leverkusen hace oficial la salida de Iker Bravo hacia el Real Madrid". Cadena COPE. 29 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Bayer 04 loan Iker Bravo to Real Madrid". BAYER 04 LEVERKUSEN. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  8. ^ UEFA.com. "Iker Bravo - Real Madrid - UCL". UEFA.com. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  9. ^ "1-5: Castilla run riot against San Sebastián de los Reyes | Real Madrid CF". Real Madrid C.F. - Web Oficial. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  10. ^ "3-0: A stunning comeback to secure a place in the final for promotion to the second division | Real Madrid CF". Real Madrid C.F. - Web Oficial. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Iker Bravo è un nuovo giocatore dell'Udinese" [Iker Bravo is a new Udinese player] (in Italian). Udinese. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Udinese, ufficiale l'arrivo di Iker Bravo". Gianluca Di Marzio (in Italian). 30 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  13. ^ Morales, Christian (21 October 2021). "Florentino Pérez controla a Iker Bravo, delantero de 16 años, que se crió en el Barça". Diario Gol (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  14. ^ Iker Bravo at Soccerway
  15. ^ "2024 Under-19 EURO final: Spain 2-0 France". UEFA. 28 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Iker Bravo named 2024 Under-19 EURO Player of the Tournament". UEFA. 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  17. ^ "2024 Under-19 EURO Team of the Tournament". UEFA. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.