Alex Král
Czech footballer (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alex Král (born 19 May 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for German Bundesliga club Union Berlin. Born in Slovakia, he represents the Czech Republic national team at international level.
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Král with Spartak Moscow in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alex Král[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 May 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Košice, Slovakia[2] | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder[2] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Union Berlin | ||
| Number | 33 | ||
| 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 | 43 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Espanyol (loan) | 37 | (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 | 48 | (2) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 April 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 8 September 2025 | |||
Early life
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.[4]
Club career
Slavia Prague
In January 2019, he signed a four-year contract with Slavia Prague.[5]
Spartak Moscow
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.[6]
Loan to West Ham United
On 31 August 2021, Král joined English side West Ham United on a season-long loan with an option to make the deal permanent.[4] He made his debut on 22 September in a 1–0 win against Manchester United in the EFL Cup at Old Trafford.[7] His league debut followed when he came on as a substitute in a 4–1 win at Watford on 28 December 2021.[8] 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.[9]
Contract suspension and Schalke 04
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.[10] 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.[11]
Union Berlin
On 2 June 2023, Union Berlin announced the signing of Král ahead of the new season.[12] 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.[13]
Loan to Espanyol
On 7 August 2024, Král was loaned out to newly promoted La Liga side Espanyol.[14]
International career
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.[15]
Career statistics
Club
| 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 | |
| 2025–26 | Bundesliga | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | |||
| Total | 43 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 52 | 1 | |||
| Espanyol (loan) | 2024–25 | La Liga | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 224 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 266 | 4 | ||
- Includes Czech Cup, Russian Cup, FA Cup, DFB-Pokal, Copa del Rey
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in Czechoslovak Supercup
International
- As of match played 8 September 2025[18]
| 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 | |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 48 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list the Czech Republic's goal tally first.
| 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 |
