Rubén Duarte
Spanish footballer (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rubén Duarte Sánchez (born 18 October 1995) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Liga MX club Pumas. Mainly a left-back, he can also play as a central defender.
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Duarte with Pumas in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rubén Duarte Sánchez[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 18 October 1995[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Almería, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Pumas | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Los Molinos | |||
| 2008–2009 | Poli Ejido | ||
| 2009–2012 | Espanyol | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2015 | Espanyol B | 72 | (1) |
| 2015–2017 | Espanyol | 36 | (0) |
| 2017–2024 | Alavés | 218 | (3) |
| 2024– | Pumas | 65 | (3) |
| International career | |||
| 2011 | Spain U16 | 4 | (1) |
| 2012 | Spain U17 | 2 | (1) |
| 2013 | Spain U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Spain U19 | 10 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Spain U21 | 9 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13:55, 26 June 2026 (UTC) | |||
He made his La Liga debut with Espanyol, and spent most of his career with Alavés, totalling 231 appearances in seven seasons.[2]
Club career
Espanyol
Born in Almería, Andalusia, Duarte joined RCD Espanyol's youth system in 2009, aged 13,[3] after spells at Los Molinos CF and Polideportivo Ejido. In 2012, he was linked to Manchester City,[4] and made his senior debut with the reserves in the Segunda División B.
On 7 January 2015, Duarte made his first-team debut, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 away loss against Valencia CF in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.[5] His maiden La Liga appearance occurred on 8 February, against the same opponent and with the same scoreline, but at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat.[6]
Duarte renewed his contract with the Catalan club on 11 June 2015, signing until 2019 and being promoted to the main squad.[7]
Alavés
On 29 May 2017, after falling down the pecking order, Duarte signed a three-year deal at Deportivo Alavés in the same league.[8] He played 24 matches in his first season, in a 14th-place finish.[9]
Duarte scored his first goal in the Spanish top division – and as a professional – on 16 May 2021, in a 4–2 home win over Granada CF.[10][11] In July 2023, after helping to another promotion to the main tier, he renewed his contract until 2026.[12]
On 9 July 2024, Duarte became a free agent.[13]
Pumas
Hours after leaving Alavés, Duarte moved abroad for the first time in his career, being announced at Liga MX side Pumas UNAM.[14] He scored his first goal on 10 August 2025, through a header in the 1–1 home draw with Club Necaxa.[15]
International career
After playing for Spain at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels, Duarte was first called to the full side on 26 May 2015 for a friendly with Costa Rica and a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Belarus.[16]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Espanyol B | 2012–13 | Segunda División B | 21 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | 32 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 19 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 72 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 1 | ||
| Espanyol | 2014–15 | La Liga | 11 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 36 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | ||
| Alavés | 2017–18 | La Liga | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Segunda División | 37 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 28 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 3 | |
| Total | 218 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 231 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 326 | 6 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 348 | 7 | ||