Théo Hernandez

Théo Hernandez
Hernandez playing for AC Milan in 2022
Personal information
Full name Théo Bernard François Hernandez[1]
Date of birth (1997-10-06) 6 October 1997 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth Marseille, France
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
 AC Milan
Number 19
Youth career
2006–2007 Rayo Majadahonda[4]
2007–2015 Atlético Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Atlético Madrid B 9 (0)
2016–2017 → Alavés (loan) 32 (1)
2017–2019 Real Madrid 13 (0)
2018–2019 → Real Sociedad (loan) 24 (1)
2019– AC Milan 175 (29)
International career‡
2015 France U18 4 (0)
2015–2016 France U19 9 (0)
2016 France U20 3 (1)
2021– France 36 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  France
UEFA Nations League
Winner 2021 Italy
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 2022 Qatar
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:31, 20 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:58, 14 November 2024 (UTC)

Théo Bernard François Hernandez (French pronunciation: [teo ɛʁnɑ̃dɛz, - ɛʁnandɛs];[5] born 6 October 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Serie A club AC Milan and the France national team. Known for his speed, dribbling, and goal scoring ability, he is regarded as one of the best attacking full-backs in the world.[6][7][8][9][10]

Théo is the younger brother of fellow professional footballer Lucas Hernandez, and the son of Jean-François Hernandez, a retired footballer.

Club career

[edit]

Atlético Madrid

[edit]

Born in Marseille, Hernandez joined Atlético Madrid's academy in 2007, aged nine.[11] After progressing through the youth categories, he was promoted to the reserves in Tercera División in summer 2015.[citation needed]

On 3 February 2016, Hernandez renewed his contract.[12] Two days later, he was called up to the first team for a La Liga match against Eibar due to injuries,[13] but remained an unused substitute in the 3–1 home win.[14]

Alavés

[edit]

On 4 August 2016, Hernandez extended his contract until 2021, being immediately loaned to fellow league club Deportivo Alavés for one year.[15][16] He made his professional debut late in the month, starting in a 0–0 home draw with Sporting de Gijón.[17]

On 16 October 2016, Hernandez was given a straight red card in a 1–1 home draw to Málaga after a hard tackle on Ignacio Camacho.[18] He scored his first professional goal the following 7 May, netting the game's only goal in a home victory over Athletic Bilbao.[19]

A regular starter during the Basque team's run in the Copa del Rey, Hernandez helped them reach the final for the first time in their 91-year history. During the decisive match on 27 May 2017, he scored the equaliser through a direct free kick in an eventual 1–3 loss against Barcelona.[20]

Real Madrid

[edit]
Hernandez celebrating after winning the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid

On 5 July 2017, Hernandez signed a six-year deal with Real Madrid after they met his release clause of €24 million.[21][22][23] He made his competitive debut on 16 August, replacing Marco Asensio in a 2–0 home win against Barcelona for that year's Supercopa de España.[24]

Hernandez made three appearances during the 2017–18 edition of the UEFA Champions League,[25] helping the club win its third consecutive and 13th overall title in the competition.[26] On 10 August 2018, he was loaned to Real Sociedad.[27][28]

AC Milan

[edit]

On 7 July 2019, Hernandez joined Serie A club AC Milan in a deal worth maximum of €20 million.[29][30] The transfer was approved and carried out by Paolo Maldini, who met with him informally in Ibiza to persuade him to join.[31] Hernandez made his debut on 21 September, playing 18 minutes in the 2–0 defeat against Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina.[32] He scored his first goal for the Rossoneri on 5 October, helping the visitors come from behind to win 2–1 at Genoa.[33] During his first season with Milan he managed to score 7 goals in all competitions and had 3 assists.[34][35]

Hernandez with AC Milan in 2022

On 23 December 2020, Hernandez's 93rd-minute winning goal gave AC Milan a victory over Lazio to keep them top of Serie A.[36] During the 2020–21 season, Hernandez was the only defender in the top five European leagues to have scored two braces. He was also the defender with the most successful dribbles in Serie A that season with 73.[37] During his second season with the team, he managed to score 8 goals and assisted 7 in all competitions.[38]

On 6 January 2022, Hernandez wore the captain's armband for the first time against Roma.[39] Three days later, he scored a brace in a 3–0 win against Venezia, becoming first defender to score at least three braces in AC Milan's Serie A history.[40] On 11 February, Hernandez renewed his contract with Milan until 2026.[41]

On 15 May 2022 against Atalanta, Hernandez ran for 95 metres before scoring the second goal of a 2–0 win.[42] A week later, Milan were crowned with their first Serie A title in 11 years, Hernandez's contributions were 5 goals and 6 assists, the most for any defender in Serie A that season.[43]

On 25 October 2023, Hernandez faced his older brother, Lucas, for the first time as an opponent playing competitive senior football in the UEFA Champions League group stage away game against Paris Saint-Germain, a 3–0 loss for Milan.[44] The two faced each other once again two weeks later, with Milan prevailing 2–1 at home and Théo assisting the winning goal scored by Olivier Giroud.[45]

On 2 December 2023, amidst an injury crisis in Milan's central defense, Hernandez volunteered to play as a centre-back for the first time in his senior career and was highly praised for his performance by the Italian football media as Milan won 3–1 against Frosinone.[46]

On 27 September 2024, Hernandez contributed to a 3–0 win against Lecce with a goal, which became his 29th in the Serie A. As a result, he equaled Paolo Maldini's goalscoaring record for AC Milan in the Serie A competitions and was praised on social media by the club and Maldini himself.[47]

On 6 October 2024, his 27th birthday, Hernandez had a controversial game in Florence, which ended in a 2–1 loss for Milan to Fiorentina, followed by his post-game argument with a referee that culminated in a red card and a subsequent two-game suspension. During the first half, Hernandez caused a penalty (shot saved by Mike Maignan) and failed to score from the penalty spot himself, with his shot saved by David de Gea. In the second, he assisted the equalizing goal scored by Christian Pulisic with a curling cross from the left side and nearly caused another penalty kick for a risky tackle inside Milan's penalty box, with the referee ultimately deciding against it after a video review.[48]

International career

[edit]

On 26 April 2018, Hernandez received his first call to the France senior squad.[49] He made his debut on 7 September 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Finland, a 2–0 home victory. He started and played the whole game.[50] In October 2021, ahead of the UEFA Nations League semi-finals against Belgium, Théo for the first time received a call-up to the national team from Didier Deschamps together with his brother Lucas; the two were later fielded in the 3–4–1–2 formation as a left centre-back and a left wing-back, respectively, making it the first time they played together in a senior competitive game.[51] On 7 October, he scored a late-time winner in the 3–2 victory against the aforementioned opponent, sending his team to the final for the first time in history of the tournament.[52]

In November 2022, Hernandez was named in France's final squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[53] On 14 December, he scored a goal in a 2–0 win over Morocco in the semi-finals.[54]

In June 2024, he was named in the squad for UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany.[55] In their quarter-final match against Portugal on 5 July, he scored the winning penalty kick of the shoot-out to send his country into the next round.[56]

Personal life

[edit]

Hernandez's father, Jean-François, was also a footballer. A centre-back from France, he too played for Atlético Madrid;[57][58] his older brother Lucas, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain and France, was also developed at the club.[59] In 2022, French newspaper L'Équipe found that Jean-François – who went missing in 2004 – was living in Thailand, and had allegedly been legally blocked by his ex-partner from seeing their children.[60]

He has been dating Italian model Zoe Cristofoli since June 2020.[61] On 8 April 2022, the couple's son Theo Junior was born.[62]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of match played 20 December 2024[63][64]
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
Atlético Madrid B 2015–16 Tercera División 9 0 — — 1[b] 0 10 0
Alavés (loan) 2016–17 La Liga 32 1 6 1 — — 38 2
Real Madrid 2017–18 La Liga 13 0 6 0 3[c] 0 1[d] 0 23 0
Real Sociedad (loan) 2018–19 La Liga 24 1 4 0 — — 28 1
AC Milan 2019–20 Serie A 33 6 3 1 — — 36 7
2020–21 Serie A 33 7 2 0 10[e] 1 — 45 8
2021–22 Serie A 32 5 4 0 5[c] 0 — 41 5
2022–23 Serie A 32 4 1 0 11[c] 0 1[f] 0 45 4
2023–24 Serie A 32 5 2 0 12[g] 0 — 46 5
2024–25 Serie A 13 2 0 0 5[c] 0 0 0 18 2
Total 175 29 12 1 43 1 1 0 231 31
Career total 253 31 28 2 46 1 3 0 330 34
  1. ^ Includes Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia
  2. ^ Appearance in Tercera División play-offs
  3. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ Appearance in Supercopa de España
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
  7. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

[edit]
As of match played 14 November 2024[65]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
France 2021 4 1
2022 9 1
2023 10 0
2024 13 0
Total 36 2
As of match played 14 November 2024
Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hernandez goal.[65]
List of international goals scored by Théo Hernandez
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 October 2021 Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy 2  Belgium 3–2 3–2 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals
2 14 December 2022 Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar 12  Morocco 1–0 2–0 2022 FIFA World Cup

Honours

[edit]

Alavés

Real Madrid

AC Milan

France

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Squad List: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: France (FRA)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 12. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2017: List of players: Real Madrid CF" (PDF). FIFA. 30 November 2017. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Theo Hernandez: Biography". AC Milan. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
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[edit]
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