Gerard Moreno (footballer)


Gerard Moreno Balagueró, known simply as Gerard, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Villarreal CF and the Spanish national team as a striker.

Club career

Villarreal

Born in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Barcelona, Catalonia, Gerard joined Villarreal CF in 2010 from local CF Badalona. On 5 March 2011, while still a junior, he made his debut with the reserves, appearing as a late substitute in a 1–2 home loss against Rayo Vallecano; during his early spell he also represented the third team, scoring at an astonishing rate in Tercera División.
On 10 December 2011, Gerard scored his first goal as a professional, contributing to a 3–1 Segunda División home victory over Xerez CD. He played his first official game with Villarreal's main squad roughly one year later, starting in a 0–1 loss at Elche CF; he scored his first goal for the Yellow Submarine on 25 January 2013, opening a 3–0 defeat of CE Sabadell FC.
On 8 July 2013, Gerard signed with RCD Mallorca of the second level, in a season-long loan. He subsequently returned to Villarreal, being definitely promoted to the first team now in La Liga.
Moreno made his debut in the Spanish top flight on 14 September 2014, starting in a 0–0 away draw against Granada CF. He scored his first goal in the competition ten days later, in a 1–1 draw at SD Eibar.

Espanyol

On 13 August 2015, Gerard signed a five-year deal with fellow league club RCD Espanyol, who bought 50% of his rights for a €1.5 million fee. The following 23 January, he scored in a 2–2 home draw against his former team before being sent off.
Gerard netted 16 times in the 2017–18 campaign, helping to an 11th-place finish.

Villarreal return

Gerard returned to Villarreal on 12 June 2018, agreeing to a five-year contract. Having retained 50% of the player's rights previously, his former club paid Espanyol €20 million in the transfer to buy back the remaining 50% and acquire the player outright.

International career

Gerard was never capped for Spain at any youth level. He made his senior debut on 15 October 2019, playing the entire 1–1 draw in Sweden for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers. One month later, for the same competition and also as a starter, he scored his first goal in a 7–0 rout of Malta in Cádiz for the already qualified hosts. On 18 November, he added a brace in the 5–0 victory over Romania.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
115 November 2019Ramón de Carranza, Cádiz, Spain6–07–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
218 November 2019Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain2–05–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
318 November 2019Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain3–05–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying

Honours