Jorge Cuenca

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cuenca and the second or maternal family name is Barreno.
Jorge Cuenca
Jorge Cuenca
Personal information
Full name Jorge Cuenca Barreno[1]
Date of birth (1999-11-17) 17 November 1999 (age 24)
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Position(s) Centre-back, left-back
Team information
Current team
 Fulham
Number 15
Youth career
2015–2017 Alcorcón
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017 Alcorcón B 8 (0)
2017 Alcorcón 5 (0)
2017–2020 Barcelona B 65 (3)
2018 Barcelona 0 (0)
2020–2024 Villarreal 39 (3)
2020–2021 → Almería (loan) 35 (3)
2021–2022 → Getafe (loan) 32 (1)
2024– Fulham 1 (0)
International career
2017–2018 Spain U19 7 (0)
2019–2021 Spain U21 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:11, 26 October 2024 (UTC)

Jorge Cuenca Barreno (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxoɾxe ˈkweŋka]; born 17 November 1999) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for Premier League club Fulham.

Club career

Alcorcón

Born in Madrid, Cuenca joined Alcorcón's youth setup in 2015.[2] He made his senior debut with the reserves on 12 February 2017, starting in a 1–0 Tercera División home win against FC Villanueva del Pardillo.[3]

Cuenca played his first professional match on 10 March 2017, starting in a 0–0 away draw against Elche in the Segunda División.[4] At the age of 17 years and 114 days, he became the youngest player to debut for the club.[2]

Barcelona

On 18 July 2017 Cuenca signed a two-year contract with Barcelona's reserve team Barcelona B, still in the second division, for a fee of €400,000.[5] He featured sparingly for the side during his first season, which ended in relegation.

On 20 October 2018, Cuenca scored his first goal for the club, netting a last-minute equalizer for Barça B in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal B in the Segunda División B. Eleven days later he made his first-team debut, starting in a 1–0 away success over Cultural Leonesa in the 2018–19 Copa del Rey.[6]

On 15 February 2019, Cuenca renewed his contract with the Catalans until 2021.[7] On 1 September 2019, Cuenca scored the first official goal at the Johan Cruyff Stadium, receiving a commemorative plate.

Villarreal

On 22 September 2020, Barcelona and Villarreal reached an agreement for the transfer of Cuenca, for a fee of €2.5 million plus €4 million in variables; Barça also retained 20% over a future sale.[8] He agreed to a five-year contract with the club, but was immediately loaned to Almería of the second division for a year.[9]

Cuenca scored his first professional goal on 8 November 2020, netting the game's only in an away success over Rayo Vallecano. A regular starter for the Andalusians during the campaign, he scored three times as his side missed out promotion in the play-offs.

On 30 August 2021, Cuenca moved to fellow top-tier side Getafe CF on a one-year loan deal.[10] He made his debut in the category on 13 September in a 1–0 away loss against Elche CF, and scored his first goal on 21 November in a 4–0 home routing of Cádiz CF.

Fulham

On 3 August 2024, Cuenca signed for Premier League club Fulham.[11]

International career

Due to the isolation of some national team players following the positive COVID-19 test of Sergio Busquets, Spain's under-21 squad were called up for the international friendly against Lithuania on 8 June 2021.[12]

Personal life

Cuenca's younger brother, David, plays for Real Madrid's youth setup.[13]

Career statistics

As of match played 26 October 2024[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Alcorcón B 2016–17 Tercera División 8 0 — — — — 8 0
Alcorcón 2016–17 Segunda División 5 0 0 0 — — — 5 0
Barcelona B 2017–18 Segunda División 23 0 — — — — 23 0
2018–19 Segunda División B 28 1 — — — — 28 1
2019–20 14 2 — — — 3[a] 0 17 2
Total 65 3 — — — 3 0 68 3
Barcelona 2018–19 La Liga 0 0 1 0 — 0 0 0 0 1 0
2019–20 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 1 0 — 0 0 0 0 1 0
Almería (loan) 2020–21 La Liga 35 3 2 0 — — — 37 3
Villarreal 2021–22 La Liga 0 0 — — — 0 0 0 0
2022–23 10 0 3 0 — 10[b] 0 0 0 23 0
2023–24 29 3 3 0 — 5[c] 0 0 0 37 3
Total 39 3 6 0 — 15 0 0 0 60 3
Getafe (loan) 2021–22 La Liga 32 1 0 0 — — — 32 1
Fulham 2024–25 Premier League 1 0 0 0 2 0 — — 3 0
Career total 185 10 9 0 2 0 15 0 3 0 214 10
  1. ^ Three appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Conference League
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Barcelona

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Acta del Partido celebrado el 11 de noviembre de 2018, en" [Minutes of the Match held on 11 November 2018, in] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Jorge Cuenca, el debutante más joven del Alcorcón, es pretendido por media Europa" [Jorge Cuenca, the youngest debutant of Alcorcón, is targeted by half Europe] (in Spanish). Al Cabo de la Calle. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  3. ^ "ADA B | Triunfo vital con un gol de Jacobo" [ADA B | Vital triumph with a goal from Jacobo] (in Spanish). AD Alcorcón. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Al Elche no le vale con sólo diez minutos de fútbol" [Only ten minutes of football not worth it for Elche] (in Spanish). Marca. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  5. ^ "Jorge Cuenca reinforces Barça B's defence". FC Barcelona. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  6. ^ "From the US Tour to their first team debuts". FC Barcelona. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Jorge Cuenca renueva hasta 2021" [Jorge Cuenca renews until 2021] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Acuerdo con el Villarreal para el traspaso de Jorge Cuenca" [Agreement with Villarreal for the transfer of Jorge Cuenca] (in Spanish). FC Barcelona. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Jorge Cuenca, a signing with a Yellow childhood". Villarreal CF. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Jorge Cuenca joins Getafe on loan". Villarreal CF. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Fulham sign Spanish defender Cuenca from Villarreal". BBC Sport. 3 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Oficial | Lista de convocados para el encuentro ante Lituania" [Official | Squad list for the match against Lithuania]. Royal Spanish Football Federation (in Spanish). 6 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Jorge Cuenca y Alejandro Ramos: Con sus hermanos en el Madrid... ¡fichan por el Barça!" [Jorge Cuenca and Alejandro Ramos: With their brothers at Madrid... they sign for Barça!] (in Spanish). Sport. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  14. ^ Jorge Cuenca at Soccerway
  15. ^ "Chelsea 0–3 Barcelona". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Under-21 EURO Squad of the Tournament". UEFA. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.