Pablo Fornals Malla was born on 22 February 1996 in Castellón de la Plana, Spain. He is an attacking midfielder. As a boy he played in Villarreal’s youth teams from 2003 to 2008, moved on to CD Castellón until 2012 and finished his development at Málaga, which he joined at sixteen. He went on to play for Málaga, Villarreal and West Ham United, and he has played for Real Betis since February 2024.
Early years in Castellón and Málaga
Fornals started out at Villarreal’s academy and spent five years there before joining CD Castellón in 2008. In 2012 he left his home town for Málaga’s youth setup. He made his debut for the reserve side, Atlético Malagueño, in the Spanish fourth tier in 2014-15. Over two seasons with the reserves he played 41 matches and scored 12 goals.
La Liga debut with Málaga
His first-team debut came on 26 September 2015, when he started a goalless draw away to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. Two months later he scored his first top-flight goal against Granada, four minutes after coming on for Duda. The match ended 2-2. In two seasons with the Andalusian club he made 63 official appearances and scored 7 goals. His form earned him a first senior call-up for Spain in May 2016.
Return to Villarreal
On 24 July 2017 he paid his own €12 million release clause and signed a five-year contract with Villarreal, the club where he had started as a boy. In his first season he made 35 league appearances and scored 3 goals. That year he played first as an attacking midfielder and later out wide. Over two seasons with the Yellow Submarine he made 96 appearances and scored 9 goals.
Five seasons at West Ham
On 14 June 2019 West Ham United announced his signing on a five-year deal. The fee was reported to be around £24 million. He made his Premier League debut on 10 August 2019, coming on at half-time in a 5-0 home defeat to Manchester City. His first manager in London was the Chilean Manuel Pellegrini. At West Ham he established himself as a hard-running midfielder who could play centrally or on the flank. He scored several widely praised goals, among them a volley against Athletic Club and a scorpion kick against Bournemouth. In 2022-23 he made 14 appearances and scored 3 goals in the Europa Conference League. West Ham won the competition on 7 June 2023 in Prague by beating Fiorentina 2-1, with Fornals playing the last 20 minutes of the final. He left England with 203 appearances and 23 goals for the club.
Spain national team
He made his debut for Spain’s under-21 side on 28 March 2016 in a friendly against Norway. Two months later, on 29 May 2016, he won his first senior cap in a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina that Spain won 3-1. He came on in the 83rd minute for San José. In 2019 he was part of the squad that won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Italy and San Marino. In the group stage he scored against Belgium (2-1) and Poland (5-0). His first senior goal came on 8 September 2021, when he opened the scoring in a 2-0 win away to Kosovo in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
Real Betis
Real Betis confirmed his signing on 2 February 2024, for a reported fee of around €6 million. In Seville he was reunited with Pellegrini. In 2024-25, his first full season at the club, Betis reached the Conference League final and lost 4-1 to Chelsea. On 12 May 2026, on matchday 36 of La Liga, Fornals scored the 68th-minute winner in a 2-1 victory over Elche. The result secured Betis a place in the Champions League, their first since 2005.
Real Betis