Albert Celades · Biography

In the summer of 2000 Albert Celades López (Barcelona, 29 September 1975) left Celta Vigo to join Real Madrid, a year after leaving FC Barcelona, the club where he had come through the ranks. A deep-lying playmaker, he won trophies with both of Spain’s biggest clubs and played for the senior national team at the 1998 World Cup. He retired in 2009 and went on to a coaching career that took him to Spain’s under-21 side, Valencia CF, Cypriot club Pafos and Cádiz CF.

Barcelona academy

At the age of seven he moved with his family to Andorra, returning to Barcelona at thirteen. A year later he joined FC Barcelona’s youth system, where he completed his development as a midfielder. He played for Barcelona Atlètic, the reserve side, and made his top-flight debut in the 1995-96 season under Johan Cruyff. Over the same years he came through Spain’s youth teams, from under-16 to under-21 level.

Four seasons in Barcelona’s first team

Between 1995 and 1999 he made 72 league appearances for Barcelona and scored 4 goals. It was a period packed with silverware: the 1996 Spanish Super Cup, the 1997 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, the 1997 UEFA Super Cup, the Copa del Rey in 1997 and 1998, and the La Liga titles of 1997-98 and 1998-99. In 1999 he moved to Vigo. At Celta he played 24 league games in 1999-2000 and scored once, the winner in a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid, the club that signed him a few months later.

Real Madrid, Bordeaux and Zaragoza

In his first spell at Real Madrid, from 2000 to 2003, he made 34 league appearances and scored one goal. He was part of the squad that won the 2001 Spanish Super Cup, the 2002 UEFA Champions League and the 2002-03 La Liga title. He spent the 2003-04 season on loan at Girondins de Bordeaux in France, playing 27 games and scoring 3 goals, before returning to Madrid for one last campaign in 2004-05 with 22 league appearances. In 2005 he signed for Real Zaragoza, finishing runner-up in the Copa del Rey in 2006. He stayed in Aragon until 2008, with 71 league games and 2 goals.

In 2009 he crossed the Atlantic to join the New York Red Bulls in MLS, where he made 17 appearances and scored once. His final professional match was on 24 October 2009. In the Spanish top flight he totalled 223 games and 8 goals over twelve seasons.

Spain international

He made his senior Spain debut on 3 June 1998 in Santander, in a friendly against Northern Ireland. Javier Clemente named him in the squad for the 1998 World Cup in France, where he came off the bench against Nigeria and Paraguay; Spain went out in the group stage. He won 4 caps without scoring. He also played for Catalonia, scoring on his debut in a 5-0 win over Nigeria on 22 December 1998.

From the federation to Valencia

In 2013 he joined the Royal Spanish Football Federation to coach its youth teams. On 7 May 2014 he was appointed Spain under-21 head coach, a post he held for four years. With that side he reached the final of the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which Spain lost to Germany. He resigned on 18 July 2018 and on 3 August joined Julen Lopetegui’s staff at Real Madrid as assistant coach, a spell that ended in October that year when Lopetegui was dismissed.

On 11 September 2019 Valencia CF named him head coach in place of Marcelino García Toral. It was his first job as a club’s head coach. He led the team to first place in its Champions League group and into the round of 16, where Atalanta knocked them out 8-4 on aggregate. On 29 June 2020 the club dismissed him with the team eighth in La Liga, after 41 matches with 15 wins, 12 draws and 14 defeats.

Pafos and Cádiz

Cypriot side Pafos FC hired him on 9 January 2026 to replace Juan Carlos Carcedo. He took charge of the team in the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League, including a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 21 January 2026. In April 2026 the club terminated his contract and appointed Ricardo Sá Pinto. On 11 August 2026 Cádiz CF chose him to succeed Imanol Idiakez in the Spanish second division. In October 2026, after ten matchdays with one win, four draws and five defeats, Cádiz dismissed him and Borja Jiménez took over.