Aleix Vidal Parreu was born on 21 August 1989 in Valls, in the province of Tarragona, and grew up in nearby Puigpelat. A right winger who also played right-back later in his career, he took a long and winding route to the top. He went through several academies and the lower divisions before reaching La Liga with UD Almería. He went on to win the Europa League with Sevilla and two league titles with FC Barcelona, and played his last season for RCD Espanyol in 2022-23.
He started out at UE Valls in 2000 and joined FC Barcelona's academy a year later, spending the 2001-02 season there. He then moved to Cambrils, and in 2003 he joined Real Madrid's youth system, which loaned him to Gimnàstic de Tarragona for a season. In 2006 he signed for Reus Deportiu, where he made his senior debut in 2007. That same year he joined Espanyol, who loaned him to CF Damm to finish his youth career. At the time he played as a forward.
Greece, Tarragona and Mallorca
He made two appearances for Espanyol B in 2008-09 and in 2009 was loaned to Greek side Panthrakikos, playing eight league games. In August 2009 he joined Gimnàstic, then in the Spanish second division. He played only once for the first team and spent the rest of the season with the reserve side, CF Pobla de Mafumet, scoring seven goals in 31 games. In 2010-11 he played for RCD Mallorca B, with six goals in 35 matches.
The breakthrough at Almería
He arrived at UD Almería's reserve team in the summer of 2011, but was promoted to the first team almost immediately. He made his second-division debut against Córdoba CF on 27 August 2011 and held on to his place in the side. In 2013 he was part of the team that took Almería back to La Liga after two seasons away. His top-flight debut came on 19 August 2013, when he started a 3-2 home defeat to Villarreal. Over three seasons with the first team he made more than 120 league appearances.
Sevilla and the 2015 Europa League
Sevilla signed him on 16 June 2014 for around €3 million. He made his debut on 12 August 2014 in the UEFA Super Cup, a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid. In his first league game he opened the scoring in a 1-1 home draw with Valencia. In the Europa League he scored twice in the semi-final against Fiorentina and started the final in Warsaw, where Sevilla beat Dnipro 3-2. He won the 2014-15 Europa League and was named in UEFA's squad of the season. He ended his first season at Sevilla with 47 appearances and six goals in all competitions.
Barcelona and the Spain national team
On 7 June 2015 FC Barcelona announced his signing for €18 million plus €4 million in add-ons, on a five-year contract. Because of a FIFA transfer ban he had to wait until January 2016 to play competitively. His debut came on 6 January in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey against Espanyol, when he replaced Dani Alves in a 4-1 win. At Barcelona he played both on the right wing and at right-back. In 2017 he dislocated his ankle and missed the rest of that season. In three seasons he made 51 appearances and scored four goals, winning two La Liga titles (2015-16 and 2017-18), three Copas del Rey (2016, 2017 and 2018) and the 2016 Supercopa de España. He won one cap for the Spain national team, starting a 2-1 friendly win over Costa Rica on 11 June 2015. Before that, on 30 December 2013, he had played for Catalonia against Cape Verde.
Back to Sevilla, Alavés and Espanyol
He rejoined Sevilla on 4 August 2018. He played little during his second spell, and on 28 July 2019 he went to Deportivo Alavés on a season-long loan, playing 29 league games and scoring twice in 2019-20. When he returned, coach Julen Lopetegui rarely picked him, and on 1 July 2021 player and club agreed to terminate his contract. On 18 August 2021 he signed a two-year deal with Espanyol, the club that had first signed him in 2007. He played 34 games in 2021-22 and 28 in 2022-23. In July 2023 Espanyol confirmed that he would leave when his contract expired. He made 62 appearances and scored twice for the club.
