Antonio Barragán


Antonio Juan Barragán Fernández is a Spanish footballer who plays for Real Betis as a right back.
Having begun his professional career at Liverpool, Barragán spent most of his career in the two highest divisions of Spanish football, playing for Deportivo, Valladolid and Valencia. In La Liga, he amassed totals of 208 games and three goals over 11 seasons.
Barragán earned 21 caps for Spain at youth level.

Club career

Liverpool

Born in Pontedeume, Galicia, Barragán signed for Liverpool in July 2005, as an 18-year-old who had yet to appear for Sevilla FC's first team.
He would, however, spend the 2005–06 season with the club's reserves, managing one appearance for the first team, as a substitute for fellow Spaniard Fernando Morientes in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League against PFC CSKA Sofia. In doing so, he became the youngest foreigner to play for the Reds.

Deportivo

On 4 August 2006, Barragán signed a five-year contract with La Liga club Deportivo de La Coruña, in an operation that cost €1 million. His time at his new team began well, as he was in the starting eleven for the first eight matches and scored against Real Sociedad in a 2–0 home win, subsequently alternating in the right-back position with Manuel Pablo until he fractured his knee in April 2008, being out of action for the rest of the campaign and not featuring at all in 2008–09.
In 2008, Deportivo released Barragán from his contract without his consent. He successfully sued the club for an indemnity of €400.000, even though it later decided to reverse its previous decision and restore him to the squad.

Valladolid

In early June 2009, Barragán moved to Real Valladolid, on a three-year link. He played one season apiece in each of the two major levels of Spanish football, appearing in 17 league games in 2009–10 as the campaign ended in relegation.

Valencia

On 30 August 2011, Valladolid announced that Barragán would be leaving for Valencia CF in a deal worth €1.5 million. During his first season, all three right-backs – himself, Bruno and Miguel– appeared in roughly the same number of games as the Che finished third and once again qualified to the Champions League.
Barragán scored his first competitive goal for Valencia on 13 March 2014, his team's first in a 3–0 away win against PFC Ludogorets Razgrad in the campaign's UEFA Europa League. He continued battling for first-choice status with another Portuguese, João Pereira.
On 5 January 2015, Barragán netted his first league goal for the side, equalising in an eventual 2–1 home win over Real Madrid which ended the visitors' club record 22-match unbeaten run.

Middlesbrough

Barragán returned to England after ten years on 15 July 2016, agreeing to a three-year deal with Middlesbrough. He made his Premier League debut on 13 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against Stoke City.

Betis

On 6 July 2017, Barragán returned to Spain and its first division after agreeing to a one-year loan deal with Real Betis. Roughly one year later, the move was made permanent.

International career

Barragán was part of the Spain under-19 team that emerged victorious at the 2006 UEFA European Championship in Poland. Just a few months later, following solid performances with Deportivo and former Sevilla teammate Antonio Puerta's call-up to the senior side, he was promoted to the under-21s.
In December 2006, Barragán appeared for the Galicia unofficial team in a friendly match against Ecuador.

Career statistics