Lucas Hernandez


Lucas François Bernard Hernandez is a French professional footballer who plays as a left back or centre back for German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the French national team.
Hernandez started his career with Atlético Madrid where he made more than 100 competitive appearances, reaching the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final. He also won the 2018 Europa League and the Super Cup in the same year. A French international since 2018, Hernandez was part of the winning squad at the 2018 World Cup.

Club career

Atlético Madrid

Born in Marseille, while his father Jean-François was playing for Olympique de Marseille, Hernandez moved to Spain at the age of four and joined Atlético Madrid's youth setup in 2007 aged 11, from CF Rayo Majadahonda. On 9 November 2013, while still a junior, he was called up by manager Diego Simeone for a La Liga match against Villarreal CF, but remained unused in the 1–1 away draw on the following day.
Hernandez made his senior debut on 26 April 2014, starting for the reserves in a 0–1 away loss against Real Sociedad B for the Segunda División B championship. He appeared in three further matches during the season, as they narrowly avoided relegation; he also signed a new deal with the club in June, running until 2018.
Hernandez made his first-team debut on 3 December 2014, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 away success over CE L'Hospitalet for the campaign's Copa del Rey. His maiden appearance in the Spanish top level took place on the 21st, when he came on as a late substitute for Guilherme Siqueira in a 4–1 away win against Athletic Bilbao.

2015–16 season

On 10 August 2015, Hernandez renewed his contract until 2019 and was definitively promoted to the main squad. His maiden appearance in the UEFA Champions League took place on 15 March 2016, as he replaced injured Diego Godín for extra time of the round-of-16 tie against PSV Eindhoven ; he entered at the same point in the final, a shootout loss to neighbours Real Madrid in the San Siro on 28 May.

2016–17 season

On 6 August 2016, Hernandez signed a contract extension with Atlético until 30 June 2020. He played a more important role for Atlético during the 2016-17 season. Hernandez played in 22 matches in all competitions during the season. He was in the starting lineup in 20 of these matches.

2017–18 season

During the 2017-18 season, Hernandez was a key member of the team as he played in 44 matches in all competitions. Atlético reached the 2018 UEFA Europa League Final. He started and played the whole match against French club Marseille. Atlético won the match 3-0 and Hernandez won his first international trophy.

2018–19 season

Hernandez scored his first goal as a professional on 19 January 2019, in a 3–0 away defeat of SD Huesca.
On 27 March 2019, Atlético confirmed that Hernandez would leave the club in the summer of 2019. Atlético confirmed they offered Hernandez a contract extension, but he decided to sign for German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Atlético said that the German club activated Hernandez's release clause of €80 million. During the medical examination by Bayern Munich medical staff, a damage to the medial collateral ligament in Hernandez's right knee was found. The injury required a surgical repair. On 28 March 2019, Hernandez had a successful operation on his right knee. The operation ended Hernandez's season with Atlético.
Hernandez played in 14 La Liga matches and scored one goal. In all competitions, he played in 22 matches and scored one goal.
On 12 October 2019, Hernandez's former coach at Atlético, Diego Simeone, said in an interview with Marca that the left back's departure to Bayern had hurt Atlético a great deal: "The exit that hurt us the most was Lucas, who was a boy from the academy... More than Griezmann," who left Atlético at the same time for Barcelona.

Bayern Munich

On 27 March 2019, Bayern Munich announced that Hernandez would join the club on 1 July 2019 for a club record fee of €80 million, signing a five-year contract lasting until 2024. He made his debut for Bayern on 10 August in a first round match against Energie Cottbus in the DFB-Pokal as an 89th-minute substitute.

International career

Hernandez earned his first cap for France on 6 March 2012, playing the full 90 minutes for the under-16 team in 1–1 friendly draw against Italy at Coverciano. In 2014, he also appeared with the under-18 and under-19 sides. The following year, he was selected for 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament for his performances.
In March 2018, Hernandez was called up to the senior team by manager Didier Deschamps for friendlies with Colombia and Russia. He made his debut against the former, replacing Lucas Digne for the last 14 minutes of the 2–3 loss in Paris.
Hernandez was selected for the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 17 May 2018. He made his debut in the competition on 16 June, playing the entire 2–1 group stage win against Australia; he featured in all of the matches for the eventual champions, six of those being complete.

Personal life

Hernandez's father, Jean-François, was also a footballer who played as a centre back. Of Spanish descent, he also played for Atlético Madrid; Hernandez's younger brother Theo was also groomed at the club, and played in the same position.
On 3 February 2017, Hernandez was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend, who was also summoned to appear in court.
In an interview with Marca in October 2018, he stated that his family had not heard from their father for 12 or 13 years.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Atlético Madrid
Bayern Munich
France
Individual
Orders