Irene Paredes Hernández (born 4 July 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga F club Barcelona and the Spain national team.

Club career

Real Sociedad
Born in Legazpi, Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country, Paredes joined local side Zarautz in 2007. She then moved to Real Sociedad a year later. On 5 October 2008, she made her senior debut against Málaga in a league game.

Athletic Bilbao
After spending three seasons at Real Sociedad, Paredes signed for Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao in 2011. She spent five seasons there, winning the Primera División in her final season with the club in 2015–16. She also won three Copa Euskal Herria against her former club Real Sociedad in 2011, 2013 and 2015. On 10 June 2012, she was sent off for the first time in her career in their 1–2 loss against Espanyol in the 2012 Copa de la Reina final.

Paris Saint-Germain
In 2016, Paredes signed for Paris Saint-Germain. She played her first UEFA Women's Champions League season after joining PSG and reached the final, where her team lost 6–7 on penalties to Lyon.

On 31 May 2018, she won her first trophy with the club as PSG defeated Lyon 1–0 in the final of the 2018 Coupe de France Féminine. She was named as captain of PSG before the start of the 2018–19 season.

In May 2019, Paredes extended her contract with PSG for two more years, keeping her at the club till 30 June 2021. On 21 September, Paredes played in her first final as captain as PSG were defeated 3–4 on penalties by Lyon in the inaugural Trophée des Championnes.

On 4 June 2021, Paredes led PSG to their first ever league title, ending Lyon's run of 14 consecutive titles. She also led PSG to the semifinals of the Women's Champions League where her team lost to eventual champions Barcelona.

Barcelona
On 8 July 2021, Paredes signed a two-year deal with Barcelona after her contract with PSG expired. On 4 September, Paredes made her official Barcelona debut in a 5–0 routing of Granadilla Tenerife. On 17 October, Paredes scored her first goal for Barcelona in a 5–0 victory against Sporting Huelva. On 17 November, she scored her first Women's Champions League goal for Barcelona as she headed in the second goal in a 5–0 defeat of 1899 Hoffenheim in the group stage.

On 23 January 2022, Paredes won her first title with Barcelona after her side thrashed Atlético Madrid 7–0 in the final to win their second Supercopa de España Femenina title. On 9 February, Paredes returned after recovering from Covid-19 and scored the fourth goal in the 9–1 thrashing of Real Sociedad. On 13 February, Paredes suffered a muscle tear in her left thigh during their 3–0 win against Athletic Bilbao and was ruled out for over four weeks. On 13 March, Paredes won her second Spanish league title, and her first with Barça, after Barcelona won 5–0 against Real Madrid. On 22 March, Paredes returned from her injury when she came on at the 65th minute in a 3–1 victory against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter final. On 30 March, she made her Camp Nou debut in the return leg of Barça's 5–2 quarter final victory against Real Madrid. On 21 May, Paredes started against Lyon as Barcelona were defeated 1–3 in the Champions League final at the Allianz Stadium in Turín. On 29 May, she won her third trophy with Barcelona as her team thrashed Sporting Huelva 6–1 in the Copa de la Reina final.

On 18 August, Paredes was announced as the fifth captain of Barcelona before the start of the new season.

On 19 January 2023, Paredes was sent-off during Barcelona's 3–1 victory over Real Madrid in the semi-final of the 2022-23 Supercopa de España Femenina and was subsequently suspended for the final. Three days later, her side defeated Real Sociedad 3–0 to win the trophy. On 27 January, Paredes extended her contract with Barcelona until June 2025. On 30 April, she won her second league title with Barcelona when her side beat Sporting Huelva 3–0. On 3 June, Paredes played the entire match as Barcelona won 3–2 against VfL Wolfsburg in the final to win her first Women's Champions League title.

International career

She played her first minutes for the Spain national team in November 2011 against Romania. In June 2013, national team coach Ignacio Quereda confirmed Paredes as a member of his 23-player squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 finals in Sweden. At the tournament, she scored an unfortunate own goal in Spain's 3–1 quarter-final defeat to Norway. On 27 October 2013, she scored her first goal for Spain, in a 6–0 home win against Estonia at a 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification match. She was also called up to be part of Spain's squad at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada  and  at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France. On 5 March 2018, she marked her 50th appearance for Spain by opening the scoring with a header in a 2–0 victory against Czech Republic in the last group match of the Cyprus Cup.

On 14 February 2022, Paredes was ruled out of the inaugural edition of the Arnold Clark Cup after suffering a muscle tear in her left thigh and was replaced by Sheila García.

On 6 April 2023, Paredes made her return to the national team in a 4–2 international friendly win against Norway after she had resigned from the national team, along with her captaincy role in October 2022, following disagreements between a few players and the RFEF over unfavourable conditions in the dressing room. On 20 August, she won the FIFA Women's World Cup after Spain defeated England 1–0 in the final.

Personal life
Paredes is in a relationship with former Spain hockey player Lucía Ybarra. During her stint at PSG, the couple lived together in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

In April 2021, Paredes and Ybarra announced that they were expecting their first child together. On 13 September, Paredes announced the arrival of their son Mateo, who was born the day before, in an Instagram post. Paredes had already asked coach Jorge Vilda not to summon her to the national squad for 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification due to the forthcoming birth.

Style of play
Paredes has been described to be a multifaceted defender, who is a commanding presence in the air. She is also a very skillful and technically gifted ball-playing defender as she contributes to her team's build-up while dribbling the ball up the field and connecting with the attackers. She is an attacking threat inside the opponent's penalty area from free-kicks and corners as she has demonstrated with her prowess in goalscoring through headers.

Career statistics

Club

International
Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Paredes goal.

Honours
Athletic Bilbao
 Primera División: 2015–16

Paris Saint-Germain
 Division 1 Féminine: 2020–21
 Coupe de France Féminine: 2017–18

Barcelona
 Primera División: 2021–22, 2022–23
 UEFA Women's Champions League: 2022–23
 Copa de la Reina: 2021–22
 Supercopa de España Femenina: 2021–22, 2022–23

Spain
 FIFA Women's World Cup: 2023
 Algarve Cup: 2017
 Cyprus Cup: 2018

Individual
 Algarve Cup Best player: 2017
 FIFA FIFPro World XI: 2017
 UEFA Women's Champions League Squad of the Season: 2020–21, 2022–23
 UEFA Women's Champions League Defender of the Season: 2020–21

References

External links
 
 
 Irene Paredes at FC Barcelona
  (archive)
 Irene Paredes at BDFutbol
 
 
 

1991 births
Living people
People from Goierri
Spanish women's footballers
Spain women's international footballers
Liga F players
Real Sociedad Femenino players
Athletic Club (women) players
Paris Saint-Germain Féminine players
FC Barcelona Femení players
Women's association football defenders
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players
Expatriate women's footballers in France
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France
Division 1 Féminine players
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players
LGBT association football players
Spanish LGBT sportspeople
Footballers from Gipuzkoa
UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players
UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players
21st-century Spanish women
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players
FIFA Women's World Cup-winning players
이레네 파레데스 에르난데스(, 1991년 7월 4일 ~ )는 스페인의 여자 축구 선수로 현재 FC 바르셀로나 페메니에서 수비수로 활약하고 있으며 스페인 여자 대표팀 주장을 맡고 있다.

클럽 경력

레알 소시에다드 페메니노 
2008년 레알 소시에다드 페미니노에 입단하며 프로에 정식 입문한 후 2010-11 시즌까지 공식전 89경기 7골을 기록했고 특히 2010-11 코파 델 레이나에서 팀의 창단 첫 컵대회 4강 진출의 돌풍을 이끌어냈다.

아틀레틱 빌바오 페메니노 
2010-11 시즌을 마친 후 아틀레틱 빌바오 페메니노로 트레이드되었고 이후 2015-16 시즌까지 공식전 139경기 20골로 2015-16 프리메라 디비시온 페메니나 우승, 3연속 리그 준우승(2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14), 2014-15 리그 3위, 코파 델 레이나 2회 준우승(2011-12, 2013-14) 등의 성과를 거두는 등 5시즌동안 빌바오의 주축 수비수로 활약했다.

파리 생제르맹 페미닌 
2015-16 시즌을 끝으로 빌바오와 결별한 후 프랑스 디비지옹 1 페미닌의 명문팀인 파리 생제르맹 페미닌으로 둥지를 옮겨 2020-21 시즌까지 5시즌동안 공식전 125경기 22골을 기록하면서 2020-21 시즌 리그 우승, 3연속 리그 준우승(2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20), 2016-17 리그 3위, 2016-17년 UEFA 여자 챔피언스리그 준우승, 2회 연속 챔피언스리그 4강 진출(2019-20, 2020-21), 2017-18 쿠프 드 프랑스 페미닌 우승, 2번의 쿠프 드 프랑스 페미닌 준우승(2016-17, 2019-20) 등의 굵직한 성적을 남겼다.

FC 바르셀로나 페메니 
2020-21 시즌을 마친 뒤 FC 바르셀로나 페메니 이적을 통해 5년만에 고국으로 복귀한 후 현재까지 2022년 스페인 여자 슈퍼컵 우승, 2021-22 시즌 리그 우승, 2021-22년 UEFA 여자 챔피언스리그 준우승 등의 성과를 남겼다.

국가대표 경력 
2011년 11월 20일 루마니아와의 UEFA 여자 유로 2013 예선 2조 4차전(4-0 승)에서 스페인 여자 대표팀 소속으로 국제 A매치 데뷔전을 치렀고 2013년 10월 27일 최약체팀인 에스토니아와의 2015년 FIFA 여자 월드컵 유럽 지역 예선 2조 1차전에서 A매치 데뷔골을 터뜨리며 팀의 6-0 대승에 일조했다.

그 뒤 2015년 FIFA 여자 월드컵을 통해 처음으로 월드컵 본선 무대를 밟았으나 팀은 이 대회 본선에서 1무 2패·E조 최하위의 성적을 거두며 조별리그 탈락의 고배를 마셨고 이후 2019년 FIFA 여자 월드컵 유럽 지역 예선에서 4골을 터뜨려 2회 연속 여자 월드컵 본선행을 이끈 뒤 2019년 여자 월드컵 본선에서도 맹활약하며 스페인 여자 축구 역사상 첫 월드컵 16강 진출의 큰 공을 세웠다.

이에 앞서 2017년 알가르브컵과 2018년 키프로스컵에도 참가하여 스페인 여자 축구 역사상 2회 연속 국제 대회 우승컵을 들어올리는 기쁨을 맛보았고 특히 2017년 알가르브컵에서는 생애 첫 최우수선수에 선정되는 영예까지 안았다.

수상

클럽 
 레알 소시에다드 페메니노
 코파 델 레이나 : 4강 (2010-11)

 아틀레틱 빌바오 페메니노
 프리메라 디비시온 페메니나 : 우승 (2015-16), 준우승 (2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14), 3위 (2014-15)
 코파 델 레이나 : 준우승 (2011-12, 2013-14)

  파리 생제르맹 페미닌
 디비지옹 1 페미닌 : 우승 (2020-21), 준우승 (2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20), 3위 (2016-17)
 쿠프 드 프랑스 페미닌 : 우승 (2017-18), 준우승 (2016-17, 2019-20)
 UEFA 여자 챔피언스리그 : 준우승 (2016-17), 4강 (2019-20, 2020-21)

 FC 바르셀로나 페메니
 프리메라 디비시온 페메니나 : 우승 (2021-22)
 UEFA 여자 챔피언스리그 : 준우승 (2021-22)
 스페인 여자 슈퍼컵 : 우승 (2022)

국가대표팀 
  (여자)
 알가르브컵 : 우승 (2017)
 키프로스컵 : 우승 (2018)

개인 
 알가르브컵 최우수선수 : 2017
 국제 축구 선수 협회 선정 월드 11 : 2017
 UEFA 여자 챔피언스리그 드림팀 : 2020-21
 UEFA 여자 챔피언스리그 올해의 수비수상 : 2020-21

1991년 출생
살아있는 사람
스페인의 여자 축구 선수
스페인 여자 축구 국가대표팀 선수
여자 축구 수비수
UEFA 여자 유로 2013 참가 선수
2015년 FIFA 여자 월드컵 참가 선수
UEFA 여자 유로 2017 참가 선수
2019년 FIFA 여자 월드컵 참가 선수
리가 F의 축구 선수
스페인의 성소수자 스포츠 선수
UEFA 여자 유로 2022 참가 선수
파리 생제르맹 FC 페미닌의 축구 선수
FC 바르셀로나 페메니의 축구 선수
2023년 FIFA 여자 월드컵 참가 선수
프랑스의 외국인 여자 축구 선수
디비지옹 1 페미닌의 축구 선수