*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:16, 19 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:58, 8 September 2023 (UTC)
After starting his career with
Mallorca, Asensio signed for
Real Madrid in November 2014, being consecutively loaned to his former club as well as
Espanyol. With Real Madrid, he went on to win several honours, including three
Champions League and three
La Liga trophies. In 2023, he joined French club Paris Saint-Germain.
Asensio made his senior debut for Spain in 2016, representing them at the
2018 and
2022 FIFA World Cup.
Again
from the bench, Asensio played the last six minutes in a 0–0 home draw against
Lugo.[10] After impressing in his first games, he was promoted to the first team by manager
José Luis Oltra.[11]
On 24 November 2014, Real Madrid reached an agreement in principle to sign Asensio.[17] On 5 December the deal was officially announced, with the player (who had been a supporter of the club as a child)[5] signing a six-year deal for a
€3.9 million fee[18] and remaining with the Bermellones on loan until the end of
the campaign.[19][20] According to Real Madrid president
Florentino Pérez, Spanish tennis player
Rafael Nadal played a crucial role in the transfer of Marco Asensio to Real Madrid.[21]
2015–16: Loan to Espanyol
On 20 August 2015, after making the whole pre-season with Real Madrid, Asensio was loaned to
Espanyol in
La Liga.[22] He played his first game in the competition on 19 September, featuring 86 minutes in a 3–2 success at
Real Sociedad,[23] and he ended his spell at the
Estadi Cornellà-El Prat with 12 overall
assists.[24][25]
2016–17 season: Return to Real Madrid
Returning to the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for
2016–17, Asensio's first competitive appearance took place on 9 August, as he played the full 120 minutes and scored a 25-meter effort in a
3–2 win against fellow Spaniards
Sevilla in the
UEFA Super Cup.[26] He made his first league start 12 days later, netting the second goal in a 3–0 success at Real Sociedad.[27]
Asensio featured 23 times over his first season, scoring three times[28][29] as the club won the national championship for the first time since 2012.[30][31] He added as many goals in
that year's
UEFA Champions League,[32][33] including one in
the final against
Juventus (4–1) to give the Spaniards their 12th title in the latter competition.[34]
2017–18 season
Asensio scored his first goal of the
2017–18 season with a 25-yard finish in a
3–1 win over Barcelona at the
Camp Nou, for the
Supercopa de España,[35] He repeated the feat with a similarly spectacular effort in the second leg, in a 5–1 aggregate triumph.[36]
On 28 September 2017, Asensio extended his contract until 2023.[37] On 18 February 2018, in a match where he contributed with a brace to a 5–3 away win over
Real Betis, he scored Real Madrid's 6,000th goal in the
Spanish top division.[38]
Asensio made 11 appearances while scoring one goal during the
2017–18 Champions League,[39] and the club won its third consecutive and 13th overall title in the competition.[40]
2019–2023: Final seasons
On 24 July 2019, during a preseason match against
Arsenal, he tore his
ACL.[41] On 19 June 2020, in a 3–0 win over
Valencia, he came on for
Federico Valverde in 74th minute, scored the second goal with his first touch, and provided the assist to
Karim Benzema for the third goal.[42] He returned for the final stretch of the season, scoring three goals in nine games, as Real Madrid won the
2019–20 La Liga.[43]
On 22 September 2021, he scored his first senior hat-trick against his former club
Mallorca, which ended in a 6–1 victory.[44]
On 28 May 2022, Asensio was on the bench against
Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League Final as Real Madrid went on to win their 14th
UEFA Champions League title.[45] Asensio ended the 2021–22 season with 10 goals in 30
La Liga games. He also won the
2021–22 La Liga with his club Real Madrid.[46]
On 3 June 2023, Real Madrid confirmed that Asensio would be departing upon the expiry of his contract, thus becoming a free agent.[47]
Paris Saint-Germain
On 6 July 2023,
Ligue 1 club
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) announced the signing of Asensio, with a contract running until June 2026.[48] He made his debut in a 0–0 draw against
Lorient at the
Parc des Princes on 12 August.[49] Two weeks later, in his second match for the club, Asensio scored his first PSG goal, the opener in a 3–1 home win over
Lens.[50] In the following match away to
Lyon on 3 September, he scored another goal and provided the assist for
Kylian Mbappé's second in a 4–1 victory for Les Parisiens.[51]
Asensio scored his first goal for Spain on 11 September 2018, playing the entire 6–0 home rout of
Croatia for the
UEFA Nations League and also being directly involved in the play that led to
Lovre Kalinić's
own goal.[60]
In November 2022, Asensio was included in Spain's final 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup. He started against Costa Rica in the opening fixture of Spain's World Cup campaign, and scored the second goal against Costa Rica which Spain won 7–0.[63]
Personal life
Asensio's father, Gilberto (a
Basque who spent his childhood in
Essen, Germany), was also a footballer.[5] Also an attacking midfielder, he represented
Barakaldo CF as a youth;[5] Marco's elder brother Igor played for
Platges de Calvià, as a
defender.[64]
Asensio's
goal celebration in the 2017 Champions League final was dedicated to his family: "I told them that if I scored then I'd run to where they were. I knew where they were and that is what I did."[65]
Asensio married his long-time girlfriend Sandra Garal on 10 July 2023.[66][67]
Career statistics
Club
As of match played 25 May 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
^"Madrid y Barça pugnan por Asensio" [Madrid and Barça fight for Asensio]. Diario de Mallorca (in Spanish). 25 February 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.