Pablo Fornals
CDMCAMCM
Spain30 years
Showing2026/27 seasonAll official competitions
Preferred Positions
Last 24 months · all competitions
CDM
Defensive midfieldMain
3,182 min · 52 apps · 34 starts
CAM
Attacking midfield
1,462 min · 18 apps · 18 starts
CM
Central midfield
1,019 min · 13 apps · 13 starts
Squad importance
Current squad importance over the club’s last 40 recorded competitive games in this spell, including previous seasons. Starts and minutes contribute 70%; performance contributes 30%. Absences reduce the score gradually, with less weight when a player is outside the matchday squad.Current role at Real Betis · independent of the season filter
Important
Involvement70%
Performance49%
Through the match on 4 Nov 2026. Refreshed daily.
Profile
Career & playing style
Pablo Fornals gives a midfield an unusual combination: he can help build an attack, then make the pass that finishes it. He has played as an attacking midfielder, a central midfielder and, during his West Ham years, from the left. The common thread is his eye for a teammate moving into space, rather than a fixed position on the team sheet.
His route began in Spanish academies. After time in Villarreal's youth setup and at Castellón, he joined Málaga and made his first-team debut against Real Madrid in September 2015. Villarreal brought him back in July 2017. That return was more than a change of shirt: it put a young player already used to senior La Liga football into a side competing in Europe.
West Ham signed him from Villarreal in June 2019. In England, he showed why a creative midfielder can be useful without staying high up the pitch. On the left of David Moyes's midfield, he tucked in to help protect the centre, but could still find a forward pass when West Ham broke. His through-ball for Jarrod Bowen against Leicester was one example of that second job.
His most memorable West Ham goal came away to AZ Alkmaar in May 2023. Sent on as a substitute, Fornals ran clear late and scored to seal the Europa Conference League semi-final. He also came off the bench in the final against Fiorentina, which West Ham won.
For Spain, Fornals was part of the side that won the 2019 European Under-21 Championship. In the semi-final against France, his delivery set up Borja Mayoral's goal. He had already appeared for the senior national team before that tournament and later returned to senior matches in 2025 and 2026. He was not selected for Spain's 2026 World Cup squad.
Betis brought him back to La Liga from West Ham in the winter of 2024. A further chapter arrived in the 2025/26 season: his second-half goal against Elche completed a 2–1 win that confirmed Betis's Champions League place. It was a decisive finish from a player whose work is often less visible in the final score: finding a pocket to receive, linking midfield to the forwards and making the next pass count.
Latest stats & form
Pablo Fornals currently plays for Real Betis as a midfielder. He has represented Spain internationally.