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Martin Braithwaite

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Martin Braithwaite
Personal information
Full name Martin Christensen Braithwaite[1]
Date of birth (1991-06-05) 5 June 1991 (age 30)
Place of birth Esbjerg, Denmark
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Barcelona
Number 12
Youth career
SGI
2003–2007 Esbjerg fB
2007 Midtjylland
2007–2009 Esbjerg fB
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2013 Esbjerg fB 89 (17)
2013–2017 Toulouse 136 (35)
2017–2019 Middlesbrough 36 (8)
2018 → Bordeaux (loan) 14 (4)
2019 → Leganés (loan) 19 (4)
2019–2020 Leganés 24 (6)
2020– Barcelona 43 (5)
National team‡
2008 Denmark U17 3 (0)
2009–2010 Denmark U19 11 (2)
2012–2013 Denmark U21 2 (0)
2013– Denmark 56 (10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 01:42, 29 August 2021 (IST)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:13, 7 July 2021 (UTC)

Martin Christensen Braithwaite (/ˈbræθweɪt/;[3] born 5 June 1991) is a Danish professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Barcelona and the Denmark national team. Mainly a forward, he can also play as a winger.

Having begun his career at Esbjerg fB, he went on to play for Toulouse and Bordeaux in Ligue 1, and Leganés and Barcelona of La Liga. He also spent two years in England with Middlesbrough.

Braithwaite made his senior international debut for Denmark in 2013 and earned over 50 caps. He was part of their squads at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2020, reaching the semi-finals of the latter.

Club career

Esbjerg fB

Braithwaite started out in the academy at Sædding-Guldager Idrætsforening (SGI), after which he joined the biggest club in his city, Esbjerg fB. He then spent a short time at FC Midtjylland's sports academy, before moving back to Esbjerg, signing a three-year youth contract in 2007.[4] During his second stint at the Esbjerg academy, Braithwaite went on trials with both Reggina and Newcastle United.[5][6] He eventually made his Esbjerg debut in 2009, making 63 Superliga appearances for the club and scoring 12 goals, including nine in the 2012–13 season during which he appeared in every league game for the club.[7] He won the Danish Cup with the club in 2012–13, scoring two goals in the semi-final second leg win over Brøndby IF.[citation needed]

Following his impressive displays for Esbjerg in the 2013 Superliga spring season and the Danish Cup he was called up to the Danish national squad in the summer of 2013. At the same time he was being rumoured to be attracting the interest of a number of European clubs including Auxerre, Rennes, Celtic and Hull City.[8][9][10]

Toulouse

On 14 August 2013, while away on national duty for a friendly international against Poland, Danish public broadcaster DR reported that Braithwaite had been sold to French club Toulouse for an estimated DKK 15 million (roughly €2 million).[11]

Braithwaite scored a career-best 11 league goals in both 2015–16 and 2016–17. His tally for the latter campaign included two goals in a 4–1 home win over rivals Bordeaux in the Derby de la Garonne on 20 August 2016, and another two on 14 October in a 3–1 win over eventual champions Monaco, also at the Stadium de Toulouse.[12][13]

Middlesbrough

On 13 July 2017, Braithwaite signed a four-year contract with EFL Championship club Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around £9 million.[14] Under the initial management of Garry Monk,[15] he became the club's third signing of the season, after Jonny Howson and Cyrus Christie.[16][17] Braithwaite made his league debut for the club on 5 August 2017 at the Molineux Stadium, where Middlesbrough were defeated 1–0 by Wolverhampton Wanderers.[18] He scored his first goal for the club on 30 September 2017, in a 2–2 draw against Brentford at the Riverside Stadium.[19]

Braithwaite was loaned out to his former club Toulouse's rivals Bordeaux on 31 January 2018 for the rest of the season.[20] He scored four goals during his time there, including two in a 4–2 home derby win over his previous employer on 12 May.[21] He returned to Middlesbrough for the 2018–19 season, but quickly expressed his desire to leave the club and go to Spain to play instead. This was much to the dismay of Boro manager, Tony Pulis.[22] After his unsuccessful attempt to leave the club in the 2018 summer transfer window, Braithwaite played the first half of the season for Middlesbrough, scoring three goals in 18 appearances.[citation needed]

Leganés

Braithwaite joined La Liga side CD Leganés at the beginning of the 2019 January transfer window on a loan deal until the end of season.[23] He made his league debut for the club on 12 January, in a 1–0 victory against SD Huesca, coming on as a substitute for Guido Carrillo for the last 26 minutes, and scored his first goal four days later in a 1–0 Copa del Rey home win against Real Madrid.[24]

Braithwaite scored his first league goal in a 1–3 loss at FC Barcelona on 20 January 2019, and finished the campaign with four goals in 19 league appearances. On 24 July, he agreed to a permanent four-year deal with the Pepineros for a rumoured fee of €5 million, hence becoming the second most expensive player in the club's history.[25][26]

Barcelona

On 20 February 2020, Barcelona triggered Braithwaite's release clause of €18 million and signed him on a four-and-a-half-year contract. His release clause was set to €300 million.[27] Barcelona were granted an emergency exception to sign Braithwaite outside of a transfer window because of the long-term injury to Ousmane Dembélé.[28] Two days after signing, Braithwaite made his debut in a home match against Eibar, coming on as a substitute in the 72nd minute. He assisted the fourth and fifth goals in the 5–0 win, both off deflections.[29] On 13 June 2020, Braithwaite scored his first goal for Barcelona following an assist by Lionel Messi in a 4–0 victory against RCD Mallorca.[30][31]

On 24 November 2020, Braithwaite scored his first two Champions League goals in a 4–0 away win over Dynamo Kyiv, a match in which he also had an assist, in the 2020–21 season.[32] On 2 December, he scored his third goal in the competition in the first half of the match against Ferencváros.[33] On 3 March 2021, he scored the winning goal in a 3–0 win over Sevilla after extra time to secure Barcelona's place in the 2021 Copa del Rey Final.[34]

On 15 August 2021, Braithwaite scored a brace and assisted teammate Sergi Roberto's goal in Barcelona's opening-day match of the 2021–22 season; a 4–2 home win against Real Sociedad.[35]

International career

Having already represented several Danish national youth teams, in the summer of 2012, Braithwaite was offered the chance to represent Guyana, being eligible through his Guyanese father. He declined the offer[36] and went on to make his senior debut for the Danish national team in June 2013 in a friendly against Georgia, starting the game and playing the first half. He remained in the squad for the 2014 World Cup qualification match against Armenia.[37] Braithwaite scored his first international goal in his second match in a friendly in August 2013 against Poland.[38]

In May 2018, he was named in Denmark’s final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[39] On 16 October that year, he scored in a 2–0 friendly win over Austria, ending a five-year goal drought.[40]

Braithwaite was part of the Danish squad that reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2020, held in 2021. He scored the last goal of their 4–0 last-16 win over Wales in Amsterdam.[41]

Personal life

Braithwaite has a Guyanese father[42] and his younger sister Mathilde (born 2002) plays football for KoldingQ and for Denmark's U-16 national women's football team.[43] His father Keith's birth surname was Brathwaite, the more common spelling in the Caribbean, but it was changed by US authorities to Braithwaite when Keith arrived in the country.[3]

When Braithwaite was 5 years old he was diagnosed with Legg-Calve-Perthes disease.[44]

Braithwaite is the nephew and business partner of the Danish-born, American-based, real estate developer Gareth Roger James Smith.[45][46] They co-own real estate in the New York Market and are building a high-rise in Jersey City, New Jersey.[47][48]

Braithwaite is married to French entrepreneur, journalist and television personality Anne-Laure Louis Braithwaite. They have two sons together. He is also the stepfather of his wife's two children from a previous relationship.[49]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 August 2021[50][51]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Esbjerg fB 2009–10 Superliga 10 0 0 0 — — — 10 0
2010–11 Superliga 16 0 2 0 — — — 18 0
2011–12 1st Division 26 5 1 0 — — — 27 5
2012–13 Superliga 33 9 5 2 — — — 38 11
2013–14 Superliga 4 3 0 0 — — — 4 3
Total 89 17 8 2 0 0 — — 97 19
Toulouse 2013–14 Ligue 1 32 7 2 1 2 0 — — 36 8
2014–15 Ligue 1 34 6 1 0 1 0 — — 36 6
2015–16 Ligue 1 36 11 2 2 3 1 — — 41 14
2016–17 Ligue 1 34 11 1 0 1 1 — — 36 12
Total 136 35 6 3 7 2 — — 149 40
Middlesbrough 2017–18 Championship 19 5 2 1 0 0 — — 21 6
2018–19 Championship 17 3 0 0 2 0 — — 19 3
Total 36 8 2 1 2 0 — — 40 9
Bordeaux (loan) 2017–18 Ligue 1 14 4 0 0 0 0 — — 14 4
Leganés (loan) 2018–19 La Liga 19 4 2 1 — — — 21 5
Leganés 2019–20 La Liga 24 6 3 2 — — — 27 8
Total 43 10 5 3 — — — 48 13
Barcelona 2019–20 La Liga 11 1 0 0 — — — 11 1
2020–21 La Liga 29 2 5 2 0 0 6[a] 3 2[b] 0 42 7
2021–22 La Liga 3 2 0 0 0 0 0[c] 0 0[d] 0 3 2
Total 43 5 5 2 0 0 6 3 2 0 56 10
Career total 361 79 26 11 9 2 6 3 2 0 404 95
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. ^ Appearances in Supercopa de España
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ Appearances in Supercopa de España

International

As of match played 7 July 2021.[52]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Denmark 2013 5 1
2014 2 0
2015 5 0
2016 2 0
2017 3 0
2018 12 2
2019 10 4
2020 7 0
2021 10 3
Total 56 10
Denmark's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Braithwaite goal.[52]
List of international goals scored by Martin Braithwaite
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 14 August 2013 PGE Arena Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland 2  Poland 2–1 2–3 Friendly
2 16 October 2018 MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark 27  Austria 2–0 2–0
3 16 November 2018 Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales 28  Wales 2–0 2–1 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B
4 10 June 2019 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark 33  Georgia 5–1 5–1 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
5 15 October 2019 Aalborg Stadium, Aalborg, Denmark 37  Luxembourg 1–0 4–0 Friendly
6 15 November 2019 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark 38  Gibraltar 3–0 6–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
7 18 November 2019 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland 39  Republic of Ireland 1–0 1–1
8 25 March 2021 Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel 47  Israel 1–0 2–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 6 June 2021 Brøndby Stadium, Brøndby, Denmark 50  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–0 2–0 Friendly
10 26 June 2021 Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands 54  Wales 4–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2020

Honours

Esbjerg fB

Barcelona

References

  1. ^ "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Middlesbrough" (PDF). English Football League. p. 23. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Martin Braithwaite". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Martin Braithwaite explica cómo se pronuncia su nombre y ¡reacciona a nuestro vídeo!". Sport (in Spanish). 7 March 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  4. ^ bold.dk. "Esbjerg skriver med Braithwaite". bold.dk.
  5. ^ bold.dk. "Reggina tester Esbjerg-talenter". bold.dk.
  6. ^ bold.dk. "Esbjerg-talent glad for engelsk prøvetræning". bold.dk.
  7. ^ Martin Braithwaite, Danskfodbold.com. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  8. ^ bold.dk. "Medie: EfB'er varm i England og Skotland". bold.dk.
  9. ^ bold.dk. "Braithwaite kender til fransk interesse". bold.dk.
  10. ^ Slevison, Andrew (9 August 2013). "Celtic and Hull City keen on Esbjerg's Braithwaite". Tribal Football.
  11. ^ "Martin Braithwaite til Toulouse". DR.
  12. ^ "Ligue 1: Toulouse, puissance quatre contre Bordeaux" [Ligue 1: Toulouse, to the power of four against Bordeaux]. L'Express (in French). 21 August 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  13. ^ Stival, Nicolas (14 October 2016). "TFC: Maladroit à Caen, Martin Braithwaite s'est vengé en coulant Monaco" [TFC: Clumsy against Caen, Martin Braithwaite made up for himself by sinking Monaco]. 20 minutes (in French). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Martin Braithwaite: Middlesbrough sign Denmark forward from Toulouse". BBC Sport. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  15. ^ "Middlesbrough appoint Monk as new manager". Reuters. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Cyrus Christie Set For Boro Medical". Middlesbrough Official Site. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Boro Set To Swoop For Jonny Howson". Middlesbrough Official Site. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  18. ^ "Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 5 August 2017.
  19. ^ "Middlesbrough 2-2 Brentford". BBC Sport. 30 September 2017.
  20. ^ Officielt: Braithwaite til Bordeaux‚ bold.dk, 31 January 2018
  21. ^ Coignac, Thomas (12 May 2018). "Ligue 1 : Bordeaux punit Toulouse et s'offre une finale pour l'Europe (4-2)" [Ligue 1: Bordeaux punish Toulouse and offer themselves a final for Europe (4-2)] (in French). France Bleu. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  22. ^ Martin Braithwaite: Middlesbrough striker wants to leave club for Spain, bbc.co.uk, 30 August 2019
  23. ^ Middlesbrough's Martin Braithwaite joins Leganes on loan Sky Sports, 3 January 2019
  24. ^ "CD Leganés 1–0 Real Madrid". eurosport.com. 16 January 2019.
  25. ^ "Braithwaite Joins Leganes". Middlesbrough FC. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  26. ^ "C.D. Leganés signs the goals of Martin Braithwaite". CD Leganés. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.[permanent dead link]
  27. ^ "FC Barcelona sign Martin Braithwaite". FC Barcelona. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  28. ^ "Martin Braithwaite: Barcelona make emergency signing from Leganes". BBC Sport. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  29. ^ "Barcelona 5–0 Eibar: Lionel Messi scores four in thumping win". BBC Sport. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  30. ^ "Griezmann should be worried: Braithwaite a better fit for Barcelona attack right now". Goal. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  31. ^ ""He is the striker that Barcelona need" – Five things learned from the Blaugrana's 4–0 battering of Mallorca". Squawka. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  32. ^ "Dynamo Kyiv 0–4 Barcelona". UEFA. 24 November 2020.
  33. ^ Carmen Torres, M. (3 December 2020). "A purple patch for Griezmann and Braithwaite". MARCA in English. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  34. ^ "FC Barcelona 3–0 Sevilla FC". La Liga. 3 March 2021.
  35. ^ "Barcelona vs Real Sociedad live ticker in LaLiga". FotMob. Retrieved 17 August 2021.