Pau Francisco Torres (born 16 January 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Aston Villa.
He began his career with Villarreal, making 173 competitive appearances and winning the 2021 Europa League; he was also loaned to Málaga. In July 2023, he signed with Aston Villa, winning his second Europa League in 2026.
Torres made his full debut for Spain in 2019, scoring in his first game. He was part of the squads at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.
Club career Villarreal
Born in Villarreal, Province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Torres played youth football with Villarreal. He made his league debut with the reserves on 21 August 2016, starting in a 1–0 Segunda División B away loss against Cornellà.
Torres scored his first senior goal on 8 October 2016, the first in a 2–2 home draw with Badalona. His maiden competitive appearance for the first team took place on 20 December, when he came on as a late substitute for Víctor Ruiz in the 1–1 home draw against Toledo in the round of 32 of Copa del Rey; by doing so, he became the first player born in Villarreal to debut for the club in 13 years.
Torres played his first match in La Liga on 26 November 2017, replacing fellow youth graduate Manu Trigueros late into a 2–3 home loss to Sevilla. He made his UEFA Europa League debut ten days later, starting and finishing the 0–1 group stage defeat against Maccabi Tel Aviv also at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
On 6 August 2018, Torres was loaned to Málaga for one year. He only missed four Segunda División games during his spell as the side reached the promotion play-offs and, subsequently, was recalled by his parent club.
Torres subsequently cemented his place in Villarreal's starting XI, playing every minute in the league. In October 2019, he was rewarded with a contract extension until 2024, and the same month scored his first goal in the Spanish top tier, opening a 2–1 loss at Osasuna.
Torres contributed nine appearances in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League as the tournament ended in a first-ever European victory for the team, under manager Unai Emery. This included the final, a penalty shootout win over Manchester United after a 1–1 draw.
Aston Villa
On 12 July 2023, Torres signed for Aston Villa for a reported fee of £31.5 million, rejoining coach Emery. He made his Premier League debut on 12 August, replacing the injured Tyrone Mings during the first half of an eventual 5–1 loss at Newcastle United. He scored his first goal on 8 October, in a 1–1 away draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Torres endured a lengthy spell on the sidelines in 2024–25, due to muscular problems and a foot injury. However, he played a very important role as the Villans won the following season's Europa League, making 12 appearances during the run while totalling 1,022 minutes.
International career Torres got his first call up for the Spain national team by Robert Moreno on 4 October 2019, for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against Norway and Sweden. He did not debut until 15 November when he scored in a 7–0 rout of Malta for the already qualified hosts, within a minute of replacing Sergio Ramos; Dani Olmo also scored on his first cap in that game, the first time that two Spaniards did so in exactly 30 years.
Torres was included in Luis Enrique's 24-man squad for the finals. He was also selected for the Olympic team that won a silver medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsVillarreal B2016–17Segunda División B342————3422017–18Segunda División B250———60310Total592———60652Villarreal2016–17La Liga0010—00—102017–18La Liga2030—10—602019–20La Liga34220———3622020–21La Liga33220—91—4432021–22La Liga33510—121104762022–23La Liga34120—30—391Total13610110—2521017312Málaga (loan)2018–19Segunda División38100——20401Aston Villa2023–24Premier League292001090—3922024–25Premier League240100090—3402025–26Premier League2102010120—3602026–27 Premier League300000101050Total7723020310101142Career total310151402056210039117
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSpain201911202060202190202270202310Total241
Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Torres goal. + List of international goals scored by Pau Torres No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 15 November 2019 Estadio Ramón de Carranza, Cádiz, Spain 3–0 7–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
Honours Villarreal UEFA Europa League: 2020–21
Aston Villa UEFA Europa League: 2025–26
Spain U23 Summer Olympics silver medal: 2020
Spain UEFA Nations League runner up: 2020–21
Individual UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2020–21
References
External links
Aston Villa official profile