Alejandro "Álex" Marco Craninx Joostens (born 21 October 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Super League Greece 2 club Panionios.
Club career Real Madrid Born in Málaga, Andalusia, Craninx joined Real Madrid's La Fábrica in 2011, from UD Marbella. He made his senior debut with the C-team on 5 October 2014, starting in a 1–1 Tercera División home draw against AD Unión Adarve.
On 15 July 2015, Craninx renewed his contract and was promoted to the B-team in Segunda División B, but acted as a backup to Alfonso Herrero and Carlos Abad during his spell.
Sparta Rotterdam On 25 July 2017, Craninx signed for Sparta Rotterdam, but was assigned to the reserve side in the Tweede Divisie.
Cartagena On 31 January 2018, Craninx returned to Spain after agreeing to a six-month contract with third division side FC Cartagena.
Molde On 27 July 2018, Craninx agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Norwegian club Molde. He made his first team debut in the Molde's Norwegian Cup first round match against Eide/Omegn on 1 May 2019, a game Molde won 5−0. He got his league debut on 26 May in Molde's 1−2 loss against Tromsø on 26 May 2019. He made his debut in UEFA competitions in Molde's 7–1 win over KR in the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round on 11 July 2019. He played 14 games and kept a clean sheet in four of them in the club's title-winning 2019 season. Craninx got 25 appearances in all competitions. On 3 December 2019, Molde announced that Craninx had agreed to an extension of his contract that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2023 season.
On 31 January 2022, Craninx was loaned to Seraing until the end of the season.
On 31 January 2023, Craninx was released by Molde.
CF Fuenlabrada On 8 February 2023, Craninx signed for CF Fuenlabrada on a short-term contract until the end of the season.
Gnistan On 17 December 2024, Finnish Veikkausliiga club IF Gnistan announced the signing of Craninx on a 1+1-year deal, starting in January 2025IF GNISTAN SOPIMUKSEEN MAALIVAHTI ALEX CRANINXIN KANSSA, gnistan.fi, 17 December 2024”Ihmiset käänsivät selkänsä” – Álex Craninx pettyi rajusti kohteluunsa Espanjassa, löysi Helsingistä yllättäen onnen, Yle, 27 April 2025
International career Born in Spain, Craninx has played a total of 6 games for Belgium at youth international level.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsReal Madrid C2013–14Segunda División B00———002014–15Tercera División140———140Total140——————140Real Madrid Castilla2015–16Segunda División B10———102016–17Segunda División B30———30Total40——————40Jong Sparta2017–18Tweede Divisie100———100Sparta Rotterdam2017–18Eredivisie0000——00Cartagena2017–18Segunda División B00———00Molde2018Eliteserien000000—002019Eliteserien1403080—2502020Eliteserien300000—302021Eliteserien001000–102022Eliteserien000000–00Total1704080——290Lillestrøm (loan)2021Eliteserien200000—20Seraing (loan)2021–22Belgian Pro League0000——00CF Fuenlabrada2022–23Primera Federación160———1602023–24Primera Federación00———00Total160000000160Gnistan2025Veikkausliiga29030–40360202613000–30160Total420300070520Career total11807080701400
Honours Molde Eliteserien: 2019
References
External links