Irene Paredes Hernández (listenⓘ; born 4 July 1991) is a Spanish[3] professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga F club Barcelona and captains the Spain national team.

She was sent off for the first time in her career in their 2–1 loss to Espanyol after extra time in the 2012 Copa de la Reina final, and further disappointment followed in the next two years as Athletic lost a title-deciding league fixture against Barcelona in 2013,[6] then were defeated by the same opposition in the 2014 Copa de la Reina final with Paredes the only player not to score their kick in the penalty shootout.

She played her first UEFA Women's Champions League season after joining PSG and reached the final, where her team lost 6–7 on penalties to Lyon.

[13] On 21 September, Paredes played in her first final as captain as PSG were defeated 3–4 on penalties by Lyon in the inaugural Trophée des Championnes.

[27] On 19 January 2023, Paredes was sent-off during Barcelona's 3–1 victory over Real Madrid in the semi-final of the 2022-23 Supercopa de España Femenina and was subsequently suspended for the final.

[30] On 3 June, Paredes played the entire match as Barcelona won 3–2 against VfL Wolfsburg in the final to win her first Women's Champions League title.

[33] In June 2013, national team coach Ignacio Quereda confirmed Paredes as a member of his 23-player squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 finals in Sweden.

[36][37] On 5 March 2018, she marked her 50th appearance for Spain by opening the scoring with a header in a 2–0 victory against Czech Republic in the last group match of the Cyprus Cup.

[38] On 14 February 2022, Paredes was ruled out of the inaugural edition of the Arnold Clark Cup after suffering a muscle tear in her left thigh and was replaced by Sheila García.

[46] Paredes had already asked coach Jorge Vilda not to summon her to the national squad for 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification due to the forthcoming birth.

She is also a very skillful and technically gifted ball-playing defender as she contributes to her team's build-up while dribbling the ball up the field and connecting with the attackers.