Marco Asensio Willemsen (Spanish: [ˈmaɾko aˈsensjo]; Dutch: [ˈʋɪləmsə(n)]; born 21 January 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, and the Spain national team.
After starting his career with Mallorca, Asensio signed for Real Madrid in November 2014, being consecutively loaned to his former club as well as Espanyol.
Born in Palma, Majorca, Balearic Islands, to a Dutch mother and a Spanish father,[4][5] Asensio joined Mallorca in 2006 from Platges de Calvià.
[22] He played his first game in the competition on 19 September, featuring 86 minutes in a 3–2 success at Real Sociedad,[23] and he ended his spell at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat with 12 overall assists.
[24][25] Returning to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for 2016–17, Asensio's first competitive appearance took place on 9 August, as he played the full 120 minutes and scored a 25-meter effort in a 3–2 win against fellow Spaniards Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup.
[30][31] He added as many goals in that year's UEFA Champions League,[32][33] including one in the final against Juventus (4–1) to give the Spaniards their 12th title in the latter competition.
[34] Asensio scored his first goal of the 2017–18 season with a 25-yard finish in a 3–1 win over Barcelona at the Camp Nou, for the Supercopa de España,[35] He repeated the feat with a similarly spectacular effort in the second leg, in a 5–1 aggregate triumph.
[54] After being a regular for Spain at youth level, Asensio made his debut for the under-21 team on 26 March 2015, coming on as a late substitute for goalscorer Gerard Deulofeu in a 2–0 friendly win over Norway in Cartagena.
[58] Selected in the squad for the 2017 European Under-21 Championship by manager Albert Celades, Asensio scored a hat-trick in his debut in the competition, helping to a 5–0 group stage routing of Macedonia.
Back with the seniors, he was included in Julen Lopetegui's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup,[60] making his debut in the competition on 20 June by replacing Real Madrid teammate Lucas Vázquez for the final ten minutes of the 1–0 group stage win against Iran.
[5] Also an attacking midfielder, he represented Barakaldo CF as a youth;[5] Marco's elder brother Igor played for Platges de Calvià, as a defender.