Pablo Zabaleta

San Lorenzo

Born in Buenos Aires, Zabaleta was raised in Arrecifes. He began his career at San Lorenzo in 2002, after progressing through their youth ranks, having been signed at the age of 12 from local club Obras Sanitarias. He started playing as a defensive midfielder, but eventually moved to the right side of midfield.

Espanyol

Zabaleta was transferred to Espanyol in 2005 for €3 million after being Argentina under-20s captain in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, which Argentina won. During the 2005–06 season, Zabaleta helped Espanyol to win the Copa del Rey, playing the full 90 minutes in the 4–1 victory over Real Zaragoza in the final. In January 2007, Zabaleta suffered a shoulder injury that kept him off the pitch for almost three months, already having established himself as an undisputed first team choice. Later in the season, he featured in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup final, where Espanyol lost on penalties to fellow Spanish side Sevilla.

Manchester City

2008–2012

In the summer of 2008, Zabaleta transferred to Premier League club Manchester City after rejecting an offer from Juventus. He stated upon joining: "The offer is impossible to reject and not just because of the money ... Juventus also wanted me but I wanted to come to England, and to Manchester." Having passed a medical and agreed personal terms, Zabaleta completed a five-year deal with City on 31 August 2008 for an undisclosed fee, believed to be the buy-out clause…

At the age of 14, Zabaleta was called up by Hugo Tocalli to the Argentina under-15 squad. He took part in many youth tournaments, including the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2003 and 2005, winning the latter in the Netherlands. He received over 75 caps to national youth sides, and started representing the senior side in 2005. He was also a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2008 Summer Olympics, starting at right-back and playing all six matches. After the 2010 FIFA World Cup, for which Zabaleta was not selected by head coach Diego Maradona, under the new Argentina manager he has established himself as first-choice right-back. On 1 June 2011, Zabaleta captained Argentina for the first time in a friendly against Nigeria. In June 2014, Zabaleta was named in Argentina's squad for the 2014 World Cup. He made his World Cup debut in Argentina's 2–1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Estádio do Maracanã, playing the full match in defence. At the 2015 Copa América in Chile, Zabaleta sent in the cross from which his Manchester City teammate Sergio Agüero headed the only goal of the game as Argentina defeated holders Uruguay in their second group match.

In June 2018, he worked as a pundit for the BBC's Match of the Day 2018 World Cup coverage from Russia. Zabaleta again worked as a pundit for the BBC and Match of the Day during their coverage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. After announcing his retirement from professional football on 16 October 2020, Pablo Zabaleta transitioned into a coaching role. In January 2023, he was appointed as an assistant coach of the Albania national football team, joining the coaching staff under head coach Sylvinho. He now works for ESPN on their La Liga coverage.

Zabaleta is of Spanish Basque descent. He has a tattoo on his chest which bears the name of his mother.