Théo Hernandez

Théo Bernard François Hernandez (French pronunciation: [teo ɛʁnɑ̃dɛz, - ɛʁnandɛs]; born 6 October 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays primarily as a left-back for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the France national team.

Born in France, Hernandez moved to Spain at the age of two and started his career with Atlético Madrid. After a loan spell at Alavés, he joined Real Madrid in 2017, winning the Champions League and Club World Cup in his first season. He was sent out on loan to Real Sociedad the next season, before joining AC Milan in 2019. He spent the next six seasons there, winning the Serie A once in 2022 and was named in the Serie A Team of the Year four times. In 2025, he moved to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

Hernandez made his senior debut for France in 2021. Hernandez was part of the squad that reached the 2022 World Cup Final. He also participated at Euro 2024, the 2026 World Cup, and was part of the team that won the 2020–21 Nations League. Théo is the younger brother of fellow professional footballer Lucas Hernandez, and the son of Jean-François Hernandez, a retired footballer.

Born in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hernandez moved to Spain at the age of two. He then joined Atlético Madrid's academy in 2007, aged nine. After progressing through the youth categories, he was promoted to the reserves in Tercera División in summer 2015.

On 3 February 2016, Hernandez renewed his contract. Two days later, he was called up to the first team for a La Liga match against Eibar due to injuries, but remained an unused substitute in the 3–1 home win.

On 4 August 2016, Hernandez extended his contract until 2021, being immediately loaned to fellow league club Alavés for one year. He made his professional debut late in the month, starting in a 0–0 home draw with Sporting de Gijón.

On 16 October 2016, Hernandez was given a straight red card in a 1–1 home draw to Málaga after a hard tackle on Ignacio Camacho. He scored his first professional goal the following 7 May, netting the game's only goal in a home victory over Athletic Bilbao. A regular starter during the Basque team's run in the Copa del Rey, Hernandez helped them reach the final for the first time in their 91-year history. During the decisive match on 27 May 2017, he scored the equaliser through a direct free kick in an eventual 1–3 loss against Barcelona.

On 5 July 2017, Hernandez signed a six-year deal with Real Madrid after they met his release clause of €24 million. He made his competitive debut on 16 August, replacing Marco Asensio in a 2–0 home win against Barcelona for that year's Supercopa de España.

Hernandez made three appearances during the 2017–18 edition of the UEFA Champions League, helping the club win its third consecutive and 13th overall title in the competition. On 10 August 2018, he was loaned to Real Sociedad.

On 7 July 2019, Hernandez joined Serie A club AC Milan in a deal worth maximum of €20 million. The transfer was approved and carried out by Paolo Maldini, who met with him informally in Ibiza to persuade him to join. Hernandez made his debut on 21 September, playing 18 minutes in the 2–0 defeat against Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina. He scored his first goal for the Rossoneri on 5 October, helping the visitors come from behind to win 2–1 at Genoa. During his first season with Milan he managed to score 7 goals in all competitions and had 3 assists.

On 23 December 2020, Hernandez's 93rd-minute winning goal gave AC Milan a victory over Lazio to keep them top of Serie A. During the 2020–21 season, Hernandez was the only defender in the top five European leagues to have scored two braces. He was also the defender with the most successful dribbles in Serie A that season with 73. During his second season with the team, he managed to score 8 goals and assisted 7 in all competitions.

On 6 January 2022, Hernandez wore the captain's armband for the first time against Roma. Three days later, he scored a brace in a 3–0 win against Venezia, becoming first defender to score at least three braces in AC Milan's Serie A history. On 11 February, Hernandez renewed his contract with Milan until 2026. On 15 May 2022 against Atalanta, Hernandez ran for 95 metres before scoring the second goal of a 2–0 win. A week later, Milan were crowned with their first Serie A title in 11 years, Hernandez's contributions were 5 goals and 6 assists, the most for any defender in Serie A that season.

On 25 October 2023, Hernandez faced his older brother, Lucas, for the first time as an opponent playing competitive senior football in the UEFA Champions League group stage away game against Paris Saint-Germain, a 3–0 loss for Milan. The two faced each other once again two weeks later, with Milan prevailing 2–1 at home and Théo assisting the winning goal scored by Olivier Giroud. On 2 December 2023, amidst an injury crisis in Milan's central defense, Hernandez volunteered to play as a centre-back for the first time in his senior career and was highly praised for his performance by the Italian football media as Milan won 3–1 against Frosinone.

On 27 September 2024, Hernandez contributed to a 3–0 win against Lecce with a goal, which became his 29th in the Serie A. As a result, he equaled Paolo Maldini's goalscoaring record for AC Milan in the Serie A competitions and was praised on social media by the club and Maldini himself.

On 10 July 2025, 27-year-old Hernandez joined Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal permanently, for an estimated €25 million fee.

In early January 2026, Italian reports suggested Juventus were in talks over a move to bring Hernandez back to Serie A from Al Hilal, including claims of a verbal agreement and that he "misses Italy".

Hernandez played for France at under–18, under–19, and under–20 levels. In October 2017, due to a lack of call ups to the France under–21 team, Hernandez suggested he might switch his allegiance to Spain, where he had lived since he was two.

On 26 April 2018, Hernandez received his first call to the France senior squad. He made his debut on 7 September 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Finland, a 2–0 home victory. He started and played the whole game. In October 2021, ahead of the UEFA Nations League semi-finals against Belgium, Théo for the first time received a call-up to the national team from Didier Deschamps together with his brother Lucas; the two were later fielded in the 3–4–1–2 formation as a left centre-back and a left wing-back, respectively, making it the first time they played together in a senior competitive game. On 7 October, he scored a late-time winner in the 3–2 victory against the aforementioned opponent, sending his team to the final for the first time in history of the tournament.

In November 2022, Hernandez was named in France's final squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. On 14 December, he scored a goal in a 2–0 win over Morocco in the semi-finals.

In June 2024, he was named in the squad for UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany. In their quarter-final match against Portugal on 5 July, he scored the winning penalty kick of the shoot-out to send his country into the next round.

On 14 May 2026, Hernandez was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Hernandez's father, Jean-François, was also a footballer. A centre-back from France, he too played for Atlético Madrid; his older brother Lucas, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain and France, was also developed at the club. In 2022, French newspaper L'Équipe found that Jean-François – who went missing in 2004 – was living in Thailand, and had allegedly been legally blocked by his ex-partner from seeing their children.

He has been dating Italian model Zoe Cristofoli since June 2020. On 8 April 2022, the couple's son was born.

UEFA Nations League: 2020–21; third place: 2024–25

Best Rossoneri Goal of the Season: 2022–23

Serie A Team of the Year: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23

Serie A Goal of the Month: May 2022, May 2023