Pablo Barrios Rivas (born 15 June 2003) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Spain national team.
Barrios began his youth career in Real Madrid before moving to their city rivals, Atlético Madrid, in 2017. He became a central part of the club's under-19 team in the 2021âÂÂ22 season, which reached the semi-finals in the UEFA Youth League for the first time in the club's history.
On 3 March 2022, Barrios signed his first professional contract with Atleti, keeping him until 2025. In the 2022âÂÂ23 season, he advanced to playing for the reserve team, but was soon called up to the first team, making his professional La Liga debut on 29 October as a second half substitute to Geoffrey Kondogbia in a 3âÂÂ2 away loss against Cádiz CF.
Barrios scored his first goal for Atleti on 22 December 2022, netting his team's second in a 3âÂÂ1 away victory against CD Arenteiro, for the season's Copa del Rey. His first professional goal came on 4 January 2023, as he scored the second of Atlético's 2âÂÂ0 victory at Oviedo in the same tournament.
On 25 January 2023, Barrios renewed his contract until 2028, and was officially promoted to the main squad, being assigned the number 24 jersey. After the departure of fellow Atleti youth product Saúl in the 2024âÂÂ25 season, he was given his number 8 jersey, and further consolidated his position as a starter in Diego Simeone's squad.
Barrios is a youth international for Spain, having debuted for the under-19 team in 2022. He was also a member of the Spain under-23 squad that won a gold medal in football at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Due to injuries of MartÃÂn Zubimendi and ÃÂlex Baena, Barrios received his first senior international call-up in November 2024 for a 2024âÂÂ25 UEFA Nations League A match against Switzerland, debuting on 18 November in the same match.
Spain U23