Pablo Javier Zabaleta Girod (born 16 January 1985) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Manchester City.
Zabaleta can operate on both sides of the pitch either as a defender or defensive midfielder, but is predominantly a right sided player. Zabaleta also holds a Spanish passport. He has garnered a reputation for being a tenacious player and his overlapping runs from full back position.
Zabaleta was transferred to Espanyol in 2005 for €3 million after being Argentina under-20's captain in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, which Argentina won.
In January 2007, he suffered a shoulder injury that kept him off the pitch for almost 3 months, already having established himself as an undisputed first team choice. In May 2007, Zabaleta started in the 2007 UEFA Cup Final, which Espanyol lost 3–1 on penalties to Sevilla.
In the summer of 2008, Zabaleta transferred to Premier League club Manchester City where he is among the fans' favourite players rejecting an offer from Juventus and stated upon joining that 'the offer of Manchester City is impossible to reject'. Having passed a medical and agreed personal terms, Zabaleta completed a five year deal with Manchester City on 31 August 2008 for an undisclosed fee, believed to the buy-out clause Zabaleta had attached to his contract of around £6.45 million. Zabaleta joined a month before Manchester City were bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group which was led by Sheikh Mansour which enabled a wealth of investment in the club.
Wearing the number 5 shirt, Zabaleta scored his first goal for City on 17 January 2009, the only goal of the game in a 1–0 league win over Wigan Athletic. Zabaleta has also played for City in the centre of midfield, with the return to fitness of Nedum Onuoha pushing him further forward. This switch has brought an improvement in his performances. He got sent off in City's 1–1 league draw against Wigan Athletic.
On 21 November 2010, Pablo Zabaleta scored the 2nd goal for Manchester City 4–1 win against Fulham. This was his second league goal for the club and he assisted a Carlos Tévez goal, helping his compatriot to earn his 9th goal for the club during the 2010–11 season.
Zabaleta can operate on both sides of the pitch either as a defender or defensive midfielder, but is predominantly a right sided player. Zabaleta also holds a Spanish passport. He has garnered a reputation for being a tenacious player and his overlapping runs from full back position.
Zabaleta was transferred to Espanyol in 2005 for €3 million after being Argentina under-20's captain in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, which Argentina won.
In January 2007, he suffered a shoulder injury that kept him off the pitch for almost 3 months, already having established himself as an undisputed first team choice. In May 2007, Zabaleta started in the 2007 UEFA Cup Final, which Espanyol lost 3–1 on penalties to Sevilla.
In the summer of 2008, Zabaleta transferred to Premier League club Manchester City where he is among the fans' favourite players rejecting an offer from Juventus and stated upon joining that 'the offer of Manchester City is impossible to reject'. Having passed a medical and agreed personal terms, Zabaleta completed a five year deal with Manchester City on 31 August 2008 for an undisclosed fee, believed to the buy-out clause Zabaleta had attached to his contract of around £6.45 million. Zabaleta joined a month before Manchester City were bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group which was led by Sheikh Mansour which enabled a wealth of investment in the club.
Wearing the number 5 shirt, Zabaleta scored his first goal for City on 17 January 2009, the only goal of the game in a 1–0 league win over Wigan Athletic. Zabaleta has also played for City in the centre of midfield, with the return to fitness of Nedum Onuoha pushing him further forward. This switch has brought an improvement in his performances. He got sent off in City's 1–1 league draw against Wigan Athletic.
On 21 November 2010, Pablo Zabaleta scored the 2nd goal for Manchester City 4–1 win against Fulham. This was his second league goal for the club and he assisted a Carlos Tévez goal, helping his compatriot to earn his 9th goal for the club during the 2010–11 season.
On 1 January 2011, Zabaleta played his 100th game for Manchester City in all competitions, coming off the bench against Blackpool in a 1–0 win at Eastlands. Two weeks later on 15 January, Zabaleta grabbed his second assist of the season in a 4–3 win over Wolves. This win meant that City went first in the league above city rivals Manchester United however their title challenge faded with a loss of form in the February and March months.
In a crucial game against West Ham on 1 May 2011, Zabaleta scored his second goal of the season. This secured a 2–1 win for the Citizens and put them 7 points ahead of Liverpool and Tottenham in the race for fourth place., although this has been given as an own goal on some sites Zabaleta is claiming the goal.
In the summer of 2011 it was reported Roma were keen on signing Zabaleta but were given a hands off warning by the Manchester City hierarchy and Zabaleta agreed a 3 year contract in July 2011.
In November of 2011, along with Adam Johnson, Zabaleta extended his contract with Manchester City until Summer 2015. Zabaletta said "I'm in a very good team, and I try to do my best for the club, the team and the fans. I didn't think twice, I gave a quick answer because I was so happy to sign."
