Carlos Sánchez (footballer, born 1986)

Carlos Sánchez
Sánchez with West Ham United in 2019
Personal information
Full name Carlos Alberto Sánchez Moreno
Date of birth (1986-02-06) 6 February 1986
Place of birth Quibdó, Colombia
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, Centre-back
Youth career
2003–2005 Danubio
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2007 River Plate Montevideo 40 (1)
2007–2013 Valenciennes 178 (10)
2013–2014 Elche 30 (0)
2014–2017 Aston Villa 48 (1)
2016–2017Fiorentina (loan) 31 (1)
2017–2018 Fiorentina 9 (1)
2018Espanyol (loan) 14 (0)
2018–2020 West Ham United 13 (0)
2021 Watford 9 (0)
2021–2023 Santa Fe 51 (3)
2023–2024 San Lorenzo 41 (0)
2024 Barracas Central 11 (0)
International career
2007–2018 Colombia 88 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Colombia
Copa América Centenario
2016
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:00, 10 January 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 3 July 2018

Carlos Alberto Sánchez Moreno (born 6 February 1986) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is nicknamed La Roca (The Rock), due to his strength.

He began his career at River Plate Montevideo before moving to Valenciennes in 2007, where he made 178 Ligue 1 appearances and scored ten goals across six seasons. He later played in La Liga for Elche and Espanyol, the Premier League for Aston Villa and Serie A for Fiorentina.

A full international since 2007, Sánchez has earned over 80 caps for Colombia. He was part of the squads that reached the quarter-finals of the 2011 Copa América, 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 Copa América, and finished third in the 2016 Copa América Centenario and 2018 FIFA World Cup.