Barrenetxea becomes the first player born in the 21st century to play in LaLiga Santander LaLiga Santander - Real Sociedad Just 16 years of age

History was made at Anoeta on Friday night as Ander Barrenetxea became the first player born in the 21st century to play a game in LaLiga Santander.

In addition, the player born in 2001 became the youngest debutant in Real Sociedad's modern history, surpassing club heroes such as Roberto Lopez Ufarte or Jose Mari Bakero.

The 1-0 defeat the team suffered against Alaves meant that it wasn't the dream debut he would have hoped for, but he has a whole career ahead to enjoy better nights at Anoeta.

Barrenetxea turns 17 on December 27, but his obvious quality and the fact that he was a standout in his youth division led Asier Garitano to call him up for first-team action.

That came after the first-team boss watched him in several games in which he stood out for his typically brilliant performances.

The teenager had trained under Garitano for several weeks leading up to his debut and was called up to the squad for last Saturday's meeting with Getafe, celebrating the occasion by renewing his contract until 2025.

Barrenetxea was called upon by Garitano, who was very slow to make changes, in the 85th minute of Friday's match with the side trailing.

Although he couldn't turn the deficit around, the youngster did show glimpses of his quality, which La Real hope to enjoy plenty of in the years ahead.