With news that the 2019-20 season is set to resume with our first match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 20th June at 5.30pm in the London Stadium, will these final games be the last we see of Zabaleta in claret and blue shirt? Pablo’s contract is set to end in June and given his age will there be an offer of an extension for another season?
Zabaleta was born on 16th January 1985 in Buenos Aires and raised in Arrecifes. Pablo started out as a defensive midfielder as he progressed through the youth ranks of Club Atletico Lorenzo de Almagro, but eventually settled out on the right side of midfield.
“In Argentina, you have a lot of space to play on the street, or in gardens, or at the park,” Pablo recalls. “We played on any space we could find in our neighbourhood after school. I called on my friends and went to play. It was quite a safe area to live in, but I had to leave when I was scouted aged 10 or so.”
Zabaleta made 66 appearances for San Lorenzo scoring 8 goals before a €3m move to Espanyol in 2005 whilst holding the captains armband for the Argentina U20s team in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, which Argentina won. During the following season Pablo helped Espanyol secure a 4-1 victory in the Copa del Rey final against Real Zaragoza.
Pablo had established himself as first team regular on the right side of defence but was sidelined for 3 months with a shoulder injury during 2007 season, but returned to play in the 2006-07 UEFA Cup Final. Losing to Sevilla on penalties. After 79 appearances scoring 3 goals Zabaleta transferred to Manchester City in summer of 2008 for an undisclosed fee on a 5 year deal, rejecting an offer from Juventus. Pablo said "The offer is impossible to reject and not just because of the money … Juventus also wanted me but I wanted to come to England, and to Manchester.”
Whilst at Manchester City Zabaleta was part of their Premier League winning team in 2011-12 and 2013-14, also winning FA Cup in 2010-11, Football League Cup 2013-14 and 2015-16 and the Community Shield in 2012. Pablo made 333 appearances for Manchester City, scoring 12 goals, one against West Ham United during a 2-1 win on 1st May 2011. Zabaleta has also made 58 appearances for Argentina in his senior career, playing against Germany in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final defeat in Brazil.
Zabaleta joined West Ham on a free transfer on 26th May 2017 being given the No 5 shirt for an initial 2 year contract and reunited him with Manuel Pellegrini in the following season. Pablo is the first Argentinian to reach 300 Premier League games when he played in the 1-0 away defeat against Sheffield United on 10th January of this year.
This season Zabaleta has made 14 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal against Gillingham in the Hammers 2-0 victory in the FA Cup 3rd round. In May last year Pablo signed an 1 year extension to his contract saying "The reason I am here is because I’m still enjoying my football and, of course, the manager was one of the reasons I chose to extend my contract.”
But Pablo stated last year that this may be his last season in England’s Premier League "This will definitely be my last season in England, for sure. This is something I know, but I don’t know in football, and I don’t think this is the right time to be thinking [about it] when we have a long season ahead.”
Zabaleta has mentioned he may retire from football instead given the current situation where matches will be played behind closed doors. Zabaleta was considering a move to another league, perhaps Italy, as he is expecting to leave West Ham at the end of this season, but has expressed doubts because of the possibility of playing to empty stadiums.
“I had even come to think, at the end of this season, to give myself the joy of playing one more season in another league, perhaps in Italy, but now I don’t know.
“The chances are you won’t play in front of a crowd, so what motivation could I have left? Why go to Italy if mythical stadiums like the Olimpico in Rome or San Siro will be closed?”
Will Zabaleta be in the first team squad for the remainder of the games in what is surely to be a unique end to the season?
