Most kids with a Super Bowl winner for a father get handed a football with laces. Alex Freeman got a round one instead, and two years into his professional career that choice looks very good. He went from an MLS breakout season to a La Liga contract and a starting role at a home World Cup. He has only just turned 22.
The family story is the hook. The reason to keep watching is a right back who already looks finished in ways most young defenders don't.
The short version
| Full name | Alexander Michael Freeman |
|---|---|
| Born | August 9, 2004, Baltimore, Maryland |
| Age | 22 |
| Raised | Plantation, Florida |
| Height | Around 5'11" (180 cm) |
| Position | Right back (can cover centre back and right wing) |
| Club | Villarreal CF, La Liga, shirt number 3 |
| Previous club | Orlando City SC (MLS) |
| Country | United States (USMNT) |
| Reported transfer fee | About $4 million up front, up to about $7 million with add ons |
| Contract runs to | June 2032 |
| Estimated net worth | $2 million to $4 million (Icon Polls estimate) |
A Packers legend's son, coached by his stepdad
His father is Antonio Freeman, the Green Bay wide receiver who won Super Bowl XXXI and caught an 81 yard touchdown from Brett Favre in that game against New England. He made the Pro Bowl and is in the Packers Hall of Fame. With a name like that, people expected the son to play the same sport.
Soccer came through the other side of the family. Antonio and Alex's mother, Rochelle Hinkle, split soon after he was born. Rochelle later married Jake Hinkle, and Jake was the one who put a ball at four year old Alex's feet and became his first coach. Rochelle, a Liverpool supporter, used to call her son her "little Trent Alexander Arnold." She was joking. As it turned out, she wasn't far off.
Alex has talked about how much it meant that his father and stepfather got on well, and that he felt backed from every direction. The extended family includes two younger half brothers, Tyler and Josh, who stay out of the spotlight, and an older stepsister, Diamond Spaulding, who ran track and field at Texas A&M.
From Weston FC to the best young player in MLS
He grew up near Fort Lauderdale, went to American Heritage School and played youth soccer at Weston FC before Orlando City signed him to their academy in 2020 as a homegrown player. There were a few seasons with Orlando City B, and then 2025 happened.
He scored 6 goals and set up 3 more in 29 matches, from right back. He won MLS Young Player of the Year, made the Best XI and became the youngest player ever picked as an MLS All Star. Defenders rarely put up attacking numbers like that, and almost never at 20.
What kind of right back is he?
A modern one. He has the engine to cover the whole flank, he reads runners well enough to stay out of trouble defensively, and he can pick a pass when he gets forward. Mauricio Pochettino has used him in a hybrid role for the national team: he holds the right back zone, then steps into the attack when the game allows it.
He can also play centre back or right wing in an emergency, which managers love. Icon Polls rates him among the most exciting defensive prospects in the American game, and it's hard to argue otherwise.
The Villarreal deal, read closely
Villarreal completed the move on January 29, 2026. The reported numbers were about $4 million up front, with performance add ons that could take the total to around $7 million. Orlando City kept a 15% sell on clause.
That price was low, and the reason is simple: Freeman was in the last year of his Orlando contract, so the club had little leverage. Villarreal then gave him a deal running to June 2032. That's how a club signs a player it expects to sell for a lot more later, or build around. Some valuations already put him at $8 million to $12 million, and the sell on clause could end up being the most valuable part of the deal for Orlando.
A World Cup on home soil
His USMNT rise was quick. He debuted against Turkey in June 2025 at 20, the youngest player to earn a first cap under Pochettino. He then started all six games of the 2025 Gold Cup, the youngest American to make six straight starts in a single tournament, and started 16 of 17 matches before the World Cup.
At the tournament itself he delivered. Against Paraguay he set up Gio Reyna's late goal in a 4 to 1 win and won nine of his fourteen duels. Against Australia he scored his first World Cup goal in a 2 to 0 win that secured a place in the knockout rounds. For a player that young, under that much attention, he looked calm. He was one of the breakout names of the summer.
Counting the money
No official figure exists, so treat everything here as an estimate. Icon Polls estimates Alex Freeman's net worth at $2 million to $4 million. That's built from:
- A reported Villarreal salary of about $780,000 a year before bonuses
- Earlier Orlando City wages of roughly $338,000 a year
- An estimated signing bonus of around $250,000 on moving to Spain
- National team match fees
- Early endorsement income, estimated at about $120,000
A young American starter with a famous NFL surname and World Cup highlights is easy to market. If his career keeps going this way, that range could roughly double within two or three years. That depends on how his career goes, though, so it's a projection, not a promise.
Off the pitch
Freeman isn't married, and he keeps his personal life private. With a new country, a new league and a World Cup all inside one year, football clearly comes first right now. If you have your own view on where this summer's tournament ranks, vote in our poll on the best World Cups of all time.
Quick answers
How old is Alex Freeman?
He is 22. He was born on August 9, 2004, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Is Antonio Freeman really his father?
Yes. Antonio Freeman, the former Green Bay Packers receiver and Super Bowl XXXI winner, is his dad. His stepfather, Jake Hinkle, was his first soccer coach.
How long is he tied to Villarreal?
His contract runs until June 2032, a six year deal signed when he joined from Orlando City in January 2026.
