Early years Born in
Valls,
Tarragona,
Catalonia, and raised in neighbouring
Puigpelat, Vidal started his career as a
forward. He signed for
RCD Espanyol in 2007 to further his development after having already made his senior debut with
CF Reus Deportiu, but never appeared for the former's first team, finishing his only senior season with the club on loan to
Panthrakikos F.C. from Greece. On 31 August 2009, Vidal moved to
Segunda División side
Gimnàstic de Tarragona, but spent the vast majority of
the season with
CF Pobla de Mafumet, the
farm team. He joined
RCD Mallorca in the middle of 2010, being assigned to
the reserves in the
Segunda División B.
Almería In mid-June 2011, after
suffering relegation, Vidal joined another
reserve team also in that tier,
UD Almería B. He made his debut for the
Andalusians'
main squad on 27 August 2011, against
Córdoba CF. Shortly after, he was promoted to the first team and received the No. 8 jersey following the departure of
Albert Crusat to
Wigan Athletic. In his
second season, Vidal scored four goals in 37 games – 30 starts, nearly 2,600 minutes of action – helping to a return to
La Liga after two years. On 6 August 2013, he renewed his link with Almería until 2017, making his top-flight debut on 19 August by starting in a 2–3 home loss to
Villarreal CF, and scored his first goal roughly a month later, in a 4–2 defeat at
Atlético Madrid.
Sevilla in 2015 On 16 June 2014, Vidal signed with
Sevilla FC for a
€3 million fee, penning a four-year contract. He made his competitive debut on 12 August in the
2014 UEFA Super Cup at the
Cardiff City Stadium, playing 66 minutes before being
substituted for fellow debutant
Iago Aspas in a 2–0 loss to
Real Madrid. He found the net on his league debut 11 days later, opening the 1–1 home draw against
Valencia CF. On 7 May 2015, in a game in which he featured as
right-back until
Coke entered the field in the 58th minute – he was often used by manager
Unai Emery in that position during
the campaign– Vidal scored twice and also provided an
assist to
Kevin Gameiro, in a 3–0 home win over
ACF Fiorentina in
the semi-finals of the
UEFA Europa League. He started in
the final 20 days later, a 3–2 defeat of
FC Dnipro in
Warsaw.
Barcelona On 7 June 2015, Vidal signed a five-year contract with
FC Barcelona, for an
€18 million fee plus four in add-ons. He underwent a medical on the following day, being also officially presented. Due to an embargo placed on the club by
FIFA for breaking rules on signing under-age foreign players, he was not permitted to appear in competitive games until January 2016. Vidal made his official debut for the
Blaugrana on 6 January 2016, replacing
Dani Alves midway through the second half of a 4–1 home victory against former club Espanyol in the
round of 16 of the
Copa del Rey. Subsequently, he was completely ostracised by manager
Luis Enrique. On 14 January 2017, profiting from the absence of habitual starting right-back
Sergi Roberto, Vidal opened his league account for Barcelona, contributing to a 5–0 rout of
UD Las Palmas at the
Camp Nou. On 11 February, in the last minutes of a 6–0 away win against
Deportivo Alavés, he dislocated his ankle following a challenge by
Théo Hernandez, being ruled out for the rest of
the season.
Return to Sevilla On 4 August 2018, Vidal returned to Sevilla for a fee of €8.5 million plus 2 million in variables. However, he struggled to settle in the first team, being also deemed surplus to requirements by new manager
Julen Lopetegui in July 2019. On 28 July 2019, Vidal was loaned out to fellow top-tier club Alavés in a
season-long deal. On 1 July 2021, he and Sevilla parted ways by mutual consent.
Espanyol Vidal returned to Espanyol on 18 August 2021, after agreeing to a two-year contract. ==International career==