Early career Álvarez Balanta was born in
Bogotá, where he signed with the now dissolved club
Academia in 2010 (who later became
Llaneros). After a successful youth run winning various titles, he attracted the scouts of
River Plate. Prior to his move to the Argentinian club, Balanta was never able to represent the Colombian national youth squads due to vast injuries.
River Plate In early 2011, Álvarez Balanta was tested in the youth division of the Argentinean Club and passed the trials and became a sub with the youth squad. In 2012, he was becoming more of a regular which led to an eventual championship victory in the 2012
U-20 Copa Libertadores. Due to his success with the youth team and impressive talent, he moved into the senior squad officially in 2013. Álvarez Balanta made his debut with the senior squad against
Racing Club. In just his third league match, he scored his first goal against
Godoy Cruz. Álvarez Balanta scored yet another goal in his very next match, this time against
Quilmes Atlético Club. He played his first
Superclásico derby match against River Plate's fierce rivals,
Boca Juniors. He played a huge part countering and cancelling the attacking plays in a fierce game that ended 1–1.
Inter Milan reportedly made a bid for the young Colombian after just five league appearances. River Plate set a €12 million price tag. During a match against
All Boys, Álvarez Balanta tore his internal obturador muscle resulting in a two-week absence on the pitch. In July 2013, Álvarez Balanta officially signed his first senior contract with the club on a three-year term deal with a $30 million release clause. Álvarez Balanta noticeably put on a man of the match performance in the
2013 Copa Sudamericana match against
San Lorenzo. Throughout the match, he was praised for being "impassable". In September 2013, it was reported that
Barcelona had taken interest in Álvarez Balanta, and they plan to watch the player to evaluate his development. It was also mentioned that Álvarez Balanta could possibly be a successor to Barça's aging defender
Carles Puyol, but that River Plate would require €50 million in any transfer deal. Weeks later, however, River Plate brought down his release clause to €15 million. In River Plate's match against
Lanús, Álvarez Balanta received his first ever red card within the last two minutes of regulation time. On 19 February 2015, Álvarez Balanta made his debut in the
2015 Copa Libertadores against Bolivian club
San José in which River Plate lost 2–0. On 12 March 2015, Balanta scored his first goal in the Copa Libertadores in 1–1 draw against
Juan Aurich of Peru.
Basel On 15 July 2016, Swiss club
Basel announced that they had signed Éder Balanta on a four-year contract lasting until 30 June 2020. He joined Basel's first team for their
2016–17 season under head coach
Urs Fischer. After playing in two test games he made his
domestic league debut on 24 July in the 3–0 home win at the
St. Jakob-Park against
Sion. Balanta made his
Champions League group stage debut in a 1–1 draw against
PFC Ludogorets Razgrad on 12 September 2016. He scored his first league goal for his new club in the away game in the
Olympique de la Pontaise on 21 September 2016. It was the winning goal of the match, in the 93rd minute, as Basel won 2–1 against
Lausanne-Sport. He scored his first
Swiss Cup goal for his team on 26 October in the third round away game as Basel won 4–1 against
Tuggen. Under trainer
Urs Fischer Balanta won the
Swiss Super League championship at the end of the
2016–17 Super League season. For the club this was the eighth title in a row and their 20th championship title in total. They also won the
Swiss Cup for the twelfth time, which meant they had won the double for the sixth time in the club's history. Balanta had played 19 league games and one in the cup. In their following
2017–18 season under new head coach
Raphaël Wicky Balanta received somewhat less playing time, but played in 15 league games and in all six games in the
2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage. Under trainer
Marcel Koller Basel won the
Swiss Cup in the 2018–19 season. In the first round Basel beat Montlingen 3–0, in the second round
Echallens Région 7–2 and in the round of 16
Winterthur 1–0. In the quarter-finals
Sion were defeated 4–2 after extra time and in the semi-finals
Zürich 3–1. All these games were played away from home. The final was held on 19 May 2019 in the
Stade de Suisse Wankdorf Bern against
Thun.
Albian Ajeti scored the first goal,
Fabian Frei the second for Basel, then
Dejan Sorgić netted a goal for Thun, but the result was 2–1 for Basel. Balanta played five Cup games and scored a goal in the match against Montlingen. At the beginning of their
following season Balanta decided to leave the club. In his three and a bit seasons with the club, Balanta played a total of 113 games for Basel scoring a total of six goals. 58 of these games were in the
Swiss Super League, nine in the
Swiss Cup, 22 in the UEFA competitions (Champions League and Europa League) and 24 were friendly games. He scored three goals in the domestic league, two in the cup and the other was scored during the test games.
Club Brugge On 2 September 2019, he signed three-year contract with
Club Brugge.
Schalke 04 (loan) On 31 January 2023, Balanta joined
Bundesliga club
Schalke 04 on loan until the end of the season.
América de Cali On 27 June 2024, Balanta joined a Colombian club for the first time, signing with
América de Cali. ==International career==