Barcelona Born in
Badalona,
Barcelona,
Catalonia, Palencia started playing football for hometown club
Badalona at the age of 8, moving to
Barcelona's youth system,
La Masia, in 2006. In 2013, he was compared to
Bayern Munich full back
Philipp Lahm by Spanish newspaper
Mundo Deportivo. On 29 March 2015, while still a youth player, Palencia was called up to
the Barcelona reserve team for a
Segunda División match against
Tenerife, and played his first match as a professional hours later, starting in a 1–1 home draw. He and
Álex Grimaldo were sent off on 25 April 2015 in a 2–1 win over
Ponferradina at the
Mini Estadi. Palencia played eleven matches in a season which saw his team relegated to
Segunda División B, scoring his first goal on 31 May in a 5–2 home loss to
Leganés. On 10 August 2016, Palencia was named the B-team's
captain. He achieved promotion back to the second level at the end of
the campaign, and renewed his contract until 2020 on 5 October 2017. On 16 August 2018, Palencia joined
Ligue 1 side
Bordeaux in a
season-long loan deal. He played 31 total games, starting on 19 August in the season-opening 2–1 loss at rivals
Toulouse in the
Derby de la Garonne.
Saint-Étienne On 5 July 2019, Palencia joined
Saint-Étienne for a fee of €2 million, with an additional €1 million in variables. Barcelona maintained 20% of his future transfer fee. On his debut on 1 September, a 1–0 loss at
Marseille, he sprained his right ankle under a challenge from
Jordan Amavi and was ruled out for six weeks. On 28 September 2020, Palencia returned to Spain and its second division after agreeing to a one-year loan deal with Leganés. The following July, after
playoff defeat to nearby
Rayo Vallecano, his loan was extended for another year; he was out of Saint-Étienne manager
Claude Puel's plans and the French club needed to balance the books.
Los Angeles FC On 2 February 2023, Palencia joined
Major League Soccer club
Los Angeles FC on a two-year deal with the option for a third, reuniting him with former Saint-Étienne teammate
Denis Bouanga. He made his debut on 12 March, starting in a 4–0 home win over the
New England Revolution. On 25 February 2025 Palencia was accused of using discriminatory language by
Colorado Rapids defender
Chidozie Awaziem during the second leg of the
2025 Concacaf Champions Cup match between the teams. On 4 March 2025 Concacaf released a statement saying "Following a thorough review of the match officials’ reports, available match footage and audios, and the respective positions of both clubs, the Concacaf Disciplinary Committee has cleared Los Angeles FC player Sergi Palencia of any discriminatory action.", going on to say, "it is clear to the Committee that the word reported by the Colorado Rapids in its official position to Concacaf was not used. ==Career statistics==