Alan Franco (footballer, born 1998)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Franco and the second or maternal family name is Palma.

Alan Steven Franco Palma (born 21 August 1998) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Atlético Mineiro and the Ecuador national team.^[2]

Alan Franco

Personal information
Full name	Alan Steven Franco Palma[1]
Date of birth	(1998-08-21) 21 August 1998 (age 26)[1]
Place of birth	Jujan, Ecuador
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Atlético Mineiro
Number	21
Youth career
0000–2011	Venecia
2011–2014	Norte América
2014–2017	Independiente del Valle
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2020	Independiente del Valle	62	(3)
2020–	Atlético Mineiro	101	(3)
2022	→ Charlotte FC (loan)	10	(0)
2022–2023	→ Talleres (loan)	34	(0)
International career‡
2015	Ecuador U17	5	(0)
2020	Ecuador U23	4	(0)
2018–	Ecuador	48	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:17, 5 April 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 09:18, 25 March 2025 (UTC)

Club career

Independiente del Valle

Franco came through the youth setup at Independiente del Valle and made his professional debut as an 18-year-old in 2016. He was a first team regular by 2018 and was one of the standout performers of Independiente del Valle’s winning campaign in the 2019 Copa Sudamericana, in which he and defender Luis Segovia were the only players to start every game.

Atlético Mineiro

On 4 June 2020, Franco moved to Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro.^[3]

Loans to Charlotte FC and Talleres

On 21 December 2021, Atlético Mineiro agreed to send Franco to Major League Soccer expansion club Charlotte FC on a one-year loan deal with an option to buy.^[4] On 27 June 2022, Franco's loan with Charlotte transferred to Argentinian side Talleres de Córdoba.^[5]

International career

In August 2018, Franco was called up to the Ecuador national team for the first time by manager Hernán Darío Gómez.^[6] He made his debut on 12 September 2018, in a friendly against Guatemala.^[7]

Franco was selected in the 28 player Ecuador squad for the 2021 Copa América.^[8]

Franco was named in the Ecuadorian squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.^[9]

Franco was called up to the final 26-man Ecuador squad for the 2024 Copa América.^[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of 5 April 2025^[11]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Independiente del Valle	2016	Serie A	2	0	—		0	0	—		2	0
	2017		1	0	—		0	0	—		1	0
	2018		33	3	—		0	0	—		33	3
	2019		26	0	0	0	11[a]	2	—		37	2
	2020		0	0	—		0	0	2[b]	0	2	0
	Total		62	3	0	0	11	2	2	0	75	5
Atlético Mineiro	2020	Série A	28	3	—		—		5[c]	0	33	3
	2021		5	0	1	0	4[d]	0	5[c]	0	15	0
	2023		18	0	—		0	0	—		18	0
	2024		22	0	10	0	12[d]	0	7[c]	0	51	0
	2025		2	0	2	0	0	0	9[c]	0	13	0
	Total		75	3	13	0	16	0	26	0	130	3
Charlotte FC (loan)	2022	MLS	10	0	1	0	—		—		11	0
Talleres (loan)	2022	Argentine Primera División	15	0	3	0	4[d]	1	—		22	1
	2023		19	0	1	0	—		—		20	0
	Total		34	0	4	0	4	1	0	0	42	1
Career total			181	6	18	0	31	3	28	0	258	9

1. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
2. Appearance(s) in Recopa Sudamericana
3. Appearance(s) in Campeonato Mineiro
4. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores

International

As of match played 25 March 2025^[12]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Ecuador
	2018	3	0
	2019	2	1
	2020	3	0
	2021	10	0
	2022	9	0
	2023	5	0
	2024	14	0
	2025	2	0
Total		48	1

List of international goals scored by Alan Franco

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 November 2019	Estadio Reales Tamarindos, Portoviejo, Ecuador	Trinidad and Tobago	1–0	3–0	Friendly

Honours

Independiente del Valle

• Copa Sudamericana: 2019

Atlético Mineiro

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2021
• Copa do Brasil: 2021
• Campeonato Mineiro: 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025

Individual

• Campeonato Mineiro Team of the Year: 2025