Fran Sol

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

Francisco "Fran" Sol Ortiz (born 13 March 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Cypriot First Division club AEK Larnaca.

Fran Sol

Sol with Dynamo Kyiv in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Francisco Sol Ortiz[1]
Date of birth	(1992-03-13) 13 March 1992 (age 32)[1]
Place of birth	Madrid, Spain[1]
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	AEK Larnaca
Number	9
Youth career
1998–2000	AV Vicálvaro
2000–2002	Rayo Vallecano
2002–2010	Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2014	Real Madrid C	62	(33)
2012–2013	→ Lugo (loan)	12	(1)
2013	→ Oviedo (loan)	10	(0)
2014–2016	Villarreal B	71	(27)
2015	Villarreal	2	(0)
2016–2018	Willem II	79	(39)
2019–2023	Dynamo Kyiv	17	(2)
2020–2021	→ Tenerife (loan)	38	(10)
2021–2022	→ Eibar (loan)	29	(5)
2022–2023	→ Málaga (loan)	32	(3)
2023–	AEK Larnaca	40	(16)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:03, 21 October 2024 (UTC)

He played for Real Madrid and Villarreal early in his career, spending nearly all of that time out on loan or in reserve teams. He had 21⁄2 successful years with Willem II of the Dutch Eredivisie, totalling 88 matches and 47 goals. His four-year spell at Dynamo Kyiv was mostly spent in his country's Segunda División.

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in Madrid, Sol joined Real Madrid's youth system in July 2002 at the age of 10, and began playing with the Alevín B-team. In the 2010–11 season, he made his senior debut with Real Madrid C, in a match against CF Trival Valderas in the Tercera División.^[2]

For the 2012–13 campaign, Sol was loaned to CD Lugo.^[3] He made his professional debut on 25 August 2012, coming on as a substitute for Mauro Quiroga in the 77th minute of a 1–1 away draw against UD Las Palmas.^[4] Early into the following month, he made his first start in the Segunda División, helping his team to the same result at Sporting de Gijón.^[5]

On 14 December 2012, Sol scored the 3–2 game winner against Real Madrid Castilla.^[6][7] On 16 January of the following year, however, his loan spell was ended and he joined Real Oviedo of the Segunda División B, in the same situation.^[8][9] He made his debut with the Asturians on 20 January 2013, replacing Diego Cervero for the last minutes of the away match against CF Fuenlabrada.^[10]

Villarreal

Sol moved to Villarreal CF's reserves on 2 July 2014.^[11] On 25 April 2015, he appeared in his first competitive game with the Valencians' main squad, replacing Jaume Costa in a 0–0 La Liga draw at Real Sociedad.^[12]

Willem II

Sol moved abroad for the first time on 25 June 2016, signing a three-year deal at Eredivisie club Willem II^[13] and scoring on his debut on 6 August, a 1–4 home defeat to SBV Vitesse; two weeks later he netted the winner in a 2–1 victory at AFC Ajax, his team's first win there in history.^[14]

In October 2017, Sol underwent an operation to remove a testicular tumour.^[15] The following 10 March, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win over league leaders PSV Eindhoven at the Koning Willem II Stadion, putting him on top of the season's goalscoring charts.^[16]

Sol scored another three goals on 26 August 2018 in a victory by the same score over Heracles Almelo.^[17] Across his 30-month stay in the Netherlands he was the top flight's highest goalscorer with 39, five ahead of nearest rival Luuk de Jong.^[18]

Dynamo Kyiv

In January 2019, Sol signed for FC Dynamo Kyiv of the Ukrainian Premier League for an estimated €3 million fee.^[18] He made his debut on 14 February away to Olympiacos F.C. in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League, starting in a 2–2 draw.^[19] On his maiden league appearance 11 days later, he scored in a 5–0 home win over FC Zorya Luhansk.^[20] His debut season was ended in the next match against FC Desna Chernihiv, due to a shoulder injury.^[21][22]

Sol returned to Spain and its second division on 2 October 2020, after agreeing to a one-year loan contract with CD Tenerife.^[23] The following 7 July, he moved to SD Eibar in the same league also in a temporary deal.^[24] Used almost equally as a starter and substitute, he scored five goals – including two in a 3–1 victory at Málaga CF on 23 April 2022 while playing 14 minutes^[25]– as the Basques made the play-off semi-finals.

On 6 July 2022, Sol was loaned for a third time to a side in his country's second division, this time Málaga.^[26] More often than not a substitute, he contributed just three goals – plus one in the cup – as his team suffered relegation.^[27]

AEK Larnaca

In July 2023, Sol moved to the third foreign country of his career, signing for AEK Larnaca FC of compatriot José Luis Oltra.^[28] In just his second game in the Cypriot First Division on 28 August, he scored four goals in a 5–5 home draw with Ethnikos Achna FC.^[29]

Personal life

Sol learned four foreign languages: French, Dutch, English and Russian.^[30] A fan of science fiction literature, he wrote his own novel in 2020 titled Madrid 2035, in which the protagonist is a former tennis player.^[31]

Career statistics

As of match played 11 February 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[lower-alpha 1]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Real Madrid C	2009–10[32]	Tercera División	4	7	—		—		—		4	7
	2010–11[32]		9	7	—		—		—		9	7
	2011–12[32]		18	12	—		—		—		18	12
	2013–14[32]	Segunda División B	31	7	—		—		—		31	7
	Total		62	33	—		—		—		62	33
Lugo (loan)	2012–13[33]	Segunda División	12	1	1	0	—		—		13	1
Oviedo (loan)	2012–13[33]	Segunda División B	10	0	—		—		1[lower-alpha 2]	0	11	0
Villarreal B	2014–15[33]	Segunda División B	36	11	—		—		—		36	11
	2015–16[33]		35	16	—		—		2[lower-alpha 2]	0	37	16
	Total		71	27	—		—		2	0	73	27
Villarreal	2014–15[33]	La Liga	2	0	—		—		—		2	0
Willem II	2016–17[34]	Eredivisie	30	10	1	0	—		—		31	10
	2017–18[34]		32	16	5	4	—		—		37	20
	2018–19[34]		17	13	3	4	—		—		20	17
	Total		79	39	9	8	—		—		88	47
Dynamo Kyiv	2018–19[35]	Ukrainian Premier League	2	1	—		2[lower-alpha 3]	1	—		4	2
	2019–20[35]		13	1	2	0	2[lower-alpha 4]	0	—		17	1
	2020–21[35]		2	0	—		—		1[lower-alpha 5]	1	3	1
	Total		17	2	2	0	4	1	1	1	24	4
Tenerife	2020–21[33]	Segunda División	38	10	2	0	—		—		40	10
Eibar	2021–22[33]	Segunda División	29	5	3	0	—		2[lower-alpha 6]	0	34	5
Málaga	2022–23	Segunda División	32	3	2	1	—		—		34	4
AEK Larnaca	2023–24	Cypriot First Division	23	14	1	0	4[lower-alpha 7]	0	—		28	14
Career total			375	134	20	9	8	1	6	1	409	145

1. Includes Copa del Rey, KNVB Cup, Ukrainian Cup, Cypriot Cup
2. Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance in Ukrainian Super Cup
6. Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
7. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Dynamo Kyiv

• Ukrainian Premier League: 2020–21^[35]
• Ukrainian Cup: 2019–20^[35]
• Ukrainian Super Cup: 2020^[35]

References

1. "Francisco Sol Ortiz" (in Spanish). Málaga CF. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
2. Asenjo, Borja (30 August 2010). "Un golazo de Seidel le da la victoria a los alfareros en 'terreno blanco'" [Seidel wonder goal gives alfareros the win in 'white territory']. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2013.
3. "Fran Sol, cedido al Lugo" [Fran Sol, loaned to Lugo] (in Spanish). Todo Mercado Web. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
4. "Entretenido encuentro que pudo ganar cualquiera" [Entertaining match could have gone both ways]. Marca (in Spanish). 25 August 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
5. "El Sporting sigue sin conocer el sabor del triunfo" [Sporting yet to taste win]. Marca (in Spanish). 9 September 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
6. "El Castilla mereció más en Lugo" [Castilla deserved more in Lugo] (in Spanish). Real Madrid CF. 14 December 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
7. "El gol "más duro" de marcar para Fran Sol" [The "hardest" goal Fran Sol ever scored]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 15 December 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
8. Armero, Andrés; Fente, Manuel (16 January 2013). "Sol se marcha cedido al Oviedo y Guayre ficha por el Lugo" [Sol leaves for Oviedo on loan and Guayre signs for Lugo]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2013.
9. "Real Oviedo, Fran Sol confirma su llegada" [Real Oviedo, Fran Sol confirms arrival] (in Spanish). Todo Mercado Web. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
10. "Golpe de autoridad en Fuenlabrada" [They stake a claim in Fuenlabrada] (in Spanish). Fútbol Asturiano. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
11. "Cuatro refuerzos para el Villarreal B" [Four additions to Villarreal B] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. 2 July 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
12. Aldunate, Ramiro (25 April 2015). "La Liga se les hace larga" [Neverending League for them]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2015.
13. Roca, Juan F. (25 June 2016). "Fran Sol ficha por tres temporadas por el Willem II holandés" [Fran Sol signs for three years at Netherlands' Willem II]. Levante-EMV (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2016.
14. "Fran Sol hace historia con el Willem II" [Fran Sol makes history with Willem II]. Marca (in Spanish). 21 August 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
15. "Willem II fans pay touching tribute to Fran Sol after undergoing operation to remove tumour". Goal. 28 October 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
16. "Fran Sol anota un 'hat-trick' ante el PSV y ya es Pichichi en Holanda" [Fran Sol scores a hat-trick against PSV and is now top scorer in Holland]. Marca (in Spanish). 10 March 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
17. "Sol nets hat-trick as Willem II rout Heracles". Football Oranje. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
18. Manchón, Martín (16 January 2019). "Se acabó el culebrón: Fran Sol ficha por el Dinamo de Kiev" [The soap opera is over: Fran Sol signs for Dynamo Kyiv]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2019.
19. Van Beek, Yvonne (14 February 2019). "Fran Sol speelt met Dynamo Kiev gelijk tegen Olympiakos Piraeus van Kostas Tsimikas" [Fran Sol plays in Dynamo Kyiv draw against Kostas Tsimikas' Olympiacos]. Brabants Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 February 2019.
20. "Paulo Fonseca reentra no campeonato com vitória" [Paulo Fonseca re-enters championship with victory]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 25 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
21. "Соль может пропустить около двух месяцев" [Sol could miss around two months] (in Russian). Football UA. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
22. "Соль и Вербич в нынешнем сезоне больше не сыграют, Беседин может успеть восстановиться к последним матчам" [Sol and Verbič will not feature the rest of the season, Besyedin might come back for the last matches] (in Russian). Football UA. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
23. "Fran Sol, refuerzo ofensivo para el CD Tenerife" [Fran Sol, attacking addition for CD Tenerife] (in Spanish). CD Tenerife. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
24. "Fran Sol, nuevo goleador armero" [Fran Sol, new armero scorer] (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
25. "Pinchan el globo del Málaga CF de Guede (1–3)" [Guede's Málaga CF's balloon bursts (1–3)]. Málaga Hoy (in Spanish). 23 April 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
26. "Shots and goals with Fran Sol". Málaga CF. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
27. "El posible destino exótico de Fran Sol: coincidiría con dos ex del Málaga" [Fran Sol's possible exotic destination: he would be a teammate of two ex-Málaga players] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
28. Fernández, Alberto S. (3 July 2023). "Fran Sol emigra al AEK Larnaca de Chipre" [Fran Sol emigrates to Cyprus' AEK Larnaca]. Málaga Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 September 2023.
29. "Fran Sol anota un póker e iguala sus goles de la pasada temporada" [Fran Sol scores four goals and equals his record from last season] (in Spanish). Sport Direct Radio. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
30. Cariño, Carlos (8 September 2022). "Fran Sol: "No es habitual que un futbolista escriba un libro de ciencia-ficción"" [Fran Sol: "It's not normal for a footballer to write a science fiction book"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2022.
31. Cerezo, Hugo (12 July 2020). "Fran Sol se lanza a la escritura y presenta su primera novela: Madrid 2035" [Fran Sol launches himself into writing and presents his first novel: Madrid 2035]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2022.
32. "Fran Sol". Be Soccer. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
33. Fran Sol at BDFutbol
34. Fran Sol at WorldFootball.net
35. Fran Sol at Soccerway

External links

• Fran Sol at BDFutbol
• Fran Sol at AS.com (in Spanish)
• Fran Sol at LaPreferente.com (in Spanish)