Real Madrid Born in
Crevillent,
Alicante,
Valencian Community, Juanfran was a product of
Real Madrid's youth academy. He had his first main squad opportunity on 24 January 2004, playing 15 minutes in a 2–1 home win against
Villarreal CF after solid performances with the
B team. He would appear in a further five
La Liga matches over
that and the
following seasons, totalling 11 appearances. Juanfran was loaned out to
RCD Espanyol for
2005–06 and, although the
Catalan side barely avoided relegation, he featured heavily throughout the campaign, scoring on 22 March 2006 in a 1–1 draw at
Athletic Bilbao. He started his career as a
winger.
Osasuna Juanfran signed with
CA Osasuna after a deal that allowed Osasuna to get the player without having to pay a transfer fee and with per-set price of
€10 million, adding several specifics, which included a possibility of a January 2007 recall by Madrid who also retained a buying option at the end of
the season. He played his first game for the
Navarrese on 24 September 2006 in a 2–0 away victory over
RC Celta de Vigo, and scored the second goal of the match. Additionally, he appeared in nine games and netted once in their
semi-final run in the
UEFA Cup. In
2008–09, Juanfran was again ever-present in Osasuna's lineups. On 31 May 2009, in the last matchday, he scored from 30 yards in a 2–1 home defeat of former side Real Madrid, which kept the club in the top flight for another year. In
the following campaign, as the former fared better in the league by finishing 12th, he scored a career-best four goals.
Atlético Madrid in 2013 On 11 January 2011, Juanfran signed for
Atlético Madrid until June 2015 for a fee of just over €4 million. He made his official debut two days later, starting in a 3–1 away loss against his first professional club Real Madrid in the
quarter-finals of the
Copa del Rey. Juanfran scored his first goal for Atlético on 21 May 2011, in a 4–3 win at
RCD Mallorca – the last game of
the season – dedicating it to his father who had died two weeks beforehand. In
2011–12 he began being regularly played as a
right-back, by both
Gregorio Manzano and his successor,
Diego Simeone. In the
Europa League final, which his team
won 3–0 against Athletic, he played in that position; after the match, he dedicated the triumph to his late father, saying "My baby son Oliver is here with me; the only words he knows are 'mama' and 'Atleti', I dedicate this win to my family and to my dad, who passed away last year. I know he's up there looking down on us celebrating now." On 24 May 2014, Juanfran played all 120 minutes of the
Champions League final, lost 4–1 to Real Madrid at the
Estádio da Luz. He signed a contract extension one month later, running until 2018. Juanfran started both legs of the
round-of-16 Champions League tie against
PSV Eindhoven; on 15 March 2016, in the second match, he took the decisive
penalty in the 8–7
shootout win (0–0 on aggregate). In
the final of the competition, also decided on penalties after a 1–1 draw in
Milan, he was the only player to fail to convert in an eventual defeat to his former club Real Madrid. Juanfran left Atlético upon the expiration of his contract on 30 June 2019, having made 355 appearances and won seven trophies for the club.
São Paulo On 3 August 2019, Juanfran joined
São Paulo FC on a contract running until December 2020. He became the second Spanish footballer to play for the Brazilian club, after Fernando Carazzo Castro in 1936. He made his debut in the
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A fifteen days later, a 1–0 home victory over
Ceará Sporting Club. In February 2021 – with his
second season having overrun due to the
COVID-19 pandemic – Juanfran was released, having totalled 56 games for the
Tricolor. Having retired, he returned to Spain and joined the Intercity
futsal club in his hometown in July. ==International career==