Alan Javier Franco (born 11 October 1996) is an Argentinian professional footballer who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for Brazilian club São Paulo.

Club career

Independiente

Born in

Avellaneda Avellaneda (, ) is a port city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 342,677 as per the . Avellaneda is located within the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area, and is connected ...

, Franco joined Independiente in January 2015, from San Telmo. On 20 December 2016, he signed his first professional contract with the club, agreeing to a deal until 2020, and was promoted to the main squad shortly after. Franco made his first team – and

Primera División Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

– debut on 18 March 2017, starting in a 0–0 home draw against San Martín de San Juan. He scored his first professional goal on 12 July, netting the first in a 4–2

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

home defeat of Deportes Iquique. Franco became a starter under Ariel Holan during the

2017 Copa Sudamericana The 2017 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 16th edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the ''Copa Sudamericana'', or pt, Copa Sul-Americana), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Argent ...

, featuring in both legs of the Final against Flamengo.

Atlanta United

On 8 April 2021, Franco joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side Atlanta United on a five-year contract as a designated player. He made his debut for the club on 27 April 2021 in the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

against the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

, the club losing 3–0.

São Paulo

On 5 January 2023, Franco joined Brazilian side São Paulo on a permanent deal, signing a three-year contract, with an option for another year.

International career

Franco made his international debut for Argentina on September 8, 2018, in a 3-0 international friendly against the

Guatemala national football team The Guatemala national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Guatemala) represents Guatemala in men's international football and is controlled by the ''Federación Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala''. Founded in 1919, it has been affiliat ...

Honours

Independiente *

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São Paulo * Copa do Brasil:

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* Supercopa do Brasil:

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Franco, Alan 1996 births Copa Sudamericana-winning players Living people Footballers from Avellaneda Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's international footballers Men's association football central defenders Argentine Primera División players Major League Soccer players Club Atlético Independiente footballers Atlanta United FC players Designated Players (MLS) São Paulo FC players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil