Francisco Manuel Rico Castro (born 3 August 1987) is a Spanish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Formed at Pontevedra, he spent most of his career – riddled with injury problems – at

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, appearing in 117 competitive matches. In

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

, he also played with Eibar.

Club career

Pontevedra

Born in

Portonovo Portonovo is a fishing village and tourist center within the municipality of Sanxenxo. It belongs to the parish of Adina. Situated in the Ria de Pontevedra, its climate is cold and rainy in winter and warm and sunny in summer. Tourism is the mai ...

, Province of Pontevedra, Rico joined local

Pontevedra CF Pontevedra Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team in Pontevedra, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. Founded on 16 October 1941 it currently plays in Primera División RFEF, Primera ...

's youth ranks at the age of 14, making his senior debut on 18 December 2005 in a

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

match against CD San Isidro. Mainly a substitute in his

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

, he became an important part of the Galicians' squad the following seasons.

Real Madrid

Rico joined

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in summer 2008, being assigned to the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

also in the third division. He made his debut on 31 August, scoring the first goal in a 2–0 win at

UD Vecindario Unión Deportiva Vecindario is a Spanish football team based in Vecindario, Santa Lucía de Tirajana, Gran Canaria, in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded in 1962, it helds home games at ''Estadio Municipal de Vecindario'', with a ...

. On 14 September, in his third appearance, against

CD Alfaro Club Deportivo Alfaro is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Alfaro, La Rioja, Alfaro, in the autonomous community of La Rioja (Spain), La Rioja. Founded in 1922 it plays in Segunda División RFEF, Segunda División R ...

, he suffered an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

eight minutes into the match, being lost for the rest of the campaign. Thirteen months after his injury, Rico played his first game of the season, against

RSD Alcalá Real Sociedad Deportiva Alcalá is a Spanish football team based in Alcalá de Henares in the Community of Madrid. Founded in 1929 it plays in Tercera División RFEF – Group 7, holding home matches at ''Estadio Municipal del Val'', with a capac ...

. On 8 November 2009, he scored twice in the 4–2 home victory over

Gimnástica de Torrelavega Real Sociedad Gimnástica de Torrelavega is a Spanish football team based in Torrelavega, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. Founded on 28 September 1907 it is the oldest football club in the region, and currently plays in Tercera Divisi ...

, from

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

. In the first round of

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, Rico found the net against Coruxo FC in a 3–2 home win. He scored a career-best six goals during the campaign, including one in the unsuccessful promotion playoffs.

Granada

On 5 August 2011, Rico left Castilla and signed for Granada CF, with Real Madrid retaining an option for the player in case of a future transfer. On 25 September, he scored his first

goal in only his second league game for his new team: after replacing

Moisés Hurtado Moisés Hurtado Pérez (born 20 February 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He was noted for his physical approach, which led to many bookings, and spent most of his professional career at E ...

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

, he netted the equaliser in an eventual 1–1 home draw with CA Osasuna. In April 2012, Rico was sidelined for the rest of the season after suffering another injury to his right knee. He also missed the entirety of the following campaign. Rico was ever-present for the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

ns in 2013–14, with his side narrowly avoiding relegation. On 26 February 2015, he renewed his contract with the club until 2020. On 26 August 2016, Rico was loaned to fellow top-tier

SD Eibar Sociedad Deportiva Eibar (in eu, Eibar Kirol Elkartea) is a professional Spanish football club based in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous Basque Country. Founded on 30 November 1940, the team currently plays in the Segunda División, the s ...

for two years. On 2 October, he scored their first-ever goal against Real Madrid and at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in a 1–1 draw. He missed the entire 2017–18 season, due to the same ailment. Returning to Granada for 2018–19, Rico only appeared in one league match during the campaign for the runners-up. On 16 July 2019, he terminated his contract. After retiring, Rico worked with Eibar and

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, P ...

in directorial capacities. He was later part of his former Eibar coach

José Luis Mendilibar José Luis Mendilibar Etxebarria (born 14 March 1961) is a Spanish former Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder, currently Manager (association football), manager of Sevilla FC. He played no higher than Segunda División, ...

's staffs at

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...

and

Olympiacos FC Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σ.Φ.Π. ), known simply as Olympiacos or Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Piraeus, Piraeus, Attica. Part of the major Sports ...

Career statistics

Honors

Pontevedra *

: 2006–07 * Copa Federación de España: 2006–07

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rico, Fran 1987 births Living people People from O Salnés Sportspeople from the Province of Pontevedra Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Galicia (Spain) Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Portonovo SD players Pontevedra CF footballers Real Madrid Castilla footballers Granada CF footballers SD Eibar footballers Sevilla FC non-playing staff Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece