Francisco Portillo Soler (born 13 June 1990) is a Spanish 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 lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Club career

Born in

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, Portillo emerged through local club

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...

's youth ranks. He first appeared with the first team in the 2009 pre-season, being considered

player of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in the 1–0 win against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

in the Peace Cup on 25 July. Portillo made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

debut on 24 January 2010, replacing the injured

Patrick Mtiliga Patrick Jan Mtiliga (; born 28 January 1981) is a Danish retired professional Association football, footballer and currently the Assistant Academy Director of FC Nordsjælland. He played as a Defender (association football), defender, most frequ ...

in the 74th minute of a 2–0 loss at

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. On 10 August, he agreed to an extension running until June 2013. After the 2011 summer signing of

Joaquín Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956) (Joaquín Alonso González), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981) (Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez) ...

, Portillo was further demoted down in Málaga's pecking order, not making the 18-men squad in most of the matches. His first league appearance of the season only came on 9 April 2012, as he played the last eight minutes in a 3−0 home victory over

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

. On 15 September 2012, Portillo scored his first goal as a professional, with a beautiful volley in a 3−1 home defeat of

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 6 September 1909, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025– ...

. He appeared in 38 competitive games during the campaign, including eight in the side's first-ever participation in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

. On 15 January 2015, Portillo was loaned to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

until June, with an obligatory

buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

if the team was promoted. Having contributed 21 appearances in the season, he signed a permanent three-year deal. Portillo was loaned to

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. They compete in La Liga, the top tier of the Football in Spain, Spanish football. The team has pla ...

of the second tier on 31 August 2016, for one year. After achieving promotion, he was bought outright on 3 July 2017. On 22 July 2021,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Portillo signed a two-year contract with

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001 ...

in the second division. Regularly used during his spell (and achieving promotion in his first season), he left on 14 June 2023 as his link was about to expire. On 20 September 2023, Portillo joined second-tier

CD Leganés Club Deportivo Leganés, S.A.D. is a professional football club based in Leganés, Community of Madrid. They currently compete in La Liga, the first tier of the Spanish league system. Leganés was officially founded 23 June 1928 and played thei ...

on a one-year deal. He earned another promotion at the end of the campaign, becoming the first player to achieve this with four clubs in the process; Antonio Fernández had already done the same in the 60s/70s, but only in service of

CD Málaga Club Deportivo Málaga was a Spanish football club based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It played twenty seasons in La Liga, before being dissolved in 1992. History Origins The first football club in Málaga was establ ...

. Portillo moved to

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo ( Asturian: Real Uviéu) is a Spanish professional football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays at ...

in November 2024 after severing his ties to Leganés, on a short-term contract. On 21 June 2025, he closed the 3–1

extra-time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

win over

CD Mirandés Club Deportivo Mirandés is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Miranda de Ebro, Province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 3 May 1927, the club competes in the Segunda División ...

in the second leg of the play-off final, sealing the former's return to the main division after 24 years.

Career statistics

Honours

Betis *

: 2014–15 Almería *Segunda División: 2021–22 Leganés *Segunda División: 2023–24

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Portillo, Francisco 1990 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Málaga Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Tercera División players Atlético Malagueño players Málaga CF players Real Betis players Getafe CF footballers UD Almería players CD Leganés players Real Oviedo players