Fran Rico

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ricoand the second or maternal family name is Castro.

Fran Rico

Personal information
Full name	Francisco Manuel Rico Castro
Date of birth	(1987-08-03) 3 August 1987 (age 36)
Place of birth	Portonovo, Spain
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Olympiacos (assistant)
Youth career
1997–2001	Portonovo
2001–2005	Pontevedra
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2008	Pontevedra	60	(3)
2008–2011	Real Madrid B	50	(10)
2011–2019	Granada	111	(9)
2016–2018	→ Eibar (loan)	17	(2)
Total		238	(24)
Managerial career
2023	Sevilla (assistant)
2024–	Olympiacos (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Francisco Manuel Rico Castro (born 3 August 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Formed at Pontevedra, he spent most of his career – riddled with injury problems – at Granada, appearing in 117 competitive matches. ^[1] In La Liga, he also played with Eibar.

Club career

Pontevedra

Born in Portonovo, Province of Pontevedra, Rico joined local Pontevedra CF's youth ranks at the age of 14, making his senior debut on 18 December 2005 in a Segunda División B match against CD San Isidro. ^{[2] [3]}

Mainly a substitute in his first year, he became an important part of the Galicians' squad the following seasons. ^{[4] [5]}

Real Madrid

Rico joined Real Madrid in summer 2008, being assigned to the reserve team also in the third division. He made his debut on 31 August, scoring the first goal in a 2–0 win at UD Vecindario. ^[6] On 14 September, in his third appearance, against CD Alfaro, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury eight minutes into the match, being lost for the rest of the campaign. ^[7]

Thirteen months after his injury, Rico played his first game of the season, against RSD Alcalá. ^[8] On 8 November 2009, he scored twice in the 4–2 home victory over Gimnástica de Torrelavega, from penalties. ^[9]

In the first round of 2010–11, Rico found the net against Coruxo FC in a 3–2 home win. ^[10] He scored a career-best six goals during the campaign, including one in the unsuccessful promotion playoffs. ^[11]

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. ^[12] On 25 September, he scored his first La Liga goal in only his second league game for his new team: after replacing Moisés Hurtado at half-time, he netted the equaliser in an eventual 1–1 home draw with CA Osasuna. ^[13]

In April 2012, Rico was sidelined for the rest of the season after suffering another injury to his right knee. ^{[14] [15]} He also missed the entirety of the following campaign. ^[16]

Rico was ever-present for the Andalusians in 2013–14, with his side narrowly avoiding relegation. ^[1] On 26 February 2015, he renewed his contract with the club until 2020. ^[17]

On 26 August 2016, Rico was loaned to fellow top-tier SD Eibar for two years. ^[18] On 2 October, he scored their first-ever goal against Real Madrid and at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in a 1–1 draw. ^[19] He missed the entire 2017–18 season, due to the same ailment. ^{[20] [21]}

Returning to Granada for 2018–19, Rico only appeared in one league match during the campaign for the runners-up. ^[22] On 16 July 2019, he terminated his contract. ^[23]

After retiring, Rico worked with Eibar and Sporting de Gijón in directorial capacities. ^[24] He was later part of his former Eibar coach José Luis Mendilibar's staffs at Sevilla FC ^[25] and Olympiacos FC. ^[26]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition ^{[27] [28]}

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Pontevedra	2005–06	Segunda División B	3	1	0	0	—		—		3	1
	2006–07	Segunda División B	22	1	0	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	24	1
	2007–08	Segunda División B	35	1	5	1	—		1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	41	2
	Total		60	3	5	1	0	0	3	0	68	4
Real Madrid B	2008–09	Segunda División B	3	1	—		—		—		3	1
	2009–10	Segunda División B	18	4	—		—		—		18	4
	2010–11	Segunda División B	29	5	—		—		2 [lower-alpha 1]	1	31	6
	Total		50	10	0	0	0	0	2	1	52	11
Granada	2011–12	La Liga	19	2	1	0	—		—		20	2
	2012–13	La Liga	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2013–14	La Liga	32	2	1	0	—		—		33	2
	2014–15	La Liga	31	3	1	0	—		—		33	2
	2015–16	La Liga	28	2	3	1	—		—		31	3
	2018–19	Segunda División	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	Total		111	9	6	1	0	0	0	0	117	10
Eibar (loan)	2016–17	La Liga	17	2	5	0	—		—		22	2
	2017–18	La Liga	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		17	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	22	2
Career total			238	24	16	2	0	0	5	1	259	27

1. Appearance(s) in promotion play-offs

Honors

Pontevedra

• Segunda División B: 2006–07 ^[29]
• Copa Federación de España: 2006–07 ^[30]

References

1. Lamelas, Rafael (17 July 2018). "El pulso de Fran Rico contra su rodilla" [Fran Rico's fight against his knee]. Ideal (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2019.
2. "El Pontevedra cobrará 250.000 euros por Fran Rico" [Pontevedra will receive €250,000 for Fran Rico]. Diario de Pontevedra (in Spanish). 3 July 2008. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
3. "Portonovo entregará la Raia de Ouro al futbolista Fran Rico" [Portonovo to award Golden Sash to footballer Fran Rico]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 10 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
4. "Gracia convoca a 16 futbolistas siendo Fran Castaño la gran novedad del fin de semana" [Gracia calls 16 footballers with Fran Castaño as the weekend's greatest new face]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 6 January 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
5. Sáez, Lara (31 May 2023). "Fran Rico, un entrenador por sorpresa" [Fran Rico, manager by accident]. Diario do Salnés (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 April 2024.
6. Velasco, Álvaro (31 August 2008). "El filial del Real Madrid comienza la Liga con buen pie" [Real Madrid reserves start league on the right foot] (in Spanish). Real Madrid CF. Archived from the original on 7 November 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
7. Del Moral, Patricia (6 October 2008). "Fran Rico inicia su recuperación" [Fran Rico starts rehabilitation] (in Spanish). Real Madrid CF. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
8. Piñero, Alberto (12 December 2009). ""En el Castilla no hay niñatos"" ["There are no crybabies at Castilla"] (in Spanish). Defensa Central. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
9. Monge, Cristina (8 November 2009). "4–2: Querer es poder" [4–2: When there's a will there's a way] (in Spanish). Real Madrid CF. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
10. Blanco, Lidia; O'Donnell, Michael J. (29 August 2010). "The youth team takes the first three points at stake". Real Madrid CF. Archived from the original on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
11. Burgos, Julián (30 May 2011). "Paco Esteban rompe el sueño del Castilla" [Paco Esteban shatters Castilla's dream]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 April 2024.
12. "Fran Rico ficha por el Granada" [Fran Rico signs for Granada]. Marca (in Spanish). 5 August 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
13. "Granada and Osasuna share spoils". ESPN Soccernet. 25 September 2011. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
14. "Fran Rico, lesionado para el resto de temporada" [Fran Rico, injured for rest of the season]. Marca (in Spanish). 14 April 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
15. "Fran Rico: "Estad tranquilos, que volveré"" [Fran Rico: "Don't worry, i'll be back"]. Ideal (in Spanish). 16 August 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
16. "Fran Rico será baja toda la temporada tras su operación" [Fran Rico will miss entire season after surgery]. Ideal (in Spanish). 25 January 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
17. "Fran Rico renueva por cinco temporadas" [Fran Rico renews for five seasons] (in Spanish). Granada CF. 26 February 2015. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
18. "Fran Rico se marcha al Eibar cedido por dos temporadas" [Fran Rico goes out to Eibar on loan for two seasons] (in Spanish). Granada CF. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
19. Caleya, M.J. (2 October 2016). "El Eibar sorprende en el Bernabéu y agrava la crisis del Madrid" [Eibar surprise at the Bernabéu and extend Madrid's crisis] (in Spanish). RTVE . Retrieved 23 April 2024.
20. Barroso, Ander (18 September 2017). "El infierno de Fran Rico" [The hell of Fran Rico]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2018.
21. Ramajo, Roberto (10 January 2018). "Confirmado: Fran Rico no jugará esta temporada" [Confirmed: Fran Rico will not play this season] (in Spanish). Cadena SER . Retrieved 30 April 2018.
22. "Fran Rico vuelve dos años y cuatro meses después" [Fran Rico returns two years and four months later] (in Spanish). Be Soccer. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
23. "Comunicado | El Granada CF y Fran Rico acuerdan su desvinculación del club" [Announcement | Granada CF and Fran Rico agree his release from the club] (in Spanish). Granada CF. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
24. Vigil Morán, Alejandro (9 May 2022). "Fran Rico, fichaje de Javi Rico para el Sporting" [Fran Rico, Javi Rico's signing for Sporting]. La Voz de Asturias (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 July 2022.
25. Florido, Eduardo (21 March 2023). "El escueto cuerpo técnico de Mendilibar" [Mendilibar's short coaching staff]. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 April 2024.
26. Sánchez, Gonzalo (19 April 2024). "El portonovés Fran Rico hace historia con Mendilibar en Grecia al meter a Olympiacos en semifinales europeas" [Portonovo-born Fran Rico makes history with Mendilibar in Greece as they put Olympiacos in European semi-finals]. Diario de Arousa (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 April 2024.
27. Fran Rico at BDFutbol
28. Fran Rico at Soccerway
29. "El Pontevedra, campeón desmotivado ante el Pájara" [Pontevedra, unmotivated champions against Pájara]. Faro de Vigo (in Spanish). 21 May 2007. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
30. Torre, Raúl. "Spain – List of Copa Federación RFEF Finals". RSSSF . Retrieved 2 April 2024.

External links

• Fran Rico at BDFutbol
• Fran Rico at Futbolme (in Spanish)