Helibelton Palacios

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Palaciosand the second or maternal family name is Zapata.

Helibelton Palacios

Palacios with Colombia at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Helibelton Palacios Zapata [1]
Date of birth	(1993-06-11) 11 June 1993 (age 32)
Place of birth	Santander de Quilichao, Colombia
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) [2]
Position(s)	Right-back
Team information
Current team	Millonarios (on loan from Cruzeiro)
Number	13
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2016	Deportivo Cali	109	(4)
2014	→ La Equidad (loan)	15	(0)
2017–2018	Club Brugge	16	(0)
2018–2020	Atlético Nacional	92	(1)
2021–2023	Elche	61	(0)
2023–	Cruzeiro	9	(0)
2024	→ Sport (loan)	2	(0)
2025–	→ Millonarios (loan)	13	(0)
International career‡
2013	Colombia U20	12	(0)
2015–	Colombia	5	(0)
2016	Colombia Olympic	8	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 June 2022

Helibelton Palacios Zapata (born 11 June 1993) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Millonarios on loan from Brazilian club Cruzeiro.

Club career

Palacios made his senior debut with Deportivo Cali in 2011, in a 2–1 defeat against Águilas Doradas. ^[3] After featuring sparingly, he played the 2014 season on loan at La Equidad, ^[4] before returning to his parent club and winning the league title in 2015. ^[5]

On 27 December 2016, Deportivo Cali announced the transfer of Palacios to Belgian side Club Brugge KV. ^[6] After rarely featuring, he returned to Colombia on 16 January 2018 to join Atlético Nacional. ^[7] In October 2018, he played in the first leg of the Copa Colombia final in a 2–2 draw against Once Caldas. ^[8] His team won the second leg, and were crowned champions on a 4–3 aggregate score. ^[9]

On 4 February 2021, free agent Palacios signed for La Liga side Elche CF. ^[10] At the end of the 2022-23 La Liga season, he rejected a contract renewal offer from the club, becoming a free agent. ^[11]

In June 2023, Palacios signed a pre-contract with Brazilian Série A club Cruzeiro, joining the club on a 1.5 years contract. ^[12]

International career

Palacios at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Palacios represented Colombia at under-20 level ^{[13] [14]} before making his full international debut in 2015. He also featured for the under-23s in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 9 November 2023 ^[15]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Deportivo Cali	2011	Categoría Primera A	5	0	0	0	0	0	—		5	0
	2012		5	0	5	1	0	0	—		10	0
	2013		3	0	3	0	0	0	—		6	0
	2014		20	3	4	0	4 [a]	0	—		28	3
	2015		43	0	4	0	0	0	—		47	0
	2016		33	1	2	0	6 [b]	0	2 [c]	0	43	1
	Total		109	4	18	1	10	0	2	0	139	5
La Equidad (loan)	2014	Categoría Primera A	15	0	0	0	0	0	—		15	0
Club Brugge	2016–17	Belgian First Division A	11	0	0	0	0	0	—		11	0
	2017–18		5	0	1	0	4 [d]	0	—		10	0
	Total		16	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	21	0
Atlético Nacional	2018	Categoría Primera A	35	1	6	0	8 [b]	0	2 [c]	0	51	0
	2019		42	0	3	0	5 [e]	0	—		50	0
	2020		15	0	0	0	4 [a]	0	—		19	0
	Total		92	1	9	0	17	0	2	0	120	0
Elche	2020–21	La Liga	11	0	0	0	—		—		11	0
	2021–22		26	0	3	0	—		—		29	0
	2022–23		24	0	1	0	—		—		25	0
	Total		61	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	65	0
Cruzerio	2023	Brazilian Série A	9	0	0	0	—		—		9	0
Career total			302	5	32	1	31	0	4	0	369	6

1. Appearances in the Copa Sudamericana
2. Appearances in the Copa Libertadores
3. Appearances in the Superliga Colombiana
4. Two appearances in the Champions League and two appearances in the UEFA Europa League
5. Four appearances in the Copa Libertadores and one appearance in the Copa Sudamericana

Honours

Deportivo Cali

• Categoría Primera A: 2015 A

Atlético Nacional

• Copa Colombia: 2018

Colombia U20

• South American Youth Football Championship: 2013 ^[15]

References

1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 List of Players: Colombia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 June 2013. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2013.
2. "Helibelton Palacios". La Liga. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
3. "Águilas Doradas vs. Deportivo Cali - 14 September 2011 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
4. Tiempo, Casa Editorial El. "Helibelton Palacios es el quinto refuerzo de La Equidad". futbolred.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2023.
5. "Deportivo Cali se corona campeón de torneo apertura de la liga colombiana". Reuters. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
6. "¡Gracias Canteranos!". Depotrtivo Cali. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
7. "Helibelton Palacios arriba a Medellín para firmar con Nacional" [Helibelton Palacios arrives in Medellín to sign for Nacional] (in Spanish). RCN Televisión. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
8. "Once Caldas 2–2 Nacional: resumen, resultado y goles". Diario AS (in Spanish). 24 October 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
9. Sierra, Jeimmy Paola (1 November 2018). "Atlético Nacional se corona campeón de la Copa Águila". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2023.
10. "Helibelton Palacios, nuevo jugador del Elche CF" [Helibelton Palacios, new player of Elche CF] (in Spanish). Elche CF. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
11. Galvañ, J. A. (20 June 2023). "Helibelton Palacios confirma su salida del Elche". Información (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2023.
12. "Cruzeiro anuncia Helibelton Palacios". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). 5 July 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
13. "H. Palacios". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
14. "Emocionado tributo de bienvenida brindó Quilichao a los jóvenes campeones del sudamericano de fútbol". Proclama del Cauca. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
15. Helibelton Palacios at Soccerway. Retrieved 5 August 2017.