Héctor Junior Firpo Adames (born 22 August 1996), known as Junior Firpo or Junior mononymously, is a Dominican professional footballer who plays as a left-back for La Liga club Real Betis and the Dominican Republic national team.
Club career Real Betis Firpo was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He moved to Benalmádena, Málaga, Andalusia at the age of six and joined Real Betis' youth setup in June 2014, aged 18, from Puerto Malagueño. He made his senior debut with the reserves on 15 February 2015, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Granada B in the Segunda División B.
Promoted to the B-side ahead of the 2015–16 season, Junior appeared regularly during the season, which ended in relegation. On 17 April 2016 he scored his first senior goal, netting the third in a 4–0 away win over Algeciras..
On 1 August 2017, after spending the whole pre-season with the main squad, Junior renewed his contract until 2021. He made his first team – and La Liga – debut the following 12 February, starting in a 1–0 away defeat of Deportivo La Coruña, becoming the first Dominican Republic-born player to have ever featured in La Liga.
Junior scored his first professional goal on 17 March 2018, netting the first in a 3–0 home win against Espanyol. On 19 August, after being promoted to the main squad, he agreed to a contract extension until 2023.
Barcelona On 4 August 2019, Junior signed a five-year deal with Barcelona for €18 million plus €12 million in add-ons. He made his debut three weeks later in a 5–2 home win over his former club Betis, playing the last nine minutes in place of Rafinha. On 28 September, Junior scored his first goal for Barcelona and the second goal against Getafe in a 2–0 win. On 27 November, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 3–1 group stage victory over Borussia Dortmund.
On 13 February 2021, Firpo scored his second (and last) goal for Barça in a 5–1 home win over Alavés.
Leeds United
On 6 July 2021, Firpo signed a four-year deal with Premier League club Leeds United for a fee of €15 million plus add-ons, with Barcelona reserving rights to 25% of his future sales. This made him the first Dominican player to play in the Premier League. He was expected to replace Ezgjan Alioski at the left back role after Alioski's contract expired, and made his debut for the club in that position on 14 August in the second half of the season opener at Old Trafford, where he came on as a tactical substitute for Rodrigo in a 5–1 loss.
He scored his first goal for the club in Leeds' 3–1 win in the FA Cup fourth round at the Wham Stadium over Accrington Stanley on 28 January 2023. On 25 February 2023, Firpo scored his first Premier League goal, and the first goal of new manager Javi Gracia's reign in a 1–0 win against Southampton at Elland Road.
Firpo did not feature regularly as part of new manager Daniel Farke's back line for the 2023–24 season, making only four appearances in the first five months, only one of these as a starter. However, following Djed Spence's loan termination by Leeds, as well as an injury to Sam Byram, Firpo became the first-choice left-back in the new year, assisting 4 goals in three league games.
Firpo tallied a career-high four goals and 10 assists during the 2024–25 EFL Championship season with Leeds United, which saw the team get promoted back to the Premier League for the first time since 2023, when Firpo was originally relegated with the team.
Betis return On 17 July 2025, Firpo agreed his return to Betis on a three-year deal.
International career Despite being born in the Dominican Republic, he has spent the majority of his life in Spain and continues to hold citizenship for both countries. On 9 October 2015, he played the entire second half of a 6–0 non-FIFA friendly loss for the Dominican Republic national team against the Brazil Olympic team.
On 31 August 2018, Junior was called up to the Spain under-21 team for two 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying matches against Albania and Northern Ireland. He made his debut on 7 September, starting in a 3–0 win against the former.
On 28 February 2024, Junior announced that he would represent the Dominican Republic going forward following talks with the national team's manager.
He made his debut on 23 March 2024 in a friendly against Aruba.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsReal Betis B2014–15Segunda División B2000———202015–16Segunda División B30100———3012017–18Segunda División B13100———131Total45200———452Real Betis2017–18La Liga14200———1422018–19La Liga24310—40—293Total38510—40—435Barcelona2019–20La Liga17120—40002312020–21La Liga7140—6010181Total24260—10010412Leeds United2021–22Premier League2401020——2702022–23Premier League1914110——2422023–24Championship2904000—303602024–25Championship3242010——354Total104511140—301226Betis2025–26La Liga12010—30—1602026–27La Liga100000100020Total13010—4000180Career total22113191401804026615
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsAssistsDominican Republic 2024103420253102026210Total1554
Dominican Republic's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Firpo goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Junior FirpoNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 12 October 2024 Bermuda National Stadium, Devonshire Parish, Bermuda 4–0 5–0 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League B2 5–03 15 October 2024 4–0 5–04 25 March 2025 Estadio Cibao FC, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic 2–0 2–0 Friendly5 26 March 2026 1–0 2–2 2025–26 CONCACAF Series
Honours Leeds United EFL Championship: 2024–25
Spain U21 UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2019
Individual PFA Team of the Year: 2024–25 Championship
References
External links Profile at the Leeds United F.C. website
Beticopedia profile