Franco de Paula Ferreira (born 27 January 1993), simply known as Franco, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Portuguesa.
Career Franco was born in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, and began his career with hometown side Uberlândia EC. After making his senior debut at the age of 17 in 2010, he moved on loan to Cruzeiro.
After returning to Uberlândia, Franco joined Joinville in 2013, initially for the under-20s. After making his debut with the main squad in the Copa Santa Catarina, he featured in 12 matches in the 2014 Série B as the club achieved promotion as champions.
On 6 February 2015, Franco terminated his contract with JEC, and signed for Mogi Mirim five days later. On 31 May 2016, after a short period at Cabofriense, he moved to Rio Claro.
In the following three years, Franco served loans at Série C side Macaé Esporte and Série D sides Maringá and América de Natal. Ahead of the 2020 season, he agreed to a contract with FC Cascavel.
In December 2021, Franco was included in Velo Clube's squad for the upcoming campaign. On 26 October of the following year, after playing for Pérolas Negras, he returned to Velo.
On 2 June 2023, Franco joined Portuguesa Santista for the year's Copa Paulista. On 16 April 2024, after being a regular starter as the club won the state cup, he moved to São José-SP.
On 2 August 2024, Franco was loaned to Portuguesa for the remainder of the year. He only featured in three matches before suffering a knee injury, and had his contract extended on three occasions due to his absence.
Career statistics
ClubSeasonLeagueState LeagueCupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsUberlândia2010Mineiro—10———10Joinville2014Série B1206000——1802015Série A000000——00Total1206000——180Mogi Mirim2015Série B15140———191Cabofriense2016Carioca—103———103Rio Claro2016Paulista————15Appearance(s) in Copa Paulista11512017Paulista A2—190———1902018—142——1603022019—162——81243Total—494——392886Macaé (loan)2017Série C100———1Appearance(s) in Copa Rio0110Maringá (loan)2018Série D00————00América de Natal (loan)2019Série D40————40FC Cascavel2020Série D9030———120Uberlândia2021Série D819110——182Velo Clube2022Paulista A2—162———162Pérolas Negras2022Série D103100——60263Velo Clube2023Paulista A2—150———150Portuguesa Santista2023Paulista A2————1581582024—16510——175Total—16510—1583213São José-SP2024Série D132————132Portuguesa (loan)2024Paulista————3030Career total817139152000641028632
Honours Joinville Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 2014
Portuguesa Santista Copa Paulista: 2023
References