Franco Matías Russo (born 25 October 1994) is an Argentine 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 a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation wi ...

club

Qatar SC Qatar Sports Club () is a sports club based in Doha, Qatar. It is best known for its football team which competes in the Qatar Stars League. The club was founded in 1961 with the merger of two Qatari football clubs, Al-Oruba and Al-Nasour. They ...

Club career

Born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Russo finished his formation with

All Boys Club Atlético All Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Floresta, Buenos Aires. The institution is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Arge ...

before moving to Spain for a trial with

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

. Despite being told he would earn a contract with the club, he was released after suffering a

quadriceps The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

injury. After living in a room in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and a failed trial at

Lleida Esportiu Lleida Club de Futbol is a Spanish football team based in Lleida, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in July 2011, it plays in , holding home games at Camp d'Esports, with a capacity of 13,500 seats. History In mid-May 2011, hi ...

, Russo signed for

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

side CDJ Tamarite, and made his senior debut with the club during the 2014–15 campaign. On 25 June 2015, he agreed to a two-year contract with

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

, being initially assigned to reserves in

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. On 28 January 2017, after featuring rarely, Russo was loaned to

FC Vilafranca Futbol Club Vilafranca is a Spanish football team based in Vilafranca del Penedès, Catalonia. Founded in 1904, it currently plays in , holding home matches at ''Camp Municipal'' with a capacity for 5,000 seats. History The club was founded in ...

in the fourth division, until June. He left his parent club as his contract expired on 30 June, and signed for

Ontinyent CF Ontinyent Club de Fútbol was a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Ontinyent, in the autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia. Founded in 1947 it held home games at ''Estadio El Clariano'', with a capacity ...

on 5 August. On 9 July 2018, Russo signed a two-year contract with

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 ...

side

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

. He made his professional debut on 11 September, starting in a 1–0 home win against

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 ...

for the season's

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

. Russo made his debut in the second division on 29 September 2018, starting in a 1–1 away draw against

CD Lugo Club Deportivo Lugo is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Primera Federación, holding home games at ''Estadio Anxo ...

. He contributed with only four league appearances during the campaign, as his side achieved promotion to

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 ...

, and was loaned to second division side

SD Ponferradina Sociedad Deportiva Ponferradina, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Ponferrada, in the El Bierzo region, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 7 June 1922, it plays in Primera Federación - Group 1, holding home ma ...

on 12 July 2019. Upon returning, Russo was again a backup option as Mallorca returned to the top tier. He made his debut in the category on 21 August 2021, starting in a 1–0 away win over

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

. Russo became a regular starter during the 2021–22 season under manager Luis García, and scored his first goal in the top tier on 4 December 2021, in a 2–1 win at

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

. On 16 January 2023, Russo signed a contract with

Bulgarian First League The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

club

Ludogorets Razgrad Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 (), commonly known as Ludogorets Razgrad or simply Ludogorets, is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Razgrad, which currently competes in the First Professional Football League ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russo, Franco 1994 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine men's footballers Men's association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Belgian Pro League players Liga MX players Qatar Stars League players RCD Espanyol B footballers FC Vilafranca players Ontinyent CF players RCD Mallorca players SD Ponferradina players PFC Ludogorets Razgrad players Oud-Heverlee Leuven players Querétaro F.C. footballers Qatar SC players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar 21st-century Argentine sportsmen