Fran Sol
![]() Sol with Dynamo Kyiv in 2019 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Francisco Sol Ortiz[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 13 March 1992||
Place of birth | Madrid, Spain[1] | ||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Youth career | |||
1998–2000 | AV Vicálvaro | ||
2000–2002 | Rayo Vallecano | ||
2002–2010 | Real Madrid | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2010–2014 | Real Madrid C | 62 | (33) |
2012–2013 | → Lugo (loan) | 12 | (1) |
2013 | → Oviedo (loan) | 10 | (0) |
2014–2016 | Villarreal B | 71 | (27) |
2015 | Villarreal | 2 | (0) |
2016–2018 | Willem II | 79 | (39) |
2019–2023 | Dynamo Kyiv | 17 | (2) |
2020–2021 | → Tenerife (loan) | 38 | (10) |
2021–2022 | → Eibar (loan) | 29 | (5) |
2022–2023 | → Málaga (loan) | 32 | (3) |
2023–2025 | AEK Larnaca | 63 | (20) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:22, 26 May 2025 (UTC) |
Francisco "Fran" Sol Ortiz (born 13 March 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward.
He played for Real Madrid and Villarreal early in his career, spending nearly all of that time out on loan or in reserve teams. He had 21⁄2 successful years with Willem II of the Dutch Eredivisie, totalling 88 matches and 47 goals. His four-year spell at Dynamo Kyiv was mostly spent in his country's Segunda División.
Club career
[edit]Real Madrid
[edit]Born in Madrid, Sol joined Real Madrid's youth system in July 2002 at the age of 10, and began playing with the Alevín B-team. In the 2010–11 season, he made his senior debut with Real Madrid C, in a match against CF Trival Valderas in the Tercera División.[2]
For the 2012–13 campaign, Sol was loaned to CD Lugo.[3] He made his professional debut on 25 August 2012, coming on as a substitute for Mauro Quiroga in the 77th minute of a 1–1 away draw against UD Las Palmas.[4] Early into the following month, he made his first start in the Segunda División, helping his team to the same result at Sporting de Gijón.[5]
On 14 December 2012, Sol scored the 3–2 game winner against Real Madrid Castilla.[6][7] On 16 January of the following year, however, his loan spell was ended and he joined Real Oviedo of the Segunda División B, in the same situation.[8][9] He made his debut with the Asturians on 20 January 2013, replacing Diego Cervero for the last minutes of the away match against CF Fuenlabrada.[10]
Villarreal
[edit]Sol moved to Villarreal CF's reserves on 2 July 2014.[11] On 25 April 2015, he appeared in his first competitive game with the Valencians' main squad, replacing Jaume Costa in a 0–0 La Liga draw at Real Sociedad.[12]
Willem II
[edit]Sol moved abroad for the first time on 25 June 2016, signing a three-year deal at Eredivisie club Willem II[13] and scoring on his debut on 6 August, a 1–4 home defeat to SBV Vitesse; two weeks later he netted the winner in a 2–1 victory at AFC Ajax, his team's first win there in history.[14]
In October 2017, Sol underwent an operation to remove a testicular tumour.[15] The following 10 March, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win over league leaders PSV Eindhoven at the Koning Willem II Stadion, putting him on top of the season's goalscoring charts.[16]
Sol scored another three goals on 26 August 2018 in a victory by the same score over Heracles Almelo.[17] Across his 30-month stay in the Netherlands he was the top flight's highest goalscorer with 39, five ahead of nearest rival Luuk de Jong.[18]
Dynamo Kyiv
[edit]In January 2019, Sol signed for FC Dynamo Kyiv of the Ukrainian Premier League for an estimated €3 million fee.[18] He made his debut on 14 February away to Olympiacos F.C. in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League, starting in a 2–2 draw.[19] On his maiden league appearance 11 days later, he scored in a 5–0 home win over FC Zorya Luhansk.[20] His debut season was ended in the next match against FC Desna Chernihiv, due to a shoulder injury.[21][22]
Sol returned to Spain and its second division on 2 October 2020, after agreeing to a one-year loan contract with CD Tenerife.[23] The following 7 July, he moved to SD Eibar in the same league also in a temporary deal.[24] Used almost equally as a starter and substitute, he scored five goals – including two in a 3–1 victory at Málaga CF on 23 April 2022 while playing 14 minutes[25]– as the Basques made the play-off semi-finals.
On 6 July 2022, Sol was loaned for a third time to a side in his country's second division, this time Málaga.[26] More often than not a substitute, he contributed just three goals – plus one in the cup – as his team suffered relegation.[27]
AEK Larnaca
[edit]In July 2023, Sol moved to the third foreign country of his career, signing for AEK Larnaca FC of compatriot José Luis Oltra.[28] In just his second game in the Cypriot First Division on 28 August, he scored four goals in a 5–5 home draw with Ethnikos Achna FC.[29]
Personal life
[edit]Sol learned four foreign languages: French, Dutch, English and Russian.[30] A fan of science fiction literature, he wrote his own novel in 2020 titled Madrid 2035, in which the protagonist is a former tennis player.[31]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of match played 30 May 2025
Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Real Madrid C | 2009–10[32] | Tercera División | 4 | 7 | — | — | — | 4 | 7 | |||
2010–11[32] | 9 | 7 | — | — | — | 9 | 7 | |||||
2011–12[32] | 18 | 12 | — | — | — | 18 | 12 | |||||
2013–14[32] | Segunda División B | 31 | 7 | — | — | — | 31 | 7 | ||||
Total | 62 | 33 | — | — | — | 62 | 33 | |||||
Lugo (loan) | 2012–13[33] | Segunda División | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||
Oviedo (loan) | 2012–13[33] | Segunda División B | 10 | 0 | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
Villarreal B | 2014–15[33] | Segunda División B | 36 | 11 | — | — | — | 36 | 11 | |||
2015–16[33] | 35 | 16 | — | — | 2[b] | 0 | 37 | 16 | ||||
Total | 71 | 27 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 73 | 27 | ||||
Villarreal | 2014–15[33] | La Liga | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
Willem II | 2016–17[34] | Eredivisie | 30 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 10 | ||
2017–18[34] | 32 | 16 | 5 | 4 | — | — | 37 | 20 | ||||
2018–19[34] | 17 | 13 | 3 | 4 | — | — | 20 | 17 | ||||
Total | 79 | 39 | 9 | 8 | — | — | 88 | 47 | ||||
Dynamo Kyiv | 2018–19[35] | Ukrainian Premier League | 2 | 1 | — | 2[c] | 1 | — | 4 | 2 | ||
2019–20[35] | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | |||
2020–21[35] | 2 | 0 | — | — | 1[e] | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||||
Total | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 4 | ||
Tenerife | 2020–21[33] | Segunda División | 38 | 10 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 10 | ||
Eibar | 2021–22[33] | Segunda División | 29 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[f] | 0 | 34 | 5 | |
Málaga | 2022–23 | Segunda División | 32 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 34 | 4 | ||
AEK Larnaca | 2023–24 | Cypriot First Division | 34 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 4[g] | 0 | — | 40 | 15 | |
2024–25 | 29 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2[h] | 0 | — | 35 | 6 | |||
Total | 63 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 75 | 21 | |||
Career total | 415 | 140 | 25 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 456 | 152 |
- ^ Includes Copa del Rey, KNVB Cup, Ukrainian Cup, Cypriot Cup
- ^ a b Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance in Ukrainian Super Cup
- ^ Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
Honours
[edit]Dynamo Kyiv
AEK Larnaca
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Francisco Sol Ortiz" (in Spanish). Málaga CF. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ Asenjo, Borja (30 August 2010). "Un golazo de Seidel le da la victoria a los alfareros en 'terreno blanco'" [Seidel wonder goal gives alfareros the win in 'white territory']. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ "Fran Sol, cedido al Lugo" [Fran Sol, loaned to Lugo] (in Spanish). Todo Mercado Web. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ "Entretenido encuentro que pudo ganar cualquiera" [Entertaining match could have gone both ways]. Marca (in Spanish). 25 August 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ "El Sporting sigue sin conocer el sabor del triunfo" [Sporting yet to taste win]. Marca (in Spanish). 9 September 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ "El Castilla mereció más en Lugo" [Castilla deserved more in Lugo] (in Spanish). Real Madrid CF. 14 December 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ "El gol "más duro" de marcar para Fran Sol" [The "hardest" goal Fran Sol ever scored]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 15 December 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ Armero, Andrés; Fente, Manuel (16 January 2013). "Sol se marcha cedido al Oviedo y Guayre ficha por el Lugo" [Sol leaves for Oviedo on loan and Guayre signs for Lugo]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ "Real Oviedo, Fran Sol confirma su llegada" [Real Oviedo, Fran Sol confirms arrival] (in Spanish). Todo Mercado Web. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ "Golpe de autoridad en Fuenlabrada" [They stake a claim in Fuenlabrada] (in Spanish). Fútbol Asturiano. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ "Cuatro refuerzos para el Villarreal B" [Four additions to Villarreal B] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. 2 July 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ Aldunate, Ramiro (25 April 2015). "La Liga se les hace larga" [Neverending League for them]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ^ Roca, Juan F. (25 June 2016). "Fran Sol ficha por tres temporadas por el Willem II holandés" [Fran Sol signs for three years at Netherlands' Willem II]. Levante-EMV (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ "Fran Sol hace historia con el Willem II" [Fran Sol makes history with Willem II]. Marca (in Spanish). 21 August 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ "Willem II fans pay touching tribute to Fran Sol after undergoing operation to remove tumour". Goal. 28 October 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ "Fran Sol anota un 'hat-trick' ante el PSV y ya es Pichichi en Holanda" [Fran Sol scores a hat-trick against PSV and is now top scorer in Holland]. Marca (in Spanish). 10 March 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ "Sol nets hat-trick as Willem II rout Heracles". Football Oranje. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ a b Manchón, Martín (16 January 2019). "Se acabó el culebrón: Fran Sol ficha por el Dinamo de Kiev" [The soap opera is over: Fran Sol signs for Dynamo Kyiv]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ Van Beek, Yvonne (14 February 2019). "Fran Sol speelt met Dynamo Kiev gelijk tegen Olympiakos Piraeus van Kostas Tsimikas" [Fran Sol plays in Dynamo Kyiv draw against Kostas Tsimikas' Olympiacos]. Brabants Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ "Paulo Fonseca reentra no campeonato com vitória" [Paulo Fonseca re-enters championship with victory]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 25 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ "Соль может пропустить около двух месяцев" [Sol could miss around two months] (in Russian). Football UA. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ "Соль и Вербич в нынешнем сезоне больше не сыграют, Беседин может успеть восстановиться к последним матчам" [Sol and Verbič will not feature the rest of the season, Besyedin might come back for the last matches] (in Russian). Football UA. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ "Fran Sol, refuerzo ofensivo para el CD Tenerife" [Fran Sol, attacking addition for CD Tenerife] (in Spanish). CD Tenerife. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- ^ "Fran Sol, nuevo goleador armero" [Fran Sol, new armero scorer] (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ "Pinchan el globo del Málaga CF de Guede (1–3)" [Guede's Málaga CF's balloon bursts (1–3)]. Málaga Hoy (in Spanish). 23 April 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ "Shots and goals with Fran Sol". Málaga CF. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "El posible destino exótico de Fran Sol: coincidiría con dos ex del Málaga" [Fran Sol's possible exotic destination: he would be a teammate of two ex-Málaga players] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ Fernández, Alberto S. (3 July 2023). "Fran Sol emigra al AEK Larnaca de Chipre" [Fran Sol emigrates to Cyprus' AEK Larnaca]. Málaga Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Fran Sol anota un póker e iguala sus goles de la pasada temporada" [Fran Sol scores four goals and equals his record from last season] (in Spanish). Sport Direct Radio. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ Cariño, Carlos (8 September 2022). "Fran Sol: "No es habitual que un futbolista escriba un libro de ciencia-ficción"" [Fran Sol: "It's not normal for a footballer to write a science fiction book"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ Cerezo, Hugo (12 July 2020). "Fran Sol se lanza a la escritura y presenta su primera novela: Madrid 2035" [Fran Sol launches himself into writing and presents his first novel: Madrid 2035]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Fran Sol". Be Soccer. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Fran Sol at BDFutbol
- ^ a b c Fran Sol at WorldFootball.net
- ^ a b c d e f Fran Sol at Soccerway