Diego Palacios
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego José Palacios Espinoza[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 12 July 1999 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Guayaquil, Ecuador | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Left-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team |
Universidad Católica (on loan from Corinthians) | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | Norte América | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Deportivo Azogues | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Norte América | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Aucas | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Deportivo Azogues | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Norte América | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | Aucas | 63 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | → Willem II (loan) | 27 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2023 | Los Angeles FC | 104 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Corinthians | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025–2026 | → Karpaty Lviv (loan) | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2026– | → Universidad Católica (loan) | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| Ecuador U20 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018– | Ecuador | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 6 January 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
Diego José Palacios Espinoza (born 12 July 1999), commonly known as "Chiqui",[3] is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Universidad Católica on loan from Corinthians and the Ecuador national team.
During the 2020 CONCACAF Champions Cup, he won the award for Best Young Player.[4]
Early career
Born in Guayaquil, Palacios made his senior debut with Deportivo Azogues in the 2014 Segunda Categoría. After a short period at Norte América, he moved to Aucas in 2016 after both clubs had a partnership.
Palacios spent a season with the youth sides before making his first team debut for Aucas in 2017, in the Ecuadorian Serie B. A regular starter, he helped the club in their promotion to the Ecuadorian Serie A, and made his debut in the category in 2018.
Willem II
In July 2018 he agreed a season long loan with Willem II.[5] He made his debut in the Dutch Eredivisie on 11 August 2018 playing the full 90 minutes against VVV-Venlo.[6]
Los Angeles FC
On 12 August 2019, Palacios signed a contract with Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC.[7]
Corinthians
On 2 January 2024, Palacios was announced at Corinthians.[8]
International career
In October 2018 he made his debut for the Ecuador national team in a friendly game against the Qatar national team.[9]
Palacios was selected in the 28 player Ecuador squad for the 2021 Copa América.[10]
Palacios was named in the Ecuadorian squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[11]
