John Mercado
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Anthony Mercado Cuero | ||
| Date of birth | 3 June 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Guayaquil, Ecuador | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sparta Prague | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Clan Juvenil | |||
| 2016–2019 | Panamá | ||
| 2020–2022 | Athletico Paranaense | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022 | Athletico Paranaense | 1 | (0) |
| 2022 | → CSA (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2023 | Vilafranquense | 13 | (2) |
| 2023–2025 | AVS | 61 | (7) |
| 2025– | Sparta Prague | 27 | (8) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Ecuador U15 | ||
| 2019 | Ecuador U17 | 13 | (3) |
| 2020 | Ecuador U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2024– | Ecuador | 6 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 26 July 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 May 2026 | |||
John Anthony Mercado Cuero (born 3 June 2002) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Czech First League club Sparta Prague and the Ecuador national team.
Club career
[edit]Born in Guayaquil, Mercado agreed to a contract with Athletico Paranaense in July 2019,[1] but only moved to his new side in August 2020, after his 18th birthday.[2] After playing for the under-20s, he impressed manager Alberto Valentim in 2022, and was promoted to the first team squad.[3]
Mercado made his professional debut on 2 March 2022, coming on as a second-half substitute for Léo Cittadini in a 0–2 away loss against Palmeiras, for the year's Recopa Sudamericana.[4][5] In July, Athletico sent him on loan to Série B club CSA until the end of the season.[6]
In January 2023, Mercado terminated his contract with Athletico Paranaense and moved to Portugal, joining Liga Portugal 2 side Vilafranquense.[7] At the end of the 2022–23 season, Vilafranquense relocated to Vila das Aves and was rebranded as AVS Futebol SAD.[8] On 18 December 2023, he extended his contract with AVS until 2027.[9]
On 10 August 2025, Mercado signed a contract with Czech First League club Sparta Prague.[10]
International career
[edit]Mercado represented Ecuador at under-15 level in the 2017 South American U-15 Championship, and at under-17 level in the 2019 South American U-17 Championship[11] and the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[12]
Mercado debuted for the senior Ecuador national team on 6 September 2024 in a World Cup qualifier against Brazil at the Estádio Couto Pereira. He substituted Kevin Rodríguez in the 68th minute, Brazil won 1–0.[13]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of 24 May 2026[14]
| Club | Season | League | State League | Cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Athletico Paranaense | 2022 | Série A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| CSA (loan) | 2022 | Série B | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||||
| Vilafranquense | 2022–23 | Liga Portugal 2 | 13 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 2 | ||||
| AVS | 2023–24 | Liga Portugal 2 | 28 | 4 | — | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 2[b] | 1 | 34 | 6 | ||
| 2024–25 | Primeira Liga | 33 | 3 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2[c] | 0 | 36 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 61 | 7 | — | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 4 | 1 | 70 | 10 | ||||
| Sparta Prague | 2025–26 | Czech First League | 26 | 7 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 9[d] | 1 | — | 37 | 9 | |||
| Career total | 110 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 133 | 21 | ||
- ↑ Appearance(s) in Recopa Sudamericana
- ↑ Appearance(s) in Liga Portugal 2 Playoffs
- ↑ Appearance(s) in Primeira Liga Playoffs
- ↑ Appearance(s) in UEFA Conference League
International
[edit]- As of match played 30 May 2026
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecuador | 2024 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 0 | |
References
[edit]- ↑ "Athletico contrata três novatos que estavam no futebol do Exterior" [Athletico sign three youngsters who were in the foreign football] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Bem Paraná. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ↑ "El juvenil John Mercado fue fichado por el Atlético Paranaense brasileño" [The youngster John Mercado was signed up by Brazilian Atlético Paranaense] (in Spanish). El Comercio. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ↑ ""Vem gostando muito"; Valentim se rende ao talento de atacante e Athletico muda de ideia" ["He is liking a lot"; Valentim surrenders to the talent of forward and Athletico change their mind] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Bolavip. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ↑ "Atuações do Athletico: atacantes somem, e John Mercado estreia contra o Palmeiras na Recopa" [Performances of Athletico: forwards disappear, and John Mercado debuts against Palmeiras in the Recopa] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ↑ "Atacante John Mercado estreou entre os profissionais do Furacão" [Forward John Mercado debuted amongst the professionals of Furacão] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Club Athletico Paranaense. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ↑ "John Mercado é emprestado para o CSA" [John Mercado loaned to CSA]. OneFootball (in Brazilian Portuguese). 6 July 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ↑ "John Mercado rescinde com o Athletico e acerta com time de Portugal" [John Mercado terminated contract with Athletico and reaches agreement with Portuguese team]. Globo Esporte (in Brazilian Portuguese). 20 January 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ↑ "Vilafranquense SAD assume nova imagem na transferência para Vila das Aves" [Vilafranquense SAD takes on new image over relocation to Vila das Aves]. Público (in European Portuguese). 17 April 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ↑ "Aves SAD: avançado equatoriano John Mercado renova contrato" [Aves SAD: Ecuadorian forward John Mercado renews contract]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 18 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ↑ Lizec, Jiří; Pekár, Tomáš (10 August 2025). "Pátá letní posila. Preciadův parťák už patří Spartě" [Fifth summer signing. Preciado's partner now belongs to Sparta]. Sport.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ↑ "ELLOS SON NUESTROS TRICOLORES SUB 17" [THESE ARE OUR UNDER-17 TRICOLORES] (in Spanish). FEF. 7 March 2019. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- ↑ "Los convocados de Ecuador para el Mundial Sub 17 de Brasil" [The called up ones for Ecuador for the Under-17 World Cup in Brazil] (in Spanish). El Canal de Fútbol. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ↑ "Brazil v Ecuador game report". ESPN. 6 September 2024.
- ↑ John Mercado at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
External links
[edit]- Athletico Paranaense profile Archived 2022-03-11 at the Wayback Machine (in Brazilian Portuguese)
- 2002 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Guayaquil
- Ecuadorian men's footballers
- 21st-century Ecuadorian sportsmen
- Men's association football wingers
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players
- Liga Portugal 2 players
- Club Athletico Paranaense players
- Centro Sportivo Alagoano players
- U.D. Vilafranquense players
- AVS Futebol SAD players
- Ecuador men's youth international footballers
- Ecuador men's under-20 international footballers
- Ecuador men's international footballers
- Ecuadorian expatriate men's footballers
- Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Brazil
- Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
- Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil
- Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
- Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic
- Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic
- AC Sparta Prague players
- Czech First League players