Bengaluru FC part ways with defender Juanan by mutual consent

The defender has made 71 appearances for the Blues in ISL.

Indian Super League (ISL) club Bengaluru FC have parted ways with Juanan, the club confirmed on Monday afternoon. The defender was an integral part of the Blues' squad in the last four seasons.

"Bengaluru FC can confirm that the club has mutually agreed to part ways with Spanish defender Juan Gonzalez. The club would like to put on record its immense gratitude for Juanan's contributions over the last five seasons. We wish him well for the future," read their official statement.

Juanan began his football career at the youth team of San Pedro, before shifting base to RCD Mallorca's and CD San Francisco's youth sides. In 2007, he moved to Deportivo la Coruna, where he initially impressed for the B team before getting promoted to their senior side.

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In 2009, Juanan signed with Real Madrid's Reserves team. Stints at Fortuna Dusseldorf, Hungarian club Ujpest FC and USA-based Rayo OKC followed. Bengaluru FC came calling for the defender in 2016. He played an important role at the Blues in his very first season, as they reached the AFC Cup final. Less than three years later, the 34-year-old also lifted the Indian Super League title - at the end of the 2018-19 season.

Overall, the centre-back has made 71 appearances for BFC in the ISL. He has also scored five goals, two of which came in the 2020-21 season.

In ISL 2020-21, Juanan clocked 1177 minutes across 14 matches, before an injury ruled him out for the rest of their campaign. He made 598 passes with an accuracy of 81.1%, while also registering 16 tackles, 14 interceptions, 46 clearances and 25 blocks. Post the ISL, the Spaniard also played against Tribhuwan Army in the AFC Cup play-offs in April.

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Bengaluru FC's pre-season preparations

Kristian Opseth, Fran Gonzalez and Dimas Delgado are among the foreign players that have already left Bengaluru FC. Cleiton Silva and Erik Paartalu are expected to continue. The club have also confirmed the contract extensions of Sunil Chhetri and Suresh Singh Wangjam, and have completed the signing of Bidyashagar Singh as reported by Khel Now earlier.

The Blues did poorly last season in the ISL, finishing only at seventh place. Under new head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli, the Karnataka outfit will look to produce an improved display in the forthcoming season, with the additional responsibility of qualifying for the AFC Cup.

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