Iván Franco Díaz

Club

Club Libertad

Position

Midfielder

Nationality

Paraguay

Date of birth

2000-04-16

Birthplace

Ybycuí, Paraguay

Height

173 cm

Weight

74 kg

Shirt number

10

Iván René Franco Díaz (born 16 April 2000) is a Paraguayan footballer who plays for Libertad, as an attacking midfielder.
Club career
Born in Ybycuí, Franco joined Libertad's youth setup after being spotted at Football Dreams. Promoted to the main squad for the 2018 season, he made his professional – and Primera División – debut for Libertad on 2 February of that year, starting in a 2–2 away draw against Sportivo Luqueño. Franco scored his first professional goal on 4 March, netting his team's second in a 4–1 away routing of 3 de Febrero. Nine days later, he made his Copa Libertadores debut by starting in a 2–0 away win against Atlético Tucumán. On November 4 Franco scored in the 90+1st minute to give Gumarelo a 2–1 win vs Club Nacional. Franco finished the season with 33 appearances and 7 goals across the Primera División Apertura and Clausura seasons, with Libertad finishing 3rd in both. He contributed with five appearances in Copa Libertadores, as his side were knocked out by eventual runners up Boca Juniors in the round of 16. Franco also made an appearance in the first ever edition of the Copa Paraguay.

On 9 March 2019, Franco scored his first and second goals of the 2019 season, giving Libertad a 2–2 draw with Sportivo Luqueño. On 19 October, he scored a minute into stoppage time to rescue a 1–0 win over Sol de América. Franco ended the Primera División season with 11 goals and 5 assists in 37 appearances across both halves, with Libertad finishing 3rd in the Apertura and 2nd in the Clausura. He helped Gumarelo win the 2019 Copa Paraguay, making 4 appearances and scoring 3 goals during the tournament.

Franco scored his first goal of the 2020 season on 7 March, helping Libertad to a 5–1 win over Club General Díaz. Three days later he scored his first career Copa Libertadores goal to give Libertad a 3–2 win against Caracas. On 18 March 2020, Franco signed a contract extension with Libertad until 2025. He ended the season with 1 goals and 1 assist in 22 Primera División appearances (including an appearance in the Clausura playoffs), plus 3 appearances and 1 goal in Copa Libertadores.

Franco helped Libertad to the 2021 Apertura title, making 10 appearances and recording an assist. They were unable to repeat as champs in the Clausura season, finishing 4th with Franco scoring once in 9 games. He made 4 appearances and had 2 assists in Copa Libertadores, as well as 9 appearances and an assist in Copa Sudamericana, helping Libertad reach the semi