 Escobar withCruz Azul in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Juan Marcelo Escobar Chena | ||
| Date of birth | (1995-07-03)3 July 1995 (age 30) | ||
| Place of birth | Luque, Paraguay | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Godoy Cruz | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2013 | Sportivo Luqueño | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2017 | Sportivo Luqueño | 97 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | Cerro Porteño | 54 | (4) |
| 2019–2024 | Cruz Azul | 142 | (11) |
| 2024 | →Toluca (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2025 | Castellón | 9 | (0) |
| 2025– | Godoy Cruz | 10 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | Paraguay U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2015 | Paraguay U23 | 4 | (0) |
| 2017–2022 | Paraguay | 12 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:01, 17 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 29 January 2022 | |||
Juan Marcelo Escobar Chena (Spanish pronunciation:[xwammaɾˈseloeskoˈβaɾˈtʃena]; born 3 July 1995) is a Paraguayan professionalfootballer who plays as either acentre-back orright-back forArgentine Primera División clubGodoy Cruz. He has also been part ofParaguay's U20 andU23 teams.
Born inLuque, Escobar started his career with hometown sideSportivo Luqueño. Promoted to the first team ahead of the2014 season, he made his first team – andPrimera División – debut on 16 February of that year, starting in a 3–0 away loss againstNacional Asunción.
Escobar subsequently became a regular starter for the side, and scored his first professional goal on 4 May 2016, netting his team's second in a 2–2 home draw againstSol de América.[1]
On 28 December 2017, Escobar agreed to a five-year contract withCerro Porteño,[2] for a rumoured fee ofUS$ 1 million.[3] He was a regular starter duringhis first campaign, playing as a central defender and partneringMarcos Cáceres.
In 2019, he joined Mexican club Cruz Azul for a fee of USD$7 million, surpassing a 20-year transfer fee record in Paraguayan football held byRoque Santa Cruz when he joinedBundesliga teamBayern Munich for USD$6.9 million in 1999.[4]
On 31 January 2024, Escobar joinedToluca on a season-long loan.[5]
On 11 February 2025,Castellón announced the signing of Escobar.[6]
On 25 July 2025, Escobar joinedArgentine Primera División clubGodoy Cruz.[7]
After representingParaguay atunder-20 level in the2015 South American Youth Football Championship,[8] andunder-23 level in the2015 Pan American Games, Escobar was first called up to the full side on 21 June 2017, for afriendly againstMexico.[9] He made his full international debut on 1 July, starting in a 2–1 loss at theCenturyLink Field inSeattle.[10]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sportivo Luqueño | 2014 | Primera División | 21 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2015 | 10 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | ||||
| 2016 | 25 | 1 | — | 1[a] | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | ||||
| 2017 | 41 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 1 | — | 43 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 97 | 1 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 102 | 2 | ||||
| Cerro Porteño | 2018 | Primera División | 34 | 0 | — | 6[b] | 0 | — | 40 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 131 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 2 | ||
| Paraguay | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals | ||
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 12 | 0 | ||
Cruz Azul
Individual
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