Background and career
Juan Fernando Quintero Paniagua, better known as Juanfer Quintero (born 18 January 1993), is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Independiente Medellín. He also played for the Colombia national team. Quintero first received attention at age 19 due to his performances in the 2013 South American Youth Championship, where Colombia won the title. He was named the tournament's MVP with five goals and four assists; shortly after he was recognized as one of the most promising youth prospects in South America and the world. After beginning his career in Colombia with Envigado and Atlético Nacional, Quintero moved to Europe with Pescara in 2012 and Porto in 2013, where he won the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in 2013. He later spent loan spells with Rennes in France and Independiente Medellín in Colombia. In 2017, he joined River Plate, initially on loan and then permanently, winning the Supercopa Argentina in 2017, the Copa Libertadores in 2018—scoring a decisive extra-time goal in the final against Boca Juniors—and the Copa Argentina in 2019. He moved to China with Shenzhen FC in 2021, before returning to River in 2022. In 2023, he signed for Atlético Junior and later moved to Racing Club, winning the Copa Sudamericana in 2024. In 2025, he joined América de Cali before returning once again to River Plate. However, in July 2026, he left the Argentine club and came back to Independiente Medellín. At youth level, Quintero won the South American Youth Championship in 2013, where he was named Most Valuable Player, and also took part in the 2013 U-20 World Cup, where he gained more praise for his talents after making a huge impact in the tournament. He made his senior debut for the Colombia in 2012 and went on to represent Colombia in the 2014 World Cup, where he scored his first world cup goal against Ivory Coast. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup he scored against Japan, becoming the first Colombian to score in two FIFA World Cup competitions. He later featured at the 2024 Copa América, helping Colombia reach the final where they finished as runners-up to Argentina.
Born in Medellín, Colombia, he joined the youth squad for Envigado after an impressive performance during a youth tournament that took place in Medellin. Quintero made his professional debut in 2009. At the end of the 2010 season, Quintero helped Envigado retain their place in the Categoría Primera A. He scored the only goal of the match in the first leg of the relegation play-offs, a 1–0 victory over Deportivo Pasto . In the second play-off match, he suffered an injury, fracturing his tibia and being ruled out for two months; however, his team won 3–0 on aggregate to secure their spot in the top tier for another season.
Quintero joined the ranks of Atlético Nacional in January 2012.
In July 2012, Quintero then joined Serie A club Pescara for a fee of $2 million, wasting no time in impressing European scouts. On 23 September 2012, he scored his first goal with the club, a free kick in a 1–1 draw against Bologna. It was reported in early 2013 that Inter Milan and Udinese have confirmed their bidding interest, although Udinese was the only club to have made an official bid. In early April 2013, it was reported that Quintero suffered an injury and would be out for a month. In mid May 2013, Quintero posted on Twitter 'goodbye and thank you' to Pescara, hinting that he was to leave the Italian side in the summer. While Pescara claimed that he had not been 'sold', it hinted at Quintero's desire to leave the club overall.
In June 2013, Quintero joined Porto from Pescara for €5 million, with the Italian club retaining 50% of the economic rights. Quintero signed a four-year contract with a release clause of €40 million. By joining Porto, he linked up with fellow countryman Jackson Martínez. Quintero made his first full debut appearance in the 2013 Emirates Cup against Napoli. He assisted Porto's first goal.
Quintero's first official match with Porto was in the 2013 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, where he came on as a substitute after 76 minutes, with Porto winning 3–0. Porto went on to win the match, thus giving Quintero his very first silverware not only in Europe, but in his club career. Quintero debuted in his first league match for the club against Vitória de Setúbal, coming on as a substitute and scoring less than a minute later. Quintero provided his first assist for the club two weeks later against Pacos Ferreira in a 1–0 victory. In a match against Vitória de Guimarães, Quintero drew a penalty that was successfully converted, thus granting him an assist in a 1–0 home victory. In a match against Arouca, Quintero came on in the 90th minute and was subsequently fouled near the box. He then converted an impressive free kick goal, just seconds after coming in. In late October, Quintero suffered a hamstring injury, expecting to be out for a month. Following his return in December, Quintero requested to play with the B-squad in order to keep his fitness up if he was not able to get guarantee minutes with the A-squad. After a long period of matches spent solely on the bench, or coming on as a late substitute during Paulo Fonseca's time as manager, averaging around 20 minutes per game in the league, Quintero found his way back into the team after new manager Luís Castro took over in March 2014. Quintero's next significant performance was against Napoli in the Europa League, where he came close to scoring his first goal in European competition, when a Napoli defender's clearance rebounded off his leg and hit the post. Quintero scored his third goal of the season against Belenenses, coming on as a half-time substitute and setting up several opportunities for teammate and fellow countryman Jackson Martínez, but eventually it would be Quintero who decided the game with the only goal in a 1–0 victory. Quintero made his first 90-minute appearance for Porto on 6 April 2014, in a home match against Académica. He provided somewhat of an assist, again for Jackson Martínez, when he was fouled in the box in the 38th minute, which resulted in a converted Jackson Martínez penalty. Quintero then scored his fourth goal of the season a week later, in the 91st minute in a 3–1 victory over S.C. Braga, after a counterattack which he started. On 21 April, Quintero came on as a second-half substitute against fellow northerners Rio Ave and made a significant impact on the match. He was involved in all three of the goals, but only got one direct assist. A chipped through ball to Jackson Martínez resulted in him being brought down for a penalty, which Martínez scored. Next, he assisted Héctor Herrera's header with a chipped through ball. The third goal of the game came from Porto right back Danilo, who scored a deflected free kick after Quintero had been fouled just outside the box.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
