John Anthony Mercado Cuero

Mercado started out at River Plate before switching to Independiente del Valle, then left for Brazil to join Athletico Paranaense, where he made his professional debut in March 2022 and, later that year, went out on loan to Centro Sportivo Alagoano. In January 2023 he tore up his contract in Curitiba and moved to Portugal on a free transfer to join U.D. Vilafranquense. He stayed through that transition and signed an extension in December 2023, leading to the switch to Sparta Praha in August 2025, a deal worth roughly €3 million in a fixed fee plus a further €1 million in add-ons.

With Athletico Paranaense he won the Copa Sudamericana in 2021, a title that came before his senior debut for the club. On the international stage, Mercado had already made his mark at youth level, scoring for Ecuador at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup, and he later stepped up to the senior side, debuting in September 2024 in a World Cup qualifier against Brazil. He has since been included in Ecuador's squads for the Copa América and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, adding caps for the national team along the way.