Gonzalo Jordy Plata Jiménez

Guayaquil produced Gonzalo Plata through Independiente del Valle, the academy that has become a regular exporter of Ecuadorian talent to Europe. His move abroad came quickly: Sporting CP signed him while he was still a teenager, and he spent time with the club's B side before working his way into the first-team picture in Lisbon.

The loan to Real Valladolid marked the turn in his career. It went well enough that the Spanish club made the move permanent in 2022, giving Plata the sustained first-team football that had been harder to find at Sporting. From there he took his career further afield, joining Qatari side Al Sadd in July 2023 before Flamengo brought him to Brazil in August 2024.

At Flamengo, the trophies followed quickly. Plata was part of the squad that won the Copa do Brasil in 2024, then added the Brazilian championship and the Copa Libertadores in 2025 — a haul that places him among the club's most decorated recent arrivals, even if his personal share of that success is not spelled out in the records.

His junior career pointed to the promise Ecuadorian football saw in him early: he won the South American Under-20 Championship in 2019 and picked up the bronze ball at the Under-20 World Cup the same year. That form translated into a senior international career, with 54 caps and nine goals for Ecuador.

Gonzalo Plata wears number 19 for Flamengo, playing as a forward with his right foot as his stronger side.