Francisco Javier Álvarez Rodríguez

Fran Álvarez marked his arrival in Poland the direct way: he scored on his debut for Widzew Łódź against Puszcza Niepołomice. He had come from Spain on a free transfer in June 2023, on a two-year deal that the club later extended until 2028, and he wears the number 10 shirt in the Ekstraklasa.

The path there ran through Villarreal. Álvarez came up through the club's youth system and played for Villarreal C in the Tercera División during the 2016–17 season, the same year he featured in the Copa del Rey Juvenil. He stepped up to Villarreal B for the 2017–18 campaign in the Segunda División B and stayed until January 2020, making around 30 appearances.

The move to Real Valladolid Promesas gave him more of the ball and more of the goals: five in 22 matches for the reserve side across the back half of 2019–20 and the whole of 2020–21. In July 2021 he joined Albacete Balompié, the club of the province where he was born, and the 2021–22 season became the strongest line on his record — he was a key player as Albacete won promotion from the Primera División RFEF to the Segunda División. He stayed a further season before leaving for Widzew.

In Poland the goals have kept coming from midfield. During the 2024–25 Ekstraklasa season he was among Widzew's leading scorers, with seven in the league and more than ten in all competitions.

He has no senior caps for Spain, and no individual awards or team trophies are recorded for his senior career beyond the promotion with Albacete.