# Miguel Palanca

Miguel Palanca Fernández (born 18 December 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer. Mainly a right winger, he also operated as a forward.

## Club career

Born in Tarragona, Catalonia, Palanca was a product of RCD Espanyol's youth academy, playing once for the first team in 2006–07 then spending the following season solely with the reserves. His La Liga debut arrived on 29 April 2007, as he came on as a substitute for Albert Riera during the second half of a 3–1 away loss against Sevilla FC.
Subsequently, Palanca was sold to Real Madrid. On 13 December 2008 he made his debut for the main squad, replacing Wesley Sneijder in the first half of a 2–0 away defeat to FC Barcelona. Again from the bench, he helped his team beat Valencia CF one week later at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (1–0).
Palanca was loaned to CD Castellón of the Segunda División for 2009–10. The following campaign, after the club's relegation, he signed a two-year contract with another side in that league, Elche CF, with Real Madrid having an option to re-buy on any given period during that timeframe.
On 27 January 2015, after one and a half seasons with CD Numancia also in the second tier, Palanca signed with Australian club Adelaide United FC. He was released at the end of the season, after his contract was not renewed.
On 8 July 2015, Palanca signed a one-year deal with Gimnàstic de Tarragona, recently returned to the second tier. He scored his first goals for his hometown team on 9 September in a 2–2 home draw with neighbours Girona FC in the second round of the Copa del Rey, also converting the decisive attempt in the subsequent penalty shootout.
Palanca moved abroad again on 20 July 2016, agreeing to a two-year contract with Poland's Korona Kielce. Coming from the bench, he netted his first goal on 6 August in a 4–1 home Ekstraklasa win over Lech Poznań.
On 14 August 2018, Palanca joined Indian Super League club FC Goa. The following 31 January, he returned to Gimnàstic on a short-term deal. Later that year, he completed the 2019–20 season with Andorra, also in Segunda División B.
On 20 September 2020, Palanca signed a two-year contract with Tercera División club Avilés. However, he suffered a femoral fracture in a match on 13 December 2020 against Praviano, which proved to be his final competitive game. In September 2021, he announced his definitive retirement from football.

## Personal life

Palanca's father, Santiago, played as a striker for Gimnàstic, scoring a record 48 goals at their Nou Estadi.

## Club statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Espanyol B | 2006–07 | Segunda División B | 25 | 6 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 6 |
| Espanyol B | 2007–08 | Segunda División B | 24 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 24 | 7 |
| Espanyol B | Total | Total | 49 | 13 | — | — | — | — | 49 | 13 |
| Espanyol | 2006–07 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Real Madrid B | 2008–09 | Segunda División B | 31 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 31 | 5 |
| Real Madrid | 2008–09 | La Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Castellón (loan) | 2009–10 | Segunda División | 36 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 10 |
| Elche | 2010–11 | Segunda División | 30 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 4 |
| Elche | 2011–12 | Segunda División | 25 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 27 | 2 |
| Elche | 2012–13 | Segunda División | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 |
| Elche | Total | Total | 71 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 77 | 6 |
| Numancia | 2013–14 | Segunda División | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 3 |
| Numancia | 2014–15 | Segunda División | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 |
| Numancia | Total | Total | 50 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 51 | 5 |
| Adelaide United | 2014–15 | A-League | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 |
| Gimnàstic | 2015–16 | Segunda División | 19 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 20 | 3 |
| Korona Kielce | 2016–17 | Ekstraklasa | 33 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 6 |
| Anorthosis | 2017–18 | Cypriot First Division | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 3 |
| Goa | 2018–19 | Indian Super League | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 3 |
| Gimnàstic | 2018–19 | Segunda División | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 |
| Andorra | 2019–20 | Segunda División B | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 |
| Avilés | 2020–21 | Tercera División | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 363 | 52 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 373 | 55 |
* ↑ Includes Copa del Rey, Polish Cup
* ↑ Appearance in Promotion playoff