The Peruvian footballer was one of the signings that raised the most expectations in 2021 because he is part of Nantes in France and made his Ligue 1 debut, but he hasn’t fared very well at Sporting Cristal. What happened to him?
The presence of Sporting Crystal 2023 is much more encouraging than previous seasons, both for Liga 1 and Copa Libertadores. One of the factors is that reinforcements like Ignácio and Adrián Ascues have proved successful for both tournaments so far. This was not the case in 2021, when none of the foreigners stood out too much, and Percy Meadowone of the most anticipated signings of the tournament, was the one who played the least.
Percy Prado was on the radar of many fans as he was trained in the minor leagues from Nantes in France. The Peru right-back rose from the youth teams to Nantes B, the Ligue 1 arm of the club. This gave him the opportunity to play three games with the first team in 2020, one of them against Kylian’s PSG Mbappe. What happened to him?
Percy Prado faced Kylian Mbappe with Nantes in Ligue 1. Photo: AFP
Percy Prado and his brief stint at Sporting Cristal
After his contract at Nantes expired in July 2020, Percy Prado was a free transfer player until January 2021 when he surprised everyone as a new signing for Sporting Cristal. The expectation this raised made it clear that few took into account that Prado had always played in the fourth division for the Nantes daughter and had not even played 10 games in the first division.
Percy Prado made his debut on Day 6 of the 2021 inaugural tournament, when Cristal defeated Alianza Lima 2-1. He started in two more games against Cusco and Vallejo but he wasn’t in very good physical condition. He was always on the bench during the Copa Bicentenario and only played again on the third day of the Clausura against Deportivo Municipal.
Percy Prado failed to excel in the few games he got to start at Sporting Cristal. Photo: Sporting Cristal
In mid-August, Roberto Mosquera was consulted on Prado’s situation at the club. The former coach replied that Jhilmar Lora and Johan Madrid are at a good level and that the position is also deserved in training. “If he doesn’t play, it’s because people are in front of him. There is no obligation here because someone comes from outside, something is earned here,” he explained.
What happened to Percy Prado?
According to Mosquera’s statements, Percy Prado did not play until the last date of the Clausura. Interestingly, that game was the one with the best performance in fewer minutes played, and it was also the only time he played as a central midfielder all year. He came on for Jhon Marchán at 72′ and played for Irven Ávila’s goal at 91′.
Despite signing for two seasons, Percy Prado and Sporting Cristal eventually terminated his contract in early 2022. There was speculation that he could join another League 1 team, but he remained inactive for the remainder of the year. As he said in an interview with the French newspaper Ouest-France, it was a serious blow to his morale.
Percy Prado left professional football to play futsal for Nantes. Photo: Nantes Metropole Futsal
In this way, at the end of 2022, he had the opportunity to return to Nantes, but this time playing futsal. The coach Christophe Benmaza contacted him directly to start from scratch in this sport. However, he has yet to appear in Nantes Métropole futsal matches either.