Carlos Delgado (footballer, born 1990)

Carlos Javier Delgado Rodríguez (born 22 April 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Indian Super League club Odisha.

Early years and Sparta
Born in Puerto Real, Cádiz, Andalusia, Delgado joined Málaga CF's youth system at the age of 15. In early 2008, he rejected a new contract and went on trial with Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam, finally signing in January 2009 but failing to make a single appearance, subsequently returning to his country and joining Real Valladolid, who assigned the player to their reserves.

In summer 2010, Delgado signed with another reserve team, UD Almería B. In January of the following year, after playing only five matches in the Segunda División B, he returned to the Netherlands and Sparta on loan. He made his debut for the latter – who now competed in Eerste Divisie – on 28 January, against RBC Roosendaal (4–1 home win). On 11 February, he scored in a 3–2 away victory over FC Dordrecht.

Delgado returned to Spain in July 2011, joining Orihuela CF also in the third division.

Valencia
On 12 June 2012, Delgado signed a two-year contract with Valencia CF, being initially a part of the B-side setup in the third tier. He made his debut for Mestalla on 26 August against Gimnàstic de Tarragona and, the following month, was called up to train with the main squad by manager Mauricio Pellegrino due to Ricardo Costa's injury; on the 29th, he was an unused substitute for a La Liga game against Real Zaragoza.

Delgado made his competitive debut for the Che on 2 October 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 home defeat of Lille OSC in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

Leganés
On 8 August 2014, Delgado joined CD Leganés who had recently promoted to Segunda División. He made his debut for the club on 23 November, starting in a 1–0 away loss against CD Mirandés.

After appearing in 13 competitive matches, Delgado was released.

Recreativo and Albacete
On 2 August 2015, Delgado signed a one-year deal with Recreativo de Huelva of the third division. On 28 June 2016 he moved to Albacete Balompié in the same league, and achieved promotion to division two as captain.

Later career
On 16 July 2018, free agent Delgado agreed to a three-year contract with third-tier CD Castellón. One year later, he was loaned to Indian Super League franchise Odisha FC.

Delgado spent the 2021–22 season with CD Atlético Baleares in the newly-created Primera División RFEF. In June 2022 he returned to Odisha, reuniting with manager Josep Gombau. He made his official debut on 17 August, in a 6–0 rout of NorthEast United FC in the Durand Cup.

Honours
Odisha
 * Super Cup: 2023