Photo: Fundación Vencer el Cáncer / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Francisco Pavon is, to me, one of football's most quietly symbolic figures. A Madrid-born centre-back, he became the human shorthand for Real Madrid's Galacticos era, the 'Pavones' half of president Florentino Perez's promise to pair expensive Zidanes with homegrown academy graduates. That's a strange kind of fame, being defined by the policy named partly after you rather than purely by your own play. I actually feel for him a little. Being the dependable local lad sharing a locker room with global superstars is a thankless role, but somebody has to do the unglamorous defending while the cameras chase the stars.
Overview
Francisco Pavón Barahona (born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a centre-back. His name became associated with the Los Galácticos policy when Real Madrid – where he spent most of his professional career – president Florentino Pérez promised to build a team full of Zidanes and Pavones – expensive high-profile recruits like Zinedine Zidane and youth team graduates like Pavón.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Francisco Pavón
- Name (Japanese)
- フランシスコ・パボン
- Reading
- ふらんしすこ・ぱぼん
- Born
- January 9, 1980 (age 46)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Monkey
- Origin
- Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 188 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- association football player
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Association football player — see all → · More people from Spain →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.