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Ibán Javier Cuadrado Alonso (born 21 February 1979) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central defender.
He amassed Segunda División totals of 248 games and five goals over the course of eight seasons, mainly in representation of Real Murcia. He also spent four years in La Liga, two apiece with that club and Málaga for a total of 62 matches.
Football career
A product of La Liga giants FC Barcelona, Cuadrado was born in Salamanca, Region of León, but would only play almost exclusively for the B-team, in both the second and third divisions. Courtesy of Louis van Gaal he appeared in one UEFA Champions League game with the main squad, featuring one minute in a 2–0 group stage away win against Brøndby IF on 9 December 1998.
Released by the Catalans in 2001, Cuadrado joined Real Murcia in the second level, where he would be an indispensable element throughout seven seasons, helping to two promotions (although he only appeared in ten matches in the 2007–08 campaign, which ended in La Liga relegation).
Subsequently, Cuadrado joined Málaga CF, freshly promoted to the top flight, where he was used mostly as third or fourth-choice centre-back. On 14 January 2010, he moved to Rayo Vallecano, signing with the second tier side until the end of the season and the next. He made his debut three days later, starting in a 4–4 home draw against Hércules CF and scoring an own goal.
After one unsuccessful season with Rayo individually, 31-year-old Cuadrado switched to SD Ponferradina in the second division, reuniting with former Málaga teammates Javi López, Daniel Toribio and Miguel Ángel. In the 2011 summer, following his team's relegation, he returned to his hometown and signed with UD Salamanca in division three.
At the age of 34, Cuadrado moved abroad for the first time in his career, joining Chinese Super League's Shanghai SIPG FC. In March 2015 he switched clubs but stayed in the nation, transferring to Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng F.C. from the League One.