Helibelton Palacios

Helibelton Palacios Zapata (born 11 June 1993) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Brazilian club Sport, on loan from Cruzeiro.

Club career

Palacios made his senior debut with Deportivo Cali in 2011, in a 2–1 defeat against Águilas Doradas. After featuring sparingly, he played the 2014 season on loan at La Equidad, before returning to his parent club and winning the league title in 2015.

On 27 December 2016, Deportivo Cali announced the transfer of Palacios to Belgian side Club Brugge KV. After rarely featuring, he returned to Colombia on 16 January 2018 to join Atlético Nacional. In October 2018, he played in the first leg of the Copa Colombia final in a 2–2 draw against Once Caldas. His team won the second leg, and were crowned champions on a 4–3 aggregate score.

On 4 February 2021, free agent Palacios signed for La Liga side Elche CF. At the end of the 2022-23 La Liga season, he rejected a contract renewal offer from the club, becoming a free agent.

In June 2023, Palacios signed a pre-contract with Brazilian Série A club Cruzeiro, joining the club on a 1.5 years contract.

International career

Palacios represented Colombia at under-20 level before making his full international debut in 2015. He also featured for the under-23s in the 2016 Summer Olympics.