Junior Joao Maleck Robles (born 13 March 1999) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga de Expansión MX club Tepatitlán.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Junior Joao Maleck Robles | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-03-13) 13 March 1999 (age 23) | ||
| Place of birth | Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Tepatitlán | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011–2014 | Guadalajara | ||
| 2014–2017 | Santos Laguna | ||
| 2017–2018 | → Porto (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017– | Santos Laguna | 0 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Porto B (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Sevilla B (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2021 | → CAFESSA Jalisco (loan) | 8 | (3) |
| 2021–2022 | → Coras de Tepic (loan) | 27 | (13) |
| 2022– | → Tepatitlán (loan) | 8 | (6) |
| National team | |||
| 2016–2017 | Mexico U18 | 1 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | Mexico U20 | 2 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 September 2022 | |||
On the morning of 23 June 2019, Maleck was involved in a fatal car crash in his hometown, Guadalajara, that resulted in the death of a newlywed couple. Maleck was driving over the speed limit and was under the influence of alcohol when his vehicle hit the car of the victims.[2] On 23 October 2020, Maleck was found guilty of two counts of aggravated homicide.[3] On 30 October, Maleck was sentenced to three years, eight months and 15 days in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 3 million pesos (US $141,600).[4] Despite the sentence, the law states that Maleck could be released from prison in just 15 days provided he pays the fines.[5] On 15 December, Maleck was released on parole after spending 18 months in prison. He was released after serving less than half of his sentence and posting a $151,121 bond.[6]
At the time of the accident, Maleck was on loan at Sevilla Atlético of the second division B of Spanish football; the club announced it would terminate its working relationship with the player on 30 June.[7] While in prison, Maleck signed a contract extension with Santos Laguna and was later registered with the U-20 team.[8][9]
Maleck is of Cameroonian descent. His father is Jean-Claude Maleck a former footballer who played for Tecos UAG and San Luis.[10]