Esteban Efraín Paredes Quintanilla (born 1 August 1980) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a forward. Paredes is the first player to be five-time Primera División de Chile top goalscorer and has scored 286 league goals in his career, highlighting his 217–Primera División de Chile goals record which allowed him to be the all-time top goalscorer of Chilean first-tier tournaments history. On 5 October 2019, he achieved the record surpassing Francisco Valdés in a 3–2 win over Universidad de Chile in the Chilean Superclásico.

Club career

He began his career at Santiago Morning youth ranks and was promoted in 2000. In 2009, he joined Chilean giants Colo-Colo on a three-year contract. That season, Paredes was an influential player and helped the team to win the Torneo Clausura. He was a key player in the final against Universidad Católica, scoring twice past Universidad Católica goalkeeper Paulo Garcés. In May 2022, after playing for Coquimbo Unido in the Chilean Primera División, and having scored 367 goals in his career, Paredes announced his retirement as a professional footballer. However, in June 2023 he returned to the football activity by signing with San Antonio Unido in the Segunda División Profesional de Chile. Retired again, he returned to play for Santiago Morning in August 2024, announcing his definitive retirement at the end of the season.

International career

Paredes represented his country in two World Cups, in 2010 and 2014 respectively, and at the 2011 Copa América.

International goals

Scores and results list Chile's goal tally first.

Post-retirement

In February 2024, Paredes assumed as sport manager of Santiago Morning, the club with which he began his playing career.

Personal life

His son, Esteban Paredes Lastra, was with the Colo-Colo youth ranks and then moved to Palestino when his father left Colo-Colo. In August 2022, he joined TNT Sports Chile as the co-host of the cooking and talk show Sabor a Gol alongside the chef Tomás Olivera. He is currently the face of a sport betting app named Juega en Linea.

Honours

Puerto Montt Santiago Morning Colo-Colo Coquimbo Unido Individual