Ely Esterilla


Ely Jair Esterilla Castro is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for 9 de Octubre.

Club career

Rocafuerte

Born in Guayaquil, Esterilla joined Rocafuerte's youth setup in 2005. He made his first team debut in the 2010 campaign, in Serie B.

Santos Laguna

On 3 June 2012, Esterilla moved abroad and joined Liga MX side Santos Laguna, being assigned to the under-20 squad. He never appeared with the main squad during his spell, but won the 2013 Clausura tournament with the under-20s.

Barcelona SC

On 19 December 2013, Esterilla returned to his home country and joined Barcelona on a four-year contract. He made his professional debut the following 29 January, coming on as a second-half substitute for Federico Laurito in a 1–0 Serie A home win against Manta.
Esterilla scored his first professional goal on 13 April 2014, netting his team's second in a 2–0 home defeat of Independiente del Valle. On 27 March 2016, he scored a brace in a 5–0 home routing of L.D.U. Quito.

International career

Esterilla represented Ecuador at under-20 level, playing in the 2013 South American Youth Football Championship. On 2 October 2015, he was called up by the full side for two 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Venezuela, but withdrew due to injury three days later.