 He made his official debut for the "Colchoneros" two days later, starting in a 1–3 away loss against his first professional club Real Madrid for the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey.Juanfran scored his first goal for Atlético on 21 May 2011, in a 4–3 win at RCD Mallorca – the last game of the season – dedicating it to his father who had died two weeks beforehand.In 2011–12 he began being regularly played as a right back, by both Gregorio Manzano and his successor, Diego Simeone.