a product of hometown ca osasuna's youth system, palacios – born in pamplona, navarre – made his first-team debut on 6 april 1994 in a 1–0 home win to cd tenerife, with the team eventually finishing the season in the last position. he went on to become an important element of the squad in the following years, which included six segunda división seasons; in 1999–2000, as the team returned to la liga after a six-year absence, he scored five goals in 40 games, and also served as one of their captains.