[3] A Spanish international since 2012, Juanfran was part of the squad that won that year's European Championship, and also represented the nation at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.

Juanfran was loaned out to RCD Espanyol for 2005–06[5] and, although the Catalan side barely avoided relegation, he featured heavily throughout the campaign, scoring on 22 March 2006 in a 1–1 draw at Athletic Bilbao.

[13] He made his official debut two days later, starting in a 3–1 away loss against his first professional club Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey.

[21] Juanfran started both legs of the round-of-16 Champions League tie against PSV Eindhoven; on 15 March 2016, in the second match, he took the decisive penalty in the 8–7 shootout win (0–0 on aggregate).

[22][23] In the final of the competition, also decided on penalties after a 1–1 draw in Milan, he was the only player to fail to convert in an eventual defeat to his former club Real Madrid.

[31] In a rare achievement, he took part in two FIFA World Youth Championships, the first in the United Arab Emirates where the national team took the silver medal;[32] in the 2005 edition they reached the quarter-finals, eventually ousted by winners Argentina.

[33] Juanfran made his full side debut on 26 May 2012, playing the entire match in a 2–0 friendly win with Serbia in St. Gallen, as a right-back.

[34] He was selected by manager Vicente del Bosque for his squad for UEFA Euro 2012,[35] being an unused player as Spain won the tournament in Poland and Ukraine.

[40] With the country already eliminated, he made his tournament debut in the last group game against Australia, playing the whole 90 minutes and assisting David Villa for the first goal of a 3–0 win.