Born in L'Alcúdia, Valencian Community, Palop was a youth product of local giants Valencia CF, and his first professional seasons were spent at neighbours Villarreal CF, in a two-year loan spell.
He was the undisputed starter in both the side's La Liga promotion in 1998 – a first ever – and relegation the following season, being subsequently recalled by the Che.

In his six-year stint with Valencia's main squad, however, Palop was mostly backup to veteran Santiago Cañizares, his most games consisting of 15 in his first year.
As the club were crowned league champions in 2002 and 2004, he could only appear seven times combined (all in the former campaign), and eventually grew unsettled.
Born in L'Alcúdia, Valencian Community, Palop was a youth product of local giants Valencia CF, and his first professional seasons were spent at neighbours Villarreal CF, in a two-year loan spell. He was the undisputed starter in both the side's La Liga promotion in 1998 – a first ever – and relegation the following season, being subsequently recalled by the Che.
In his six-year stint with Valencia's main squad, however, Palop was mostly backup to veteran Santiago Cañizares, his most games consisting of 15 in his first year. As the club were crowned league champions in 2002 and 2004, he could only appear seven times combined (all in the former campaign), and eventually grew unsettled.
Andrés Palop