Quincy Anton Promes (born 4 January 1992) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger or forward.
Promes started his career with Twente in 2011 where he spent three seasons before moving to Russian club Spartak Moscow in the summer of 2014. That year he also won his first senior cap for the Netherlands. Promes won his first major honor in 2017 as Spartak were crowned Russian Premier League (RPL) champions. He was named Footballer of the Year in Russia in 2017 and finished the 2017–18 season as RPL top scorer. In total, he amassed 135 appearances and scored 66 goals over his initial four-year stint with Spartak.
Promes signed for Spanish club Sevilla in 2018 for a reported €20 million but struggled for form there. In 2019, he signed for his boyhood club Ajax, where he regained form and was a key player, including during impressive performances in the UEFA Champions League. He played for the Netherlands at UEFA Euro 2020. Promes moved back to Spartak in 2021, and became the top scorer in Spartak's modern era two years later, as well as top foreign scorer in the history of RPL.
Promes has been subjected to criminal procedures during his career, and, as of June 2026, he is imprisoned while appealing convictions for aggravated assault and drug trafficking. His legal woes started in 2020, when he was detained over a stabbing incident, being subsequently found guilty of aggravated assault in 2023. Later that year, Promes was criminally charged for being involved in cocaine trafficking and found guilty in 2024. He continued playing football without restrictions until his 2024 arrest in the United Arab Emirates at the request of Dutch prosecutors. Soon after being released under the condition of remaining in the country, Promes joined Dubai United. On 20 June 2025, however, Promes was extradited to the Netherlands, ending his football career.
Born in Amsterdam, Promes started out playing football at RKSV DCG before joining Ajax. However, he was released by them when he was 16, a moment he described as "worst days of my career. My world collapsed on that one day." He later stated his departure from the club was due to his bad behaviour, both on and off the pitch. After being kicked out of Ajax as well, Promes considered quitting football. He was persuaded by his mother to continue, leading him to sign for Haarlem. He then joined Twente in 2009, where he started his professional career.
After progressing through the academy, Promes signed his first professional contract with the club in February 2011. After being called up to the first team for the first time the following year, Promes made his Eredivisie debut with Twente on 11 April 2012, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute in a 2–2 draw with AZ Alkmaar. Then, on 3 May 2012, Promes signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2015. Later in the 2011–12 season, Promes went on to make three appearances for the side.
On 31 July 2012, Promes joined Eerste Divisie side Go Ahead Eagles on loan for the 2012–13 season. He said his decision to leave the club on loan was to help his development and hoped of getting first team football at his parent club.
Promes made his Go Ahead Eagles debut in the opening game of the season, where he came on as a second–half substitute, in a 2–0 win over Almere City. Two weeks later, on 24 August 2012, he scored his first goal, as well as, setting up two goals, in a 4–1 win over FC Oss. Since making his debut, Promes quickly established himself in the starting eleven at the club, where he managed to dispatch Joran Pot and Sjoerd Overgoor in the midfield position. Promes quickly became a fan favourite at Go Ahead Eagles and earned a nickname "Promessi".
After winning the Bronze Bulls' Jupiler League Award, Promes then scored in the third round of KNVB Cup, in a 3–0 win over De Graafschap, followed up by scoring in a 6–1 win over Excelsior. Promes then scored two goals in two matches between 30 November 2012 and 16 December 2012 against FC Emmen and FC Volendam. He did so again when he scored two goals in two matches between 18 February 2013 and 22 February 2013 against FC Oss and Helmond Sport. Promes later scored twice on 18 March 2013, in a 4–1 win over Excelsior, followed up by scoring, in a 3–2 win over Sparta Rotterdam. Promes was the third leading scorer for the club from Deventer with 13 goals, and was named the league's biggest talent at the end of the year.
During the promotion playoffs, Promes scored a brace against FC Dordrecht in the return leg at De Adelaarshorst, advancing them to the second round 6–3 on aggregate after drawing the first leg. He then scored again on 19 May 2013 in the second leg semi-final, with a 3–0 win over VVV-Venlo. The club would eventually earn promotion, returning to the Eredivisie for the first time in 18 years.
After his loan spell at Go Ahead Eagles ended at the 2012–13 season, Promes returned to his parent club. He made his first appearance for Twente in a year, starting the whole game, in a 0–0 draw against RKC Waalwijk in the opening game of the season. Two weeks later, on 18 August 2013, Promes scored his first goals in the Eredivisie, in a 6–0 win over FC Utrecht. Since then, he established himself in the starting eleven at the club.
Promes then went on a goalscoring spree between 2 November 2013 and 29 November 2013 against NEC, PEC Zwolle, NAC Breda (twice) and Roda JC. However, Promes suffered a knee injury after colliding with keeper Filip Kurto during a 2–1 win over Roda JC on 29 November 2013. After an operation, it was announced that he would be out for the rest of 2013; up until that point, he had started every match since the opening game of the season. Despite this, his form was even resulted in him being named the best player in the league in the first half of the season.
After returning to training in the winter break, Promes scored on his return from injury, in a 3–1 win over Heracles Almelo on 17 January 2014. He later added two more goals later in the season against PSV Eindhoven and Utrecht. Halfway through the 2013–14 season, the club began negotiation with Promes over a new contract. It wasn't until on 20 March 2014 that he signed a contract extension, keeping him until 2017. Despite suffering another injury during the 2013–14 season, Promes finished the season, making 31 appearances and scoring 11 times in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Promes was linked a move away from Twente, as clubs, such as, Juventus and Valencia amongst interested. After departing Twente for Russia, Promes was given a farewell sendoff for the FC Twente match against Feyenoord on 29 August 2014.
On 8 August 2014, Promes transferred to Russian club Spartak Moscow for a fee reported to be €15 million. As part of the move, the club received €11.5 million as compensation. Furthermore, should Promes' performances exceed expectations at the club, both Go Ahead Eagles and FC Twente would receive a payment. Upon joining the club, Promes was given the number 24 shirt. He also became the second Quincy in the club's history as his also Amsterdam-born compatriot Quincy Owusu-Abeyie played for the club between 2006 and 2009.
Promes made his Spartak Moscow debut, where he started the whole game, in a 4–0 loss against Krasnodar on 14 August 2014. After making his debut for the club, he quickly settled in Russia, stating the league suited him and how he had adapted to the unusual conditions he faced. Promes scored his first goals on 14 September 2014, in a 3–1 win over Torpedo Moscow. He also formed a partnership with Roman Shirokov in a 4–3–3 formation under the management of Murat Yakin. He had to wait for two months to find the back of the net again when he scored against Arsenal Tula and followed up by scoring twice against Mordovia Saransk two weeks later. His performance resulted in him being named as November's Player of the Month. Promes later scored twice on 18 April 2015, in a 3–1 win over Mordovia Saransk. This was followed by scoring in a 1–0 win over Rubin Kazan. As a result, he was named April's Player of the Month. In the last five remaining matches towards the end of the season, Promes also scored three more goals: once against Terek Grozny and twice against Amkar Perm. In his first season at Spartak Moscow, Promes made a total of 29 appearances and scored 13 times in all competitions, making him the club's top scorer that season. Reflecting on his first season, Yakin and Russian media agreed that Promes was the club's best signing during the 2014–15 season. Promes was also awarded the Golden Boar for the first time.