Rubén Blanco Veiga (born 25 July 1995) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a goalkeeper for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

club Marseille. He made his professional debut for Celta in La Liga at the age of 17, and went on to play 142 games for the club.

Club career

Celta

Born in

Mos MOS or Mos may refer to: Technology * MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor), also known as the MOS transistor * Mathematical Optimization Society * Model output statistics, a weather-forecasting technique * MOS (filmm ...

, Province of Pontevedra,

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

, Blanco finished his youth career with local

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...

. He played his first games as a senior at only 16, with

the B team The B Team is a global nonprofit initiative co-founded by Sir Richard Branson and Jochen Zeitz. It advocates for business practices that are more centered on humanity and the climate. History In 2013, a group of leaders came together following ...

in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

. On 26 May 2013, two months shy of his 18th birthday, Blanco made his main squad – and La Liga – debut, entering the pitch at half-time after

Javi Varas Javier 'Javi' Varas Herrera (born 10 September 1982) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played 151 La Liga matches over eight seasons, in representation of Sevilla, Celta and Las Palmas. He added 117 appearances in the ...

suffered a serious shoulder injury and keeping a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in a 2–0 away win against Real Valladolid. He retained his position for the following match, the last of the season, helping to a 1–0 home victory over RCD Espanyol as Celta managed to stay up, being the first team above the relegation zone. Blanco made eight Copa del Rey appearances in 2015–16 in a semi-final run before a 6–2 aggregate loss to Sevilla FC. On the league front, he played as many matches as back-up to Sergio Álvarez. On 3 January 2016, he received a straight

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

for a foul on Nordin Amrabat in a 2–0 loss at

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a association football, football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, ...

. In 2016–17, Blanco made his continental debut as the side reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. He played four

group games A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

, beginning with the 2–2 draw against AFC Ajax at

Balaídos The Estadio Municipal de Balaídos (), known as Abanca-Balaídos for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater stadium located in Vigo, Spain. It is owned by the Vigo's city council, and is the home of La Liga club Celta Vigo. The stadium opened on ...

on 20 October. After five appearances of the following campaign's domestic league, he succeeded Álvarez as starting goalkeeper under manager Juan Carlos Unzué. He was sent off on 16 October 2017 for taking down

Jonathan Calleri Jonathan Calleri (; ; born 23 September 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Brazilian club São Paulo. Calleri started his career at All Boys and played for Boca Juniors for one season before signing for D ...

in a 5–2 away win over UD Las Palmas. Blanco signed a new contract in June 2018, running until 2023. On 9 November 2019, in a 4–1 away loss to FC Barcelona, he surpassed 1950s player Padrón as the youngest goalkeeper in club history to reach 100 games; both men were 24. At the start of 2021–22, Blanco lost his place to veteran Matías Dituro, whom he had previously displaced from Celta's B-team.

Marseille

On 20 July 2022, Blanco was loaned to

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

in France. At the end of the season, he signed a permanent contract for a reported fee of €2 million.

Career statistics

Honours

Spain U21 * UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanco, Ruben 1995 births Living people People from Vigo (comarca) Sportspeople from the Province of Pontevedra Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Galicia (Spain) Men's association football goalkeepers La Liga players Segunda División B players Tercera División players RC Celta Fortuna players RC Celta de Vigo players Ligue 1 players Olympique de Marseille players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France