Rubén Rayos Serna (born 21 June 1986), commonly known as Rayo, 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 an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

Club career

Rayo was born in

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

. He finished his youth career with

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Elx Club de Futbol, S.A.D.) is a professional football based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1923, the club competes in La Liga, holding home matches at ''Estadi ...

, and played only

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 ...

football until the age of 25, representing

Villajoyosa CF Villajoyosa Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Vila Joiosa, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1942, in the 2022–23 season, the club competes in Regional Preferente – Group 4, holding home matches at the '' ...

FC Barcelona Atlètic Futbol Club Barcelona Atlètic, commonly referred to as Barça Atlètic or Barça B, is a football team based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in Primera Federación – Group 2, the third tier of the Spanish football league system ...

Orihuela CF Orihuela Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Orihuela, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1993 it plays in Tercera División RFEF – Group 3, holding home games at '' Estadio Municipal Los Arcos'', with a capacity of 7,000 se ...

and

UE Lleida Unió Esportiva Lleida was a Spanish football team based in Lleida, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. It was founded as ''Lérida Balompié-AEM'' on 30 October 1939, and became ''Unión Deportiva Lérida'' in 1947, after a merger with ''C ...

. In the summer of 2011, Rayo moved straight into the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

, joining a host of compatriots at Asteras Tripolis FC. He scored five league goals in his first season, adding three in the campaign's domestic cup. Rayo improved his overall totals to nine goals and 12 assists in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

. In the final of the Greek Cup, against

Olympiacos FC Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σ.Φ.Π. ), known simply as Olympiacos or Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Piraeus, Piraeus, Attica. Part of the major Sports ...

, he put his team ahead 1–0 in an eventual 3–1

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

loss. He was eventually chosen Best Foreign Player for his exploits and, during most of his spell, was also

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. On 6 June 2013, Rayo signed a three-year contract with Maccabi Haifa FC, netting 11 goals from 27 appearances in his

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

to help his new club to fourth position in the regular season of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

. In March 2014, he was involved in an incident with Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv FC's

Rafi Dahan Refael "Rafi" Dahan ( he, רפי דהן; born 28 September 1989) is a former Israeli footballer who last played for Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv as a defensive midfielder. Early life Dahan was born in Or Akiva, Israel, to a Jewish family. Career Dahan ...

, his harsh tackle producing an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

to his opponent which sidelined him for almost one year – 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 ...

, and Dahan was eventually forced to retire; subsequently, Dahan filed a

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

against Rayo and Maccabi Haifa in an Israeli court, winning the legal action after the judge ruled that the other player's actions were deliberate. On 8 July 2015, Rayo joined French side

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard (; commonly referred to as FCSM or simply Sochaux) is a French association football club based in the city of Montbéliard. The club was founded in 1928 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Frenc ...

, agreeing to a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Roughly one year later, he moved to

Anorthosis Famagusta FC Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fo ...

in the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

Career statistics

Honours

Asteras Tripolis *

Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

runner-up:

Individual *

Player of the Year:

* Super League Greece Foreign Player of the Year: 2012–13

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rayos, Ruben 1986 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Elche Men's association football midfielders Segunda División B players Segunda Federación players Elche CF Ilicitano footballers Elche CF players Villajoyosa CF footballers FC Barcelona Atlètic players Orihuela CF players UE Lleida players SD Ejea players Super League Greece players Asteras Tripolis F.C. players Israeli Premier League players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Ligue 2 players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Cypriot First Division players Anorthosis Famagusta FC players TFF First League players Bandırmaspor footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Israel Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey