Rúben Afonso Borges Semedo (born 4 April 1994) is a Portuguese 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 ...

who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundari ...

for Qatari club Al-Duhail and the Portugal national team. Developed at

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

, he went to on to serve two loans then make 48 competitive appearances for its first team. In 2017 he signed with

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

and, after two years and as many loans, joined Olympiacos where he won several titles, including two Super League Greece championships. Semedo made his full debut for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in 2020. His career has been marred by legal problems off the field.

Club career

Sporting CP

Born in

Amadora Amadora () is a municipality and urbanized city in the northwest of the Lisbon metropolitan area and 10 km from central Lisbon. The population in 2011 was 175,136, in an area of 23.78 km² (9.2 sq mi). It is the most densely populated mun ...

in the

Lisbon metropolitan area The Lisbon Metropolitan Area ( pt, Área Metropolitana de Lisboa; abbreviated as AML) is a metropolitan area in Portugal centered on Lisbon, the capital and largest city of the country. The metropolitan area, covering 18 municipalities is the l ...

of Cape Verdean descent, Semedo joined

's youth system at the age of 16. On 11 August 2013, he made his debut with the first team, scoring in a friendly with

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

. Semedo spent the 2013–14 season with the B team in the Segunda Liga, his first appearance in the competition occurring on 25 August 2013 as he played the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home win against Trofense. On 26 August 2014, he, alongside teammate

Vítor Vítor is a Portuguese and Brazilian masculine given name, equivalent to Victor (name), Victor in English and Víctor in Spanish. Football athletes * Vítor Gonçalves (footballer, born 1896) (1896–1965), Portuguese * Vítor Silva (1909–1982), ...

, was loaned to Spanish side

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is kno ...

. For the 2015–16 campaign, Semedo was promoted to Sporting's main squad. He made his competitive debut – winning his first trophy in the process – on 9 August, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 victory over Benfica in the

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

. Five days later, however, he was loaned to fellow top-flight club

Vitória de Setúbal Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória ...

. Semedo was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

twice during his brief spell in

Setúbal Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area. In the ti ...

, including once in a game against Rio Ave for the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...

. In the 2016 January

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

, he was recalled by the Lions due to a defensive injury crisis. On 18 February 2016, Semedo played his first game in European competition, being sent off after two bookable offences in a 1–0 home loss to

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

in the last 32 of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

. On 9 March he signed a new contract until 2022, with a release clause being set at

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

45 million.

Villarreal

Semedo was transferred to

on 7 June 2017, for €14 million. He made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

debut on 25 August, playing the entire 3–0 away defeat against Real Sociedad. After Javier Calleja took over as head coach on 25 September he fell out of favour, and having seen himself become a rotation player his stint was also plagued by injuries, which ultimately required surgery in December. On 19 July 2018, Semedo was loaned to newly promoted club

Huesca Huesca (; an, Uesca) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and of the comarca of Hoya de Huesca. In 2009 it had a population of 52,059, almo ...

for the upcoming season. The decision to sign him attracted some criticism, but

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

Emilio Vega stated that the player would be in good shape once the season began because he played some matches while in prison. Moreover, Vega stated that they would not be monitoring his off-field behaviour. "I was very keen to play again and Huesca have given me an opportunity to do so in the first division. I didn't hesitate to accept their offer", Semedo said at his introductory press conference. Still owned by Villarreal, and after being deemed surplus to requirements by manager

Francisco Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

, Semedo returned to Portugal on 29 January 2019, signing with Rio Ave until June.

Olympiacos

On 25 June 2019, Semedo joined

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

for €4.5 million signing a four-year contract; Villarreal retained a 20% resale rate on the player and he was to earn around €700,000 per year, being the club's second-most expensive defender after Belgian Björn Engels was bought from Club Brugge for €7 million in 2017 and sharing teams with compatriots Pedro Martins (manager), Daniel Podence and

José Sá José Pedro Malheiro de Sá (; born 17 January 1993) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Portugal national team. He started his career with Marítimo B, mak ...

. He scored his first goal for the team on 30 July, with a close-range effort following a

corner Corner may refer to: People *Corner (surname) * House of Cornaro, a noble Venetian family (''Corner'' in Venetian dialect) Places *Corner, Alabama, a community in the United States *Corner Inlet, Victoria, Australia *Corner River, a tributary of ...

from

Giorgos Masouras Georgios "Giorgos" Masouras ( el, Γεώργιος "Γιώργος" Μασούρας, born 1 January 1994) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a winger for Super League club Olympiacos and the Greece national team. Club career Maso ...

after

Aleš Hruška Aleš Hruška (born 23 November 1985) is a Czech football goalkeeper. International career In May 2011 he received his first call-up for the Czech national football team. He was called up again in May 2015 for a friendly against Iceland ...

saved Yassine Meriah's shot, in a 4–0 home win over

Viktoria Plzeň Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to: Places * FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov * Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin * Viktoriastadt, now known as Victoria ...

in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

second qualifying round The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

. He repeated the feat in the next stage of the same competition, as the hosts beat İstanbul Başakşehir 2–0 and won 3–0 on aggregate. Semedo won the Super League Greece and Cup

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

in his first season in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...

. He was a late substitute in the latter's final on 12 September 2020, a single-goal victory against

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

. The following summer, he was lined up to join several compatriots at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, but he was denied a work permit by the UK Home Office due to his criminal record. On 1 December 2021, in his first match for nearly four months due to off-the-field issues, Semedo scored in a 3–2 defeat at

Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Λεβαδειακός) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, afte ...

in the last 16 of the cup. The following month, he was hospitalised after being beaten at his doorstep by hooded men. On 31 January 2022, Semedo moved to

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

on a five-month loan worth €350,000, with the deal including an unspecified buying option. In order to regain his fitness, he started playing with the reserve team.

Al-Duhail

Semejo joined Al-Duhail of the Qatar Stars League on 1 August 2022, on a three-year contract with an annual salary of €5 million; Olympiacos retained 50% of the player's rights.

International career

On 24 March 2016, Semedo marked his debut for the Portugal under-21 team with a goal, scoring the opener in a 4–0 home defeat of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

in the

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2017) was the 21st edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, a biennial international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the men's under-21 na ...

qualifiers played in

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality ('' concelho'') and economic capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67, ...

. In October 2019, while still awaiting trial for alleged crimes in Spain, he received his first call-up for the senior team ahead of

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

qualification matches against

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Semedo won his first full

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

on 7 October 2020, playing the entire 0–0 friendly draw with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Legal issues and convictions

In January 2018, it was announced that Semedo would stand trial for an altercation in a bar in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

the previous November, when the player allegedly brandished a pistol and made threats while he was nursing an injury. He was arrested again for a separate incident on 20 February, this time for allegedly tying up and torturing a man in his home alongside two others, then going to the victim's house to burgle it. For the latter incident, he was charged with attempted murder and placed in

preventive detention Preventive detention is an imprisonment that is putatively justified for non- punitive purposes, most often to prevent (further) criminal acts. Types of preventive detention There is no universally agreed definition of preventive detention, and m ...

. Semedo was released from prison on 13 July 2018, after paying

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

30,000. Facing a maximum 15-year sentence, he confessed two years later to kidnap, robbery, wounding and illegal firearm possession; he was fined €46,000 and banned from entering Spain for the next eight years. On 30 August 2021, Semedo was arrested in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

following a gang rape allegation filed by a 17-year-old teenager after a night out in

Oropos Oropos ( el, Ωρωπός) is a small town and a municipality in East Attica, Greece. The village of Skala Oropou, within the bounds of the municipality, was the site an important ancient Greek city, Oropus, and the famous nearby sanctuary of ...

. Police arrested a second man, also accused of leading the girl to Semedo's house where the actions allegedly took place. The player was freed from custody days later after paying a €10,000 bond.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Sporting CP *

: 2015 Olympiacos * Super League Greece: 2019–20, 2020–21 *

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 imp ...

: 2019–20 Porto * Primeira Liga: 2021–22 Individual * Super League Greece Team of the Year: 2019–20, 2020–21

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Semedo, Ruben 1994 births Living people People from Amadora Portuguese sportspeople of Cape Verdean descent Sportspeople from Lisbon District Black Portuguese sportspeople Portuguese footballers Association football defenders Association football midfielders Association football utility players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Sporting CP B players Sporting CP footballers Vitória F.C. players Rio Ave F.C. players FC Porto B players FC Porto players La Liga players Segunda División B players CF Reus Deportiu players Villarreal CF players SD Huesca footballers Super League Greece players Olympiacos F.C. players Qatar Stars League players Al-Duhail SC players Portugal youth international footballers Portugal under-21 international footballers Portugal international footballers Portuguese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate footballers in Qatar Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Greece Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Sportspeople convicted of crimes Portuguese criminals People convicted of kidnapping People convicted of robbery