Rúben Miguel Nunes Vezo (born 25 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 le ...

who plays as a central defender or a right-back for

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 ...

club

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 ...

. After starting his career at

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 (b ...

in the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

, he spent several years in Spain's La Liga with Valencia,

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

and Levante, making 180 appearances in the competition.

Club career

Vitória Setúbal

Born in Setúbal to a

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

an father and a Portuguese mother, Vezo joined local Vitória Futebol Clube's youth system at the age of 11. He was promoted to the first team for the 2013–14 season, and on 18 August made his

debut, starting in a 1–3 home loss against

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

. During his short spell, Vezo featured the full 90 minutes in all the league matches he appeared in, save for the last five minutes of a 4–1 win at Vitória S.C. where he was sent off, and 34 against

F.C. Arouca Futebol Clube de Arouca () is a football club based in Arouca, Porto Metropolitan Area, Portugal. Founded in 1951, the club plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Estádio Municipal de Arouca, with a 5,000-seat capacity. History Founde ...

(1–0 home victory) for the same reason.

Valencia

On 4 November 2013, Vezo signed a four-year contract with Valencia CF for a reported fee of

€ 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 o ...

1.5 million, with the move being made effective in the January transfer window. He made his La Liga debut on 8 February 2014, playing the last nine minutes in a 5–0 home defeat of Real Betis. Fifteen days later, profiting from suspension to compatriot Ricardo Costa, he played the full 90 minutes against Granada CF also at the Mestalla Stadium, and scored his first goal as a professional after netting from a free kick taken by

Dani Parejo Daniel Parejo Muñoz (; born 16 April 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Villarreal. After starting out at Real Madrid, he first made a name in La Liga with Getafe. Transferring to Valencia in 201 ...

to help the hosts come from behind in the 90th minute and win it 2–1; in the process, he became the Spanish club's youngest ever foreigner to achieve that feat. In 2015–16, Vezo took part in his first European campaigns in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. He was dismissed on 24 November in a 2–0 group loss away to

FC Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in ...

in the former for a foul on

Oleg Shatov Oleg Aleksandrovich Shatov (russian: Олег Александрович Шатов; born 29 July 1990) is a Russian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Ural Yekaterinburg. Earlier in his career, he mostly played as ...

; following the drop into the latter he netted the final goal of a 10–0 aggregate win over SK Rapid Wien in the last 32 for Gary Neville's team. Vezo joined Granada of the same league on 31 August 2016, in a season-long loan. He played 19 times as the Andalusians were relegated, and he was sent off on his second appearance in a 2–2 draw at Betis on 16 September. In 2018–19, Vezo played only four league games in his last half-season at the Mestalla Stadium, but contributed five matches in the Copa del Rey as the competition was

won Won may refer to: *The Korean won from 1902–1910 *South Korean won, the currency of the Republic of Korea *North Korean won, the currency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea * Won (Korean surname) * Won (Korean given name) * Won Buddhis ...

Levante

On 29 January 2019, Vezo moved across the city to

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante ...

also in a temporary deal. Four days later, he made his debut in a goalless draw at home to

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and op ...

; his first goal came in a 2–2 draw as RCD Espanyol visited the Estadi Ciutat de València on 21 April, and two weeks later another strike in a 4–1 victory over Rayo Vallecano all but secured survival at the opponents' expense. On 1 July, he agreed to a permanent five-year contract, for a club record €6 million with the first €5 million paid up front. Vezo had to play in goal for the last minutes of the home fixture with

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

on 22 August 2021, after Aitor Fernández was sent off and manager Paco López had already brought all five replacements in. He conceded no goals, in a 3–3 home draw.

Olympiacos

On 1 February 2024, Vezo was transferred to

Olympiacos F.C. Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σ.Φ.Π. ), known simply as Olympiacos or Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional football club based in Piraeus, Attica. Part of the major multi-sport club Olympiacos CFP ('' ...

, joining a host of compatriots including manager

Carlos Carvalhal Carlos Augusto Soares da Costa Faria Carvalhal (; born 4 December 1965) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a centre-back, currently manager of La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo. As a player, he totalled 197 Primeira Liga appearances in ...

International career

Vezo earned his first cap for the Portugal under-21 side on 5 March 2014 – one month shy of his 20th birthday – playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 home win against

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

for the 2015 UEFA European Championship qualifiers. He scored his first goal at that level in the same competition, on 14 October, helping defeat the Netherlands 5–4 in the play-offs, in

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

(7–4 on aggregate).

Career statistics

Honours

Valencia * Copa del Rey: 2018–19

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vezo, Ruben 1994 births Living people Portuguese sportspeople of Cape Verdean descent Black Portuguese sportspeople Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Setúbal Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football central defenders Primeira Liga players Vitória F.C. players La Liga players Segunda División players Valencia CF players Granada CF footballers Levante UD footballers Super League Greece players Olympiacos F.C. players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Greece