Rafael Rodríguez Ruiz (born 10 July 2003), commonly known as Rafa, is a Spanish

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 lea ...

who plays as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

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

Club career

Born in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, Rafa joined

's youth setup in 2017, from

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

. He made his senior debut with the reserves on 12 September 2021, starting in a 2–1 Tercera División RFEF away loss against Motril CF. Rafa scored his first senior goal on 25 September 2022, netting the B's equalizer from the midfield in a 3–2 away win over UD Ciudad de Torredonjimeno. He made his first team debut the following 27 May, coming on as a late substitute for fellow youth graduate Álex Calvo in a 1–1 home draw against UD Ibiza in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

, as both sides were already relegated. Rafa scored his first professional goal on 21 April 2025, netting his side's second in a 2–2 draw at

SD Eibar Sociedad Deportiva Eibar (in ) is a Spanish football league teams, Spanish professional football club based in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country. Founded on 30 November 1940, the men’s te ...

. On 2 June, he renewed his contract until 2028 and was definitely promoted to the main squad.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafa 2003 births Living people Footballers from Seville Spanish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Segunda División players Tercera Federación players Atlético Malagueño players Málaga CF players 21st-century Spanish sportsmen