Rúben Semedo


Rúben Afonso Borges Semedo is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Greek club Olympiacos as a central defender or a defensive midfielder.

Club career

Sporting

Born in Amadora in the Lisbon metropolitan area of Cape Verdean descent, Semedo joined Sporting CP'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.
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, was loaned to Spanish side Reus.
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 for the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. Five days later, however, he was loaned to fellow top-flight club Vitória de Setúbal.
During his brief spell in Setúbal, Semedo was sent off twice, including once in a game against Rio Ave for the Taça de Portugal. In the 2016 January transfer window, 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 0–1 home loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League. On 9 March he signed a new contract until 2022, with a release clause being set at €45 million.

Villarreal

On 7 June 2017, Semedo was transferred to Villarreal for €14 million. He made his La Liga debut on 25 August, playing the entire 0–3 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 for the upcoming season. Huesca's decision to sign him on loan attracted some criticism, but sporting director 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, Semedo returned to Portugal on 29 January 2019, signing with Rio Ave until June.

Olympiacos

On 25 June 2019, Semedo joined Olympiacos 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 Bjorn Engels was bought from Club Brugge for €7 million in 2017 and sharing teams with compatriots Pedro Martins, Daniel Podence and José Sá. He scored his first goal for the team on 30 July, with a close-range effort following a corner from Giorgos Masouras after Aleš Hruška saved Yassine Meriah's shot, in a 4–0 home win over Viktoria Plzeň in the UEFA Champions League's second qualifying round; 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.

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 in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers played in Ponta Delgada. 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 qualification matches against Luxembourg and Ukraine.

Legal issues

In January 2018, it was announced that Semedo would stand trial for an altercation in a bar in Valencia 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 assaulting 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.
On 13 July 2018, Semedo was released from prison after paying bail of €30,000.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Sporting
Olympiacos