Fabián Ruiz

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ruiz and the second or maternal family name is Peña.

Fabián Ruiz
Fabián playing for Spain in 2019
Personal information
Full name Fabián Ruiz Peña
Date of birth (1996-04-03) 3 April 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Los Palacios y Villafranca, Spain
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Paris Saint-Germain
Number 8
Youth career
La Unión Los Palacios
2004–2014 Betis
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Betis B 23 (2)
2014–2018 Betis 56 (3)
2017 → Elche (loan) 18 (1)
2018–2022 Napoli 125 (18)
2022– Paris Saint-Germain 63 (5)
International career‡
2015 Spain U19 2 (0)
2017–2019 Spain U21 14 (5)
2019– Spain 35 (6)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Spain
UEFA European Championship
Winner 2024 Germany Team
UEFA Nations League
Winner 2023 Netherlands Team
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Winner 2019 Italy Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:17, 18 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:00, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Fabián Ruiz Peña (Spanish pronunciation: [faˈβjan rwiθ ˈpeɲa]; born 3 April 1996),[2] also known simply as Fabián, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Spain national team.

Club career

[edit]

Real Betis

[edit]

Early years

[edit]

Born in Los Palacios y Villafranca, Seville, Andalusia, Fabián joined Real Betis' youth setup in 2004, aged eight, after starting it out at EF La Unión de Los Palacios.[3] Ruiz has credited his mother with bringing him into football.[2] He was promoted to the reserves in July 2014,[4] and made his senior debut on 21 September, coming on as a second half substitute in a 4–1 home loss against Marbella in the Segunda División B championship.[5]

Fabián played his first match as a professional on 16 December, replacing Xavi Torres in the 51st minute of a 1–0 Segunda División away win against Lugo.[6]

Fabián made his debut in the main category of Spanish football on 23 August 2015, coming on as a substitute for Alfred N'Diaye in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal.[7]

Loan to Elche

[edit]

On 23 December of the following year he renewed his contract until 2019, and was immediately loaned to Elche in the second level.[8]

Breakthrough

[edit]

Upon returning, Fabián became a regular starter under new manager Quique Setién, scoring his first goal in the top tier on 25 September 2017 in a 4–0 home routing of Levante.[citation needed] The following 31 January, he renewed his contract until 2023, setting his buyout clause at €30 million.[9]

On 30 April 2018, Fabián scored the winning goal for Betis as they secured UEFA Europa League qualification for the 2018–19 season following a 2–1 home win over Málaga.[10]

Napoli

[edit]

On 5 July 2018, Fabián joined Napoli on a five-year contract until 2023 with Napoli reportedly paying Fabián's €30 million buyout clause.[11][12] He made his debut on 16 September in a Champions League group game away to Red Star Belgrade, playing the full 90 minutes of a goalless draw.[13] Ten days later he played his first Serie A match and first at the Stadio San Paolo, a 3–0 win over Parma.[14]

Paris Saint-Germain

[edit]

On 30 August 2022, Fabián signed for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a five-year contract.[15] He made his debut as a substitute in a 1–0 victory over Brest at the Parc des Princes on 10 September 2022.[16] On 1 February 2023, he scored his first PSG goal in a 3–1 win over Montpellier.[17] At the end of the season, Fabián won the Ligue 1 title with PSG, his first top-flight league title.[18]

International career

[edit]

After representing Spain at under-19 and under-21 levels, Fabián was called up to the Spain senior team by manager Luis Enrique on 15 March 2019, for two UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Norway and Malta.[19] He debuted on 7 June 2019 in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against the Faroe Islands, coming on as a substitute for Isco in the 74th minute.[20] Four days later, he made his full debut, starting alongside Sergio Busquets and Dani Parejo in midfield against Sweden, assisting Mikel Oyarzabal's goal in the 87th minute of the 3–0 win.[21]

In July 2019, Fabián returned to the Spain U21 squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. In the team's opening match, he assisted Dani Ceballos's opening goal for La Rojita in a 3–1 loss to host nation Italy. After being an unused substitute in the second match against Belgium, he scored the third goal of the 5–0 win over Poland in the final Group A fixture. During the knockout stage, he assisted Dani Olmo's goal in the semi-final against France and scored the opening goal of the 2–1 win against Germany in the final, as well as recording his third assist when Dani Olmo scored the winning goal following up his long-range shot. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA for his performances in Spain's midfield as they won their fifth European U21 title.[22]

Fabián scored his first goal for the Spain senior team in their final Euro 2024 qualifier against Romania on 18 November 2019.[23]

On 24 May 2021, Fabián was included in Luis Enrique's 24-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020.[24] He made three substitute appearances at the tournament, against Sweden and Poland in the group stage and Croatia in the round of 16.[25][26][27]

In June 2023, Fabián was part of the Spain squad for the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals and played 16 minutes as a substitute for Mikel Merino in the semi-final against Italy.[28] On 18 June, he started in the final against Croatia, playing 78 minutes before being substituted for Merino as Spain won 5–4 in the penalty shootout to win their first UEFA Nations League title.[29]

In June 2024, Ruiz was named in Spain's squad for UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany.[30] In the team's opening match of the tournament, he scored Spain's second goal as they beat Croatia 3–0 at Berlin's Olympiastadion.[31] Fabián played as a starter during the rest of the tournament helping Spain win their fourth European championship.[32]

Style of play

[edit]

A left-footed central midfielder, Fabián is known for his vision, passing, ball control and dribbling skills, as well as his tactical versatility, and can play in a number of formations, such as 4–4–2, 4–3–3, and 4–2–3–1.[33] He can also play as a defensive midfielder or an attacking midfielder.

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of match played 18 December 2024[34]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Real Betis B 2014–15 Segunda División B 19 1 — — — 19 1
2015–16 Segunda División B 4 2 — — — 4 2
Total 23 3 — — — 23 3
Real Betis 2014–15 Segunda División 6 0 0 0 — — 6 0
2015–16 La Liga 12 0 2 0 — — 14 0
2016–17 La Liga 4 0 1 0 — — 5 0
2017–18 La Liga 34 3 1 0 — — 35 3
Total 56 3 4 0 — — 60 3
Elche (loan) 2016–17 Segunda División 18 1 — — — 18 1
Napoli 2018–19 Serie A 27 5 2 1 11[b] 1 — 40 7
2019–20 Serie A 33 3 5 1 8[c] 0 — 46 4
2020–21 Serie A 33 3 1 0 8[d] 1 0 0 42 4
2021–22 Serie A 32 7 1 0 5[d] 0 — 38 7
Total 125 18 9 2 32 2 0 0 166 22
Paris Saint-Germain 2022–23 Ligue 1 27 3 3 0 7[c] 0 — 37 3
2023–24 Ligue 1 21 1 5 2 9[c] 0 0 0 35 3
2024–25 Ligue 1 15 1 0 0 6[c] 0 0 0 21 1
Total 63 5 8 2 22 0 0 0 93 6
Career total 285 30 21 4 54 2 0 0 360 36
  1. ^ Includes Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia, Coupe de France
  2. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

[edit]
As of match played 18 November 2024[35]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Spain 2019 6 1
2020 3 0
2021 6 0
2022 0 0
2023 6 0
2024 14 5
Total 35 6
As of match played 18 November 2024. Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first.[35]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 18 November 2019 Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain 6  Romania 1–0 5–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
2 8 June 2024 Estadi Mallorca Son Moix, Palma, Spain 23  Northern Ireland 4–1 5–1 Friendly
3 15 June 2024 Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany 24  Croatia 2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2024
4 30 June 2024 RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany 26  Georgia 2–1 4–1 UEFA Euro 2024
5 8 September 2024 Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland 31   Switzerland 2–0 4–1 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A
6 3–1

Honours

[edit]

Real Betis

Napoli

Paris Saint-Germain

Spain U21

Spain

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Fabián Ruiz". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 3 April 1996. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b Lara, Miguel Ángel (5 September 2019). "Fabián Ruiz: "Mi ídolo es mi madre"". Marca (in Spanish).
  3. ^ "Fabián sigue quemando etapas rumbo a la elite" [Fabián keeps on skipping stages towards the elite] (in Spanish). Estadio Deportivo. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Fabián y Gavi, dos palaciegos en el futuro del Betis" [Fabián and Gavi, two Palaciegos in Betis' future] (in Spanish). Cuenta con la Cantera. 16 September 2014. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  5. ^ "El Marbella golea a domicilio al Betis B" [Marbella thrashes Betis B away from home] (in Spanish). Diario Sur. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  6. ^ "El Betis derriba el fortín del Lugo y se acerca a zona de ascenso" [Betis breaks down Lugo's fortress and draws near the promotion zone] (in Spanish). Marca. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Rubén Castro llega justo a tiempo" [Rubén Castro arrives just in time] (in Spanish). Marca. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  8. ^ "Fabián extends his contract and goes on loan to Elche CF". Real Betis. 23 December 2016. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  9. ^ "El Betis hace oficial la renovación de Fabián Ruiz hasta 2023" [Betis turn official the renewal of Fabián Ruiz until 2023]. Marca (in Spanish). 31 January 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Betis qualify for the Europa League with win over Malaga". Marca. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  11. ^ "Napoli Confirm Signing of Real Betis Talent Fabian Ruiz on Long Term Contract". Sports Illustrated. 5 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Official: Napoli pay Ruiz clause". Football Italia. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Le formazioni ufficiali di Stella Rossa-Napoli: Milik titolare, debutta Fabian Ruiz" [Official line-ups for Red Star-Napoli: Milik starter, Fabián Ruiz debuts] (in Italian). Eurosport. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Fabian Ruiz, l'esordio al San Paolo: prestazione brillante e priva di errori" [Fabián Ruiz, debut at the San Paolo: brilliant performance and devoid of errors] (in Italian). Napoli Calcio Live. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Fabián Ruiz signs five-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 30 August 2022.
  16. ^ "First appearance for Fabian Ruiz". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 10 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Montpellier 1-3 PSG: Fabian Ruiz assists and scores in costly snoozefest". PSG Post. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Football : le PSG remporte son onzième titre de champion de France". France 24 (in French). 27 May 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  19. ^ "OFFICIAL | Call-up for the first two EURO Qualifier matches". SeFutbol. 15 March 2019. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  20. ^ Lara, Miguel Ángel (27 December 2019). "2019, el año de los cristales rotos en la historia de la selección". Marca (in Spanish) – via Goleada a Suecia, Kepa y relevo confirmado. Ese día debuta con la absoluta el gran impacto de la selección en 2019, Fabián Ruiz. [That day, the great impact of the national team in 2019, Fabián Ruiz, debuts with the senior team.]
  21. ^ "Match Commentary - Sweden vs Spain". ESPN. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  22. ^ "2019 Under-21 Euro Player of the Tournament: Fabián Ruiz". UEFA. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  23. ^ "Spain 5-0 Romania: Hosts wrap up Euro 2020 qualifying in style". BBC Sport. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  24. ^ Braidwood, Jamie (24 May 2021). "Euro 2020 news Live: Sergio Ramos left out of Spain squad plus latest before England announcement". The Independent.
  25. ^ "Spain vs Sweden". Sky Sports. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  26. ^ "Spain v Poland: Euro 2020 – live!". The Guardian. 19 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  27. ^ "Euro 2020 - Croatia v Spain - Follow LIVE". Eurosport. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Spain 2-1 Italy: Match Report - Nations League". RFEF. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  29. ^ "Spain 3-0 Croatia: Match Report - Euro 2024". ESPN. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  30. ^ "OFFICIAL | Final Spain squad for the Euro 2024 finals". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  31. ^ "Spain 3-0 Croatia LIVE: UEFA Euro 2024 - score, updates & reaction". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  32. ^ Lewis, Andy. "Yamal, Williams and Fabian shine as Spain dominate Euro 2024 team of the tournament". The National. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  33. ^ "Chi è davvero Fabian Ruiz" [Who really is Fabian Ruiz]. ultimouomo.com (in Italian). L'Ultimo Uomo. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  34. ^ Fabián at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  35. ^ a b "Fabián Ruiz". European Football. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  36. ^ "Coppa: Napoli beat Juventus on penalties". Football Italia. 17 June 2020.
  37. ^ "Paris Saint-Germain win their 12th Ligue 1 title!". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 28 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  38. ^ "PSG beat Lyon 2-1 to win French Cup final in Mbappe's farewell appearance". Reuters. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  39. ^ "Paris start 2024 with Trophée des Champions triumph!". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  40. ^ "Spain U21 2–1 Germany U21". BBC Sport. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  41. ^ UEFA.com. "Spain 2-1 England | UEFA EURO 2024 Final". UEFA.com. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  42. ^ Smith, Emma (18 June 2023). "Spain win Nations League final on penalties". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  43. ^ "UEFA EURO 2024 Team of the Tournament". UEFA. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  44. ^ "Official Under-21 Team of the Tournament". UEFA. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
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