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Fran Vélez

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Fran Vélez
Personal information
Full name Francisco Manuel Vélez Jiménez
Date of birth (1991-06-23) 23 June 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth Tarragona, Spain
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Aris
Number 4
Youth career
2007–2009 La Floresta
2009–2010 Gimnàstic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Gimnàstic 38 (4)
2010–2012 Pobla Mafumet 29 (3)
2011–2012Logroñés (loan) 28 (1)
2013–2014 Almería B 26 (2)
2014–2017 Almería 75 (2)
2017–2018 Wisła Kraków 17 (1)
2018–2020 Aris 47 (5)
2020–2022 Panathinaikos 54 (2)
2022–2023 Al Fateh 21 (0)
2023– Aris 18 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:00, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

Francisco 'Fran' Manuel Vélez Jiménez (born 23 June 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Super League Greece club Aris as a central defender or a right-back.

Club career

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Gimnàstic

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Born in Tarragona, Catalonia, Vélez began playing football for Club Esportiu La Floresta.[1] In late 2009 he signed a contract with Gimnàstic de Tarragona, where he spent his last year as a junior.

On 10 April 2010, Vélez made his official Nàstic debut, starting against Albacete Balompié in a 1–1 away draw.[2] He made three more appearances during the season in Segunda División, against Real Betis,[3] Cádiz CF (where he was sent off)[4] and UD Las Palmas.[5] In the following campaign he represented CF Pobla de Mafumet, the farm team.

Vélez was loaned to UD Logroñés of Segunda División B in August 2011.[6] He scored his only goal of the season against Real Sociedad B, contributing to a 3–1 home win.[7]

On 14 July 2012, Vélez returned to Nàstic and its main squad.[8] On 26 August he played his first game in his second stint, against Valencia CF Mestalla.[9] He netted his first goal with the club on 7 October, opening the 2–0 home victory over CD Binissalem.[10]

Almería

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On 2 September 2013, Vélez signed with UD Almería, initially being assigned to the reserves also in the third division.[11] He made his first-team debut on 14 January of the following year, starting as a right-back in a 2–0 home loss to Racing de Santander in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey (3–1 loss on aggregate).[12]

Vélez's maiden appearance in La Liga took place on 27 April 2014: he started and scored in a 2–1 win at RCD Espanyol, where he featured as a defensive midfielder before being replaced by Jonathan Zongo in the 71st minute.[13] He played a further three matches with the main squad, only contributing four minutes in the last fixture, a 0–0 home draw against Athletic Bilbao.[14]

On 7 June 2014, Vélez was definitely promoted to the first team.[15] On 31 March 2015, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a shoulder injury;[16] the season also ended in relegation.

Vélez was regularly used during the following second-tier campaigns, and cut ties with the club on 28 June 2017.[17]

Wisła Kraków

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On 1 July 2017, Vélez signed with Polish club Wisła Kraków.[18] He scored his only goal in the Ekstraklasa on 18 March 2018, helping to a 2–0 away victory over Legia Warsaw.[19]

Aris

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On 25 July 2018, after the player successfully passed his medicals, Aris Thessaloniki F.C. announced the signing of Vélez on a two-year contract.[20] He scored his first goal for the team the following 24 February, heading home in a 1–1 draw at Super League Greece leaders PAOK FC.[21]

Later career

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Vélez agreed to join Panathinaikos F.C. on 20 February 2020, with the three-year deal being made effective on 1 July.[22] In September 2023, after one season in the Saudi Pro League with Al Fateh SC, the 32-year-old returned to Aris on a two-year contract.[23]

Personal life

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Vélez's older brother, José Antonio, was also a footballer. Both played for Gimnàstic and Pobla.[24]

Career statistics

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As of match played 14 April 2024[25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Gimnàstic 2009–10 Segunda División 4 0 0 0 4 0
2012–13 Segunda División B 34 4 1 0 35 4
Total 38 4 1 0 39 4
Pobla Mafumet 2010–11 Tercera División 29 3 29 3
Logroñés 2011–12 Segunda División B 28 1 3 0 31 1
Almería B 2013–14 Segunda División B 26 2 26 2
Almería 2013–14 La Liga 4 1 1 0 5 1
2014–15 La Liga 17 0 0 0 17 0
2015–16 Segunda División 30 0 2 0 32 0
2016–17 Segunda División 24 1 0 0 24 1
Total 75 2 3 0 78 2
Wisła Kraków 2017–18 Ekstraklasa 17 1 0 0 17 1
Aris 2018–19 Super League Greece 23 1 2 0 25 1
2019–20 Super League Greece 24 4 5 0 3[b] 0 32 4
Total 47 5 7 0 3 0 57 5
Panathinaikos 2020–21 Super League Greece 25 2 0 0 25 2
2021–22 Super League Greece 29 0 6 0 35 0
Total 54 2 6 0 60 2
Al-Fateh 2022–23 Saudi Pro League 21 0 2 0 23 0
Aris 2023–24 Super League Greece 10 0 3 1 0 0 13 1
Career total 345 20 25 1 3 0 373 21

Honours

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Panathinaikos

References

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  1. ^ El juvenil Vélez podría jugar de titular contra el Albacete (Youth player Vélez could start against Albacete); Nàstic Grana, 10 April 2010 (in Spanish)
  2. ^ El Nástic frena la racha manchega (Nástic stop manchego streak); Marca, 10 April 2010 (in Spanish)
  3. ^ Sufrir para creer (Suffering to believe); Diario de Sevilla, 16 May 2010 (in Spanish)
  4. ^ El Cádiz se aferra a la permanencia y complica la vida al Nàstic (Cádiz cling on to survival and make things harder for Nàstic); Diario AS, 30 May 2010 (in Spanish)
  5. ^ Rondón salva los muebles (Rondón saves their bacon); Marca, 19 June 2010 (in Spanish)
  6. ^ Fran Vélez, cedit a la UD Logroñés (Fran Vélez, loaned to UD Logronés); Gimnàstic Tarragona, 4 August 2011 (in Catalan)
  7. ^ El Sanse terminó con nueve jugadores en Logroño (Sanse ended with nine players in Logroño); El Diario Vasco, 22 March 2012 (in Spanish)
  8. ^ Fran Vélez torna al Nàstic (Fran Vélez returns to Nàstic); Gimnàstic Tarragona, 14 July 2012 (in Catalan)
  9. ^ Debut con empate (Debut with draw); Blog del Nàstic, 26 August 2012 (in Spanish)
  10. ^ 3 puntos y algo más. (3 points and something more.); Blog del Nàstic, 7 October 2012 (in Spanish)
  11. ^ Fran Vélez marxa traspassat a la UD Almería (Fran Vélez transferred to UD Almería); Gimnàstic Tarragona, 2 September 2013 (in Catalan)
  12. ^ Un monumento al Racing (A monument to Racing); Marca, 14 January 2014 (in Spanish)
  13. ^ Suso se inventa una nueva esperanza (Suso invents new hope); Marca, 27 April 2014 (in Spanish)
  14. ^ Más que suficiente (More than enough); Marca, 18 May 2014 (in Spanish)
  15. ^ Fran Vélez pasa a tener contrato profesional y sube al primer equipo (Fran Vélez now has a professional contract and is promoted to the first team) Archived 12 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine; UD Almería, 7 June 2014 (in Spanish)
  16. ^ Fran Vélez dice adiós a la temporada (Fran Vélez says goodbye to the season) Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine; UD Almería, 31 March 2015 (in Spanish)
  17. ^ La UD Almería y Fran Vélez llegan a un acuerdo para rescindir el contrato (UD Almería and Fran Vélez reach an agreement to terminate the contract); UD Almería, 28 June 2017 (in Spanish)
  18. ^ "Fran Vélez piłkarzem Wisły" [Fran Vélez a Wisła player] (in Polish). 90 Minut. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  19. ^ "LEGIA – WISŁA K. (0:2): CÓŻ ZA KUNSZT CARLITOSA! HISZPAN KAPITALNIE OGRAŁ EDUARDO I ZALICZYŁ PIĘKNĄ ASYSTĘ PRZY GOLU VELEZA" (in Polish). Ekstraklasa TV. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  20. ^ Επίσημο: Παίκτης του Άρη ο Βελέθ [Official: Vélez an Aris player] (in Greek). Sport 24. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  21. ^ ΠΑΟΚ – Άρης: Το γκολ – οφσάιντ του Βέλεθ στο 85' [PAOK – Aris: Vélez's offside goal at 85'] (in Greek). Sport 24. 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  22. ^ "Παναθηναϊκός: Κλεισμένος ο Βέλεθ από το τριφύλλι" [Panathinaikos: Vélez secured by the Clover] (in Greek). Sport 24. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Ο FRAN VELEZ ΕΠΕΣΤΡΕΨΕ ΣΤΟΝ ΑΡΗ! – ΑΝΑΚΟΙΝΩΣΕ..." [Fran Vélez returns to Aris – Announcement...] (in Greek). Aris F.C. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  24. ^ Fran Vélez pide irse (Fran Vélez asks to leave); Diari de Tarragona, 22 June 2013 (in Spanish)
  25. ^ a b "Fran Vélez". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
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