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.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Manuel Vélez Jiménez | ||
| Date of birth | 23 June 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Tarragona, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Aris | ||
| Number | 44 | ||
| 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) |
| 2011–2012 | → Logroñés (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 | 5 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:37, 21 February 2024 (UTC) | |||
Club career edit
Gimnàstic edit
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 edit
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 edit
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 edit
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 edit
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 edit
Vélez's older brother, José Antonio, was also a footballer. Both played for Gimnàstic and Pobla.[24]
Career statistics edit
- As of match played 10 March 2024[25]
| 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 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | Segunda División | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| Career total | 344 | 20 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 372 | 21 | ||
- ^ Includes Copa del Rey, Greek Football Cup, King Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours edit
Panathinaikos
References edit
- ^ El juvenil Vélez podría jugar de titular contra el Albacete (Youth player Vélez could start against Albacete); Nàstic Grana, 10 April 2010 (in Spanish)
- ^ El Nástic frena la racha manchega (Nástic stop manchego streak); Marca, 10 April 2010 (in Spanish)
- ^ Sufrir para creer (Suffering to believe); Diario de Sevilla, 16 May 2010 (in Spanish)
- ^ 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)
- ^ Rondón salva los muebles (Rondón saves their bacon); Marca, 19 June 2010 (in Spanish)
- ^ Fran Vélez, cedit a la UD Logroñés (Fran Vélez, loaned to UD Logronés); Gimnàstic Tarragona, 4 August 2011 (in Catalan)
- ^ El Sanse terminó con nueve jugadores en Logroño (Sanse ended with nine players in Logroño); El Diario Vasco, 22 March 2012 (in Spanish)
- ^ Fran Vélez torna al Nàstic (Fran Vélez returns to Nàstic); Gimnàstic Tarragona, 14 July 2012 (in Catalan)
- ^ Debut con empate (Debut with draw); Blog del Nàstic, 26 August 2012 (in Spanish)
- ^ 3 puntos y algo más. (3 points and something more.); Blog del Nàstic, 7 October 2012 (in Spanish)
- ^ Fran Vélez marxa traspassat a la UD Almería (Fran Vélez transferred to UD Almería); Gimnàstic Tarragona, 2 September 2013 (in Catalan)
- ^ Un monumento al Racing (A monument to Racing); Marca, 14 January 2014 (in Spanish)
- ^ Suso se inventa una nueva esperanza (Suso invents new hope); Marca, 27 April 2014 (in Spanish)
- ^ Más que suficiente (More than enough); Marca, 18 May 2014 (in Spanish)
- ^ 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)
- ^ 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)
- ^ 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)
- ^ "Fran Vélez piłkarzem Wisły" [Fran Vélez a Wisła player] (in Polish). 90 Minut. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Επίσημο: Παίκτης του Άρη ο Βελέθ [Official: Vélez an Aris player] (in Greek). Sport 24. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Παναθηναϊκός: Κλεισμένος ο Βέλεθ από το τριφύλλι" [Panathinaikos: Vélez secured by the Clover] (in Greek). Sport 24. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Fran Vélez pide irse (Fran Vélez asks to leave); Diari de Tarragona, 22 June 2013 (in Spanish)
- ^ a b "Fran Vélez". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
External links edit
- Fran Vélez at BDFutbol
- Fran Vélez at Futbolme (in Spanish)
- Fran Vélez at 90minut.pl (in Polish)