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Víctor Ruiz Torre (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbiɣtoɾ ˈrwiθ ˈtore]; born 25 January 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back.
 Ruiz being presented by Napoli in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Víctor Ruiz Torre[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 25 January 1989[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2002 | Barcelona | ||
| 2002–2006 | Cornellà | ||
| 2006–2008 | Espanyol | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2010 | Espanyol B | 44 | (0) |
| 2009–2011 | Espanyol | 37 | (2) |
| 2011 | Napoli | 6 | (0) |
| 2011–2015 | Valencia | 59 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | → Villarreal (loan) | 25 | (0) |
| 2015–2019 | Villarreal | 112 | (3) |
| 2019–2020 | Beşiktaş | 23 | (0) |
| 2020–2023 | Betis | 55 | (2) |
| 2023–2024 | Espanyol | 15 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2006 | Spain U17 | 1 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Spain U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Spain U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 2012 | Spain U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 2010 | Catalonia | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 June 2024 | |||
Espanyol
Born in Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Ruiz arrived in RCD Espanyol's youth system in 2006 at the age of 17, from neighbouring UE Cornellà.[2] In the 2008–09 season he made his senior debut, helping the reserve side to win their Tercera División group and subsequently promote in the playoffs.[3][4]
Ruiz made his debut with the first team on 6 December 2009, starting and being booked in a 4–0 home loss against Racing de Santander.[5] Coach Mauricio Pochettino fielded him in a further 21 La Liga games that campaign, with the team finally finishing 11th; he added two goals, against Málaga CF (2–1 away defeat)[6] and Atlético Madrid (3–0, home).[7]
Napoli and Valencia
In 2010–11, Ruiz played all the minutes for Espanyol in the first 15 rounds.[8] On 31 January 2011, he was sold to SSC Napoli for €6 million cash in a four-and-a-half-year contract, with the Italians also ceding the sporting rights to Jesús Dátolo who was playing with the Spaniards on loan.[9][10]
Ruiz returned to his country on 30 August 2011, after signing a five-year deal with Valencia CF for €8 million.[11][12] He made his official debut on 10 September, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home victory over Atlético Madrid.[13]
On 12 December 2013, Ruiz was sent off in a 1–1 home draw against FC Kuban Krasnodar in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, for a professional foul on Djibril Cissé.[14]
Villarreal
On 1 July 2015, following a one-year loan there, Ruiz transferred to Villarreal CF also in the Valencian Community for an initial €2.7 million, potentially rising to €3 million.[15] He played his first competitive match for them in his second spell on 23 August, when he started and finished the 1–1 draw at Real Betis.[16]
Ruiz scored his first league goal for Villarreal on 7 April 2017, in a 3–1 home defeat of Athletic Bilbao where he also received his marching orders after a straight red card with 15 minutes left.[17]
Beşiktaş and Betis
On 7 August 2019, Ruiz joined Beşiktaş J.K. on a three-year contract.[18] He returned to the Spanish top flight one year later, however, with the free agent signing a one-year deal with Betis.[19]
Ruiz agreed to an extension until 2023 at the Estadio Benito Villamarín on 4 June 2021;[20] at its conclusion, he left.[21] In between, he won the 2021–22 edition of the Copa del Rey for his first major honour,[22] but contributed only three matches to this feat.[23]
Return to Espanyol
On 20 September 2023, Ruiz returned to his first professional club Espanyol on a one-year deal.[24]
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Shortly after making his debut with Espanyol, Ruiz was called to the Spain under-21 team by manager Luis Milla. On 8 February 2011, in the last minutes of a 2–1 friendly win over Denmark, he was sent off for punching Nicki Bille, who celebrated his goal in front of Ruiz's face.[25][26]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Espanyol | 2009–10 | La Liga | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 22 | 2 | |
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| Total | 37 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 2 | ||
| Napoli | 2010–11 | Serie A | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Valencia | 2011–12 | La Liga | 22 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 8[b] | 1 | 37 | 2 |
| 2012–13 | La Liga | 26 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7[a] | 0 | 19 | 1 | |
| Total | 59 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 89 | 3 | ||
| Villarreal (loan) | 2014–15 | La Liga | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8[a] | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| Villarreal | 2015–16 | La Liga | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14[a] | 0 | 51 | 0 |
| 2016–17 | La Liga | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | 36 | 1 | |
| 2017–18 | La Liga | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 34 | 2 | |
| 2018–19 | La Liga | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[a] | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| Total | 137 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 190 | 3 | ||
| Beşiktaş | 2019–20 | Süper Lig | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| Betis | 2020–21 | La Liga | 27 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 31 | 2 | |
| 2021–22 | La Liga | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Total | 55 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 68 | 2 | ||
| Espanyol | 2023–24 | Segunda División | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Career total | 332 | 8 | 36 | 1 | 68 | 1 | 436 | 10 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in La Liga play-offs
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Espanyol B
Betis
Spain U21
Individual
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