Fran Vélez

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.

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

Fran Vélez
Personal information
Full name Francisco Manuel Vélez Jiménez
Date of birth (1991-06-23) 23 June 1991
Place of birth Tarragona, Spain
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 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 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:33, 3 October 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Gimnàstic

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

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 0–2 home loss to Racing de Santander in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey (1–3 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

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

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

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

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

Career statistics
As of 27 May 2023[25]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Gimnàstic 2009–10 Segunda División 4000——40
2012–13 Segunda División B 34410——354
Total 38410——394
Pobla Mafumet 2010–11 Tercera División 293———293
Logroñés 2011–12 Segunda División B 28130——311
Almería B 2013–14 262———262
Almería 2013–14 La Liga 4110——51
2014–15 17000——170
2015–16 Segunda División 30020——320
2016–17 24100——241
Total 75230——782
Wisła Kraków 2017–18 Ekstraklasa 17100——171
Aris 2018–19 Super League Greece 23120——251
2019–20 2445030—324
Total 4757030—575
Panathinaikos 2020–21 Super League Greece 25200——252
2021–22 29060——350
Total 54260——602
Al-Fateh 2022–23 Saudi Pro League 21020——230
Career totals 33520220300036020

Honours

Panathinaikos

References
  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. "Fran Vélez". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
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