Jonás Ramalho Chimeno (born 10 June 1993) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for Kuwaiti club

Kazma Kazma () is an area in Kuwait. It is located in Al Jahra Governorate, north of Kuwait City, the capital of Kuwait. It is an ancient area with a long history, known to Persians and Arabs since the Sassanid, Jahiliyyah and the early Islamic eras. ...

. In 2011, he was the first mixed-race player to appear for

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

– who only field Basque players – in an official competition. During his career, he represented mainly that club and

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

. Born in Spain, Ramalho made his debut for

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

in 2020.

Club career

Athletic Bilbao

Ramalho was born in

Barakaldo Barakaldo (; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country in Spain. Located on the Left Bank (Biscay), Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is pa ...

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

, to a Basque mother and an Angolan father. A product of

's famed youth system at

Lezama Lezama is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. It is home to the training headquarters of the football team Athletic Bilbao, and is accessible by bus - Bizka ...

, he first appeared with the main squad at only 14, featuring as a substitute in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

SD Amorebieta Sociedad Deportiva Amorebieta is a Spanish football team based in Amorebieta-Etxano, in the Basque Country. Founded in 1925, it currently plays in , holding home games temporarily at the Lezama Facilities outside Bilbao (its own ground '' Campo ...

to become its youngest player of all time. As a senior, he had only played once for the reserves when he received his first call-up for the first team, being named in the 18-man list for a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

match at home to

SV Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

, filling in for regular Andoni Iraola as the side was already qualified; however, he did not leave the bench in the 0–3 group stage home loss on 16 December 2009. Ramalho made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

debut on 20 November 2011 at the age of 18 years and five months, sent on by coach

Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning 'The Madman Bielsa'; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional Association football, football manager who is the current manager of the Uruguay national football team ...

to play the last five minutes in place of

Fernando Llorente Fernando Javier Llorente Torres (; born 26 February 1985), nicknamed ''El Rey León'' ("The Lion King" in Spanish), is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He started his career with Athletic Bilbao, working his w ...

a 2–1 away win against

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

. On 2 August of the following year he made his first appearance in European competition, starting in a 3–1 home victory over

NK Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo (), often referred to as Slaven Belupo, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city of Koprivnica in the north of Croatia. They play their home matches at Gradski stadion in Koprivnica. They play in ...

in that season's

Girona

In 2013, Ramalho was loaned to

Girona FC Girona Futbol Club, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. ( ) is a Spanish professional Football team, football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, the team plays in La Liga, to which they gained promotion in the 2022 ...

, playing regularly in two

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

seasons. In May 2015, shortly after suffering a serious knee injury away to

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

, he signed a new contract to keep him at Athletic for the upcoming campaign. On 7 June 2016, after suffering relegation with the B side, Ramalho was released by Athletic Bilbao. He returned to Girona late in the month, now in a permanent deal. Ramalho left the Catalan club after its relegation in 2019, but returned to on 20 August of that year after agreeing to a three-year contract.

Osasuna

Ramalho returned to the top division on 1 February 2021, loaned to

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. The team's ...

until 30 June with a buying option. He signed a permanent one-year contract with the club on 5 July.

Málaga

On 15 July 2022, Ramalho agreed to a two-year deal with second division side

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...

. In June 2023, having been

relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

, he left after activating an exit clause on his contract.

Later career

On 19 July 2023, Ramalho joined

Saudi First Division League The Saudi First Division League (), currently known as the Yelo League for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of professional football in Saudi Arabia. It ranks below the Saudi Pro League and above the Saudi Second Division League in the ...

club

Ohod Club Ohod Club () is a Saudi Arabian professional football club based in Medina, which competes in the Saudi First Division League. History Ohod was named after Mount Uhud, hence the nickname "Al-Jabal". Ohod have won the Saudi First Division three t ...

. Two months later, he switched to the

Bahraini Premier League The Bahraini Premier League is the main domestic football competition in the kingdom of Bahrain. Currently known as the Nasser bin Hamad Premier League, the first season was held in 1956-1957. The winners of the domestic championship qualify f ...

with

Al-Ahli Club (Manama) Al-Ahli Club of Manama () is a Bahraini football club based in Manama, Bahrain. History Al Ahli (formerly known as Al Nusoor), along with Muharraq Club, is considered to be the pillar of sports in Bahrain. Another club known as Al Tursana (w ...

International career

Ramalho was part of the Spanish under-19 squads which won the

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. With the team already qualified for the knockout stages as group winners, he was fielded by coach

Ginés Meléndez Ginés Meléndez Sotos (born 22 March 1950) is a retired Spanish association football, footballer and manager (football), football manager. Football career Ginés, stopped playing football with 21. He then studied as a coach, and began training ...

for the final group game in the former competition in

Chiajna Chiajna () is a commune in the south-west of Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, immediately west of the capital, Bucharest. It is composed of three villages: Chiajna, Dudu, and Roșu. The mayor of Chiajna is currently Mircea Minea ( Social Democra ...

, scoring an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

which opened a 3–0 victory for

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Ramalho was called up by

manager

Srđan Vasiljević Srđan Vasiljević (; born 1 April 1973) is a Serbian football manager and former player. Playing career Vasiljević came through the youth system of Red Star Belgrade. He went on to play for Radnički Beograd, Borac Čačak (twice), Obilić, ...

in a preliminary squad for the

2019 Africa Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...

, but was one of three players cut before the final tournament in Egypt. He was again selected in September 2020, winning his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

the following month in the 3–0 defeat of

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

held in

Rio Maior Rio Maior () is a municipality in the Santarém District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 21,192, in an area of 272.76 km². The present mayor is Isaura Morais of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the first woman to be elected mayor ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Spain U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramalho, Jonas 1993 births Living people Spanish people of Angolan descent Angolan people of Spanish descent 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Angolan men's footballers Footballers from Barakaldo Men's association football central defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players CD Basconia footballers Athletic Bilbao B footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers Girona FC players CA Osasuna players Málaga CF players Saudi First Division League players Ohod Club players Bahraini Premier League players Al Ahli Club (Manama) players Kuwait Premier League players Kazma SC players Spain men's youth international footballers Angola men's international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Angolan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Bahrain Expatriate men's footballers in Kuwait Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Bahrain Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait Angolan expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Angolan expatriate sportspeople in Bahrain Angolan expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait