Roberto González Bayón (born 8 January 2001), commonly known as Rober, is a Spanish 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 winger for Dutch club

NEC Nijmegen NEC Nijmegen (''Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie''), commonly known as NEC (), is a professional Dutch association football club based in Nijmegen. The club currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, following promotion ...

Club career

Born in Mérida,

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

, Rober joined

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

' youth setup in 2013, from Mérida CF. On 8 June 2017, he signed his first professional contract with the latter club, running until 2020. On 20 August 2017, aged just 16, Rober made his senior debut with the reserves by starting and scoring the opener in a 4–1

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

home routing of

CF Lorca Deportiva Club de Fútbol Lorca Deportiva is a Spanish football club based in Lorca, in the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia. Founded in 2012, the club play in . Lorca holds it home games at '' Estadio Francisco Artés Carrasco,'' which has a ...

. He was a regular starter for the B's during the campaign, which ended in relegation. On 1 November 2018, Rober made his first team debut at the age of 17, coming on as a late substitute for

Takashi Inui is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a winger or an attacking midfielder and currently play for club, Shimizu S-Pulse. Club career Inui was an All Japan High School Soccer Tournament champion in 2006 with Yasu High School. In 2 ...

in a 1–0 away defeat of

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

, for the season's

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

. The following 18 January, he renewed his contract until 2024, with a release clause set on

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

25 million. On 3 September 2020, Rober was loaned to

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 ...

side

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas S.A.D. is a professional association football, football club based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The club will compete in Segunda División, the 2nd division in the Spanish football league syst ...

, for one year. He made his professional debut on 12 September 2020, starting in a 1–0 away loss against

CD Leganés Club Deportivo Leganés, S.A.D. is a professional football club based in Leganés, Community of Madrid. They currently compete in La Liga, the first tier of the Spanish league system. Leganés was officially founded 23 June 1928 and played thei ...

. Rober scored his first professional goal on 3 October 2020, netting the opener in a 2–1 home win against

UD Logroñés Unión Deportiva Logroñés, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Logroño, in the autonomous community of La Rioja (Spain), La Rioja. Founded in 2009, it currently plays in , holding home matches at ''Estad ...

. The following 1 April, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 6–1 home routing of

CD Lugo Club Deportivo Lugo is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Primera Federación, holding home games at ''Estadio Anxo ...

, and returned to Betis in July 2021 after scoring eight goals in 30 appearances. Rober 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 14 August 2021, replacing fellow youth graduate Rodri in a 1–1 away draw against

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

. The following 14 January, he returned to Las Palmas on loan for the remainder of the season. On 1 September 2022, Rober was loaned to second division side

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 ...

, for one year. On 14 July 2023, Rober moved on a new loan to

in the Netherlands, with an option to buy. On 20 June 2024, NEC exercised the purchase option and signed a three-year contract with Rober. The following 1 February, however, he was loaned to

back in his home country's second division.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rober 2001 births Living people Footballers from Mérida, Spain Spanish men's footballers Men's association football forwards Spain men's youth international footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Eredivisie players Betis Deportivo Balompié footballers Real Betis players UD Las Palmas players Deportivo Alavés players NEC Nijmegen players Racing de Santander players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands 21st-century Spanish sportsmen