Rubén Rayos Serna (born 21 June 1986), commonly known as Rayo, 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 an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Club career

Rayo was born in

Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

. He finished his youth career with

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community, Spain. Founded in 1923, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025–26 season, holding home matches at ...

, and played only

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 ...

football until the age of 25, representing

Villajoyosa CF Villajoyosa Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Vila Joiosa, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1942, in the 2022–23 season, the club competes in , holding home matches at the ''Estadio Nou Pla'', with a capaci ...

FC Barcelona Atlètic Futbol Club Barcelona Atlètic, commonly referred to as Barça Atlètic or Barça B, is a football team based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that will compete in Segunda Federación, the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system onward ...

Orihuela CF Orihuela Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Orihuela, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1993 it plays in , holding home games at '' Estadio Municipal Los Arcos'', with a capacity of 7,000 seats. History On 4 August 1993, th ...

and

UE Lleida Unió Esportiva Lleida was a Spanish football team based in Lleida, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. It was founded as ''Lérida Balompié-AEM'' on 30 October 1939, and became ''Unión Deportiva Lérida'' in 1947, after a merger with ''C ...

. In the summer of 2011, Rayo moved straight into the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

, joining a host of compatriots at Asteras Tripolis FC. He scored five league goals in his first season, adding three in the campaign's domestic cup. Rayo improved his overall totals to nine goals and 12 assists in 2012–13. In the final of the Greek Cup, against

Olympiacos FC Olympiacos Football Club ( ), known simply as Olympiacos or Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional football club based in Piraeus. Part of the major multi-sport club Olympiacos CFP (''Olympiakós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós'', "Olymp ...

, he put his team ahead 1–0 in an eventual 3–1

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

loss. He was eventually chosen Best Foreign Player for his exploits and, during most of his spell, was also

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. On 6 June 2013, Rayo signed a three-year contract with Maccabi Haifa FC, netting 11 goals from 27 appearances in his

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

to help his new club to fourth position in the regular season of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

. In March 2014, he was involved in an incident with Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv FC's Rafi Dahan, his harsh tackle producing an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

to his opponent which sidelined him for almost one year – he received a straight

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

, and Dahan was eventually forced to retire; subsequently, Dahan filed a

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

against Rayo and Maccabi Haifa in an Israeli court, winning the legal action after the judge ruled that the other player's actions were deliberate. On 8 July 2015, Rayo joined French side

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard (; commonly referred to as FCSM or simply Sochaux) is a Football in France, French association football club based in the city of Montbéliard. The club was founded in 1928 and currently plays in Championnat N ...

, agreeing to a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Roughly one year later, he moved to

Anorthosis Famagusta FC Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.

in the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

Career statistics

Honours

Asteras Tripolis *

Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

runner-up: 2012–13 Individual *

Player of the Year: 2012–13 * Super League Greece Foreign Player of the Year: 2012–13

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rayos, Ruben 1986 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Elche Men's association football midfielders Segunda División B players Segunda Federación players Elche CF Ilicitano footballers Elche CF players Villajoyosa CF footballers FC Barcelona Atlètic players Orihuela CF players UE Lleida players SD Ejea players Super League Greece players Asteras Tripolis F.C. players Israeli Premier League players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Ligue 2 players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Cypriot First Division players Anorthosis Famagusta FC players TFF 1. Lig players Bandırmaspor footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Israel Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey