Rúben dos Santos Gato Alves Dias (born 14 May 1997) is a Portuguese 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

centre-back 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 club

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

and the Portugal national team. Known for his aggressive style of play and leadership qualities on the pitch, he is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the world. Dias came through Benfica's youth academy. He began playing for

Benfica B Sport Lisboa e Benfica "B" (), commonly known as Benfica B, is a Portuguese professional football team based in Seixal. Founded in 1999, dissolved in 2006, and restarted in 2012, it is the reserve team of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica. They play ...

in 2015 and was promoted to the first-team in 2017, and was named the Primeira Liga's Young Player of the Year. The following season, Dias won the league title in the 2018–19 season with Benfica and later the

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

during the 2019–20 season, while also being named in the Primeira Liga's Team of the Year, making over 100 appearances in the process. He signed for Premier League club Manchester City in September 2020 for a reported fee of €68 million, becoming the second-highest fee for a Portuguese player leaving the domestic league. Dias won the league title and

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

in his first season, while also reaching the

UEFA Champions League final The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of Europe ...

. He was also named

FWA Footballer of the Year The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...

, Manchester City Player of the Year,

Premier League Player of the Season The Premier League Player of the Season is an annual association football award presented to players in England, which recognises the most outstanding player in the Premier League each season. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by t ...

and the UEFA Champions League Defender of the Season in 2021. In

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, he played a crucial role as City secured a first-ever

continental treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A continental treble involves winning the club's top-level domestic league competition, main domestic cup competition, and main continental tro ...

. Dias is a former Portugal youth international, representing his country at under-16, under-17, under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels. He made his senior international debut in 2018, being chosen in Portugal's squads for two

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

s (

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

) and two

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

s (

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

); he also won the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and

2025 UEFA Nations League Finals The 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League, 2024–25 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the fourth season of the international Association football, football competition involving the men ...

, being named in the 2019 team of the tournament on home soil and man of the match in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Early life

Rúben dos Santos Gato Alves Dias was born on 14 May 1997 in

Amadora Amadora (), officially Amadora City (), is a List of cities in Portugal, city and concelho, municipality in the northwest of the Lisbon metropolitan area and 10 km from central Lisbon. The population in 2011 was 175,136, in an area of 23.78&nb ...

, Lisbon District. He has an older brother Ivan, who is also a professional football player, who nicknamed him "Ruby". Growing up, his idols were

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional Coach (association football), football coach and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, the En ...

Nemanja Vidić Nemanja Vidić ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Видић, ; born 21 October 1981) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Widely considered to be one of the greatest defenders in history, Vidić is best known for his t ...

Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for TNT Sports. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and ...

, and

Vincent Kompany Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He is currently the head coach of ...

, whom he looked to emulate, as he idolised playing in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. He would play football wherever he could on the streets or in his house with his brother Ivan.

Club career

Benfica B

Dias started his career at local club

Estrela da Amadora Club Football Estrela Amadora SAD (), sometimes just Estrela da Amadora, is a Portuguese professional sports club (predominantly football) based in Amadora, northwest of Lisbon. The team is currently competing in the Primeira Liga, after winnin ...

after being brought to the club by a close family member. Dias initially played as a striker, before switching to defence, due to his team being losing by two goals during a match. He moved to Benfica's youth academy in 2008, where he played initially as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, before changing position to

for the junior side until 2015. In the same year, on 30 September, he made his professional debut with

in a

2015–16 LigaPro The 2015–16 LigaPro (also known as Ledman LigaPro for sponsorship reasons) was the 26th season of Portuguese football's second-tier league, and the first season under the current LigaPro title. A total of 24 teams competed in this division, incl ...

match against Chaves. On 7 March 2016,

Rui Vitória Rui Carlos Pinho da Vitória (; born 16 April 1970) is a Portuguese football manager and a former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the manager of Super League Greece club Panathinaikos. As a manager, he most notably spent th ...

called 18-year-old Dias for Benfica's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

Round of 16-second leg tie against

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club plays in the Russian Pr ...

after three of his four main centre-backs were unable to make the trip to Russia. The following season he helped the B team finish fourth; the club's highest ever position obtained in the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. He also helped the junior team reach the final of the

2016–17 UEFA Youth League The 2016–17 UEFA Youth League was the fourth season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA. Chelsea were the title holders after winning the previous two editions. However, since the UEFA Youth L ...

Benfica

On 16 September 2017, Dias debuted for the first team in a

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

match against Boavista. After two months of impressive displays, including two games against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the Champions League, he underwent surgery due to

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

, sidelining him for a month. He scored his first goal for Benfica in a

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

encounter (2–2) against

Vitória de Setúbal Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

on 29 December 2017. On 3 February 2018, he scored his first goal in the Primeira Liga against

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlant ...

(5–1). At the end of the season, he was voted Primeira Liga's best young player of the year. After heavy speculation linking Dias to a big money move to French side

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, he extended his contract with Benfica until 2023. On 2 November 2019, Dias played his 100th game for the club and scored the opening goal against Rio Ave in a 2–0 home victory. On 26 September 2020, Dias scored the opening goal against

Moreirense Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim d ...

in a 2–0 win. After the game, manager

Jorge Jesus Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. Most recently he was the manager of Saudi Professional League, Saudi P ...

admitted that it had likely been his last game for the club.

Manchester City

2020–2021: Debut season and European final

Dias signed for English

club

on 29 September 2020 on a six-year contract, with an initial fee reported of €68 million (£61.64 million) that could rise to €71.6 million with performance bonuses, plus

Nicolás Otamendi Nicolás Hernán Gonzalo Otamendi (born 12 February 1988) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre back, centre-back for Primeira Liga club S.L. Benfica, Benfica, which he Captain (association football) ...

being sent to Benfica in part-exchange for €15 million bringing the net cost of the transaction to €56.6 million (£51 million). On 3 October 2020, Dias made his league debut for City in a 1–1 away draw against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. Dias was named the Manchester City Player of the Month for November 2020, following a series of very strong defensive performances. On 27 February 2021, Dias scored his first goal for City in a 2–1 home league win over

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. He was praised as being a key factor in Manchester City regaining the Premier League title that season by bringing composure, leadership and stability back to the defence. Dias won the

for the 2020–21 season, who described him as a "comfortable winner" ahead of

Harry Kane Harry Edward Kane (born 28 July 1993) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Bundesliga club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich and Captain (association football), c ...

and

Kevin De Bruyne Kevin De Bruyne (; born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club SSC Napoli, Napoli and captains the Belgium national football team, Belgium national team. After spending mos ...

, and becoming the first defender to win the award since

Steve Nicol Stephen Nicol (born 11 December 1961) is a Scottish retired professional footballer who mainly played as a right back and occasionally played in other positions across defence and midfield. He played for the successful Liverpool teams of the 1 ...

in the 1988–89 season. He was also named Manchester City's Player of the Season and the

2022–present: Consecutive league titles and Treble

On 15 September 2021, Dias captained Manchester City for the first time, providing an assist for

Jack Grealish Jack Peter Grealish (born 10 September 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for club Manchester City and the England national team. Grealish joined Aston Villa at the age of six, and made ...

in a 6–3 home Champions League win against

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

. On 1 December, Dias opened the scoring in Manchester City's 2–1 victory over

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

, with his first goal from outside the box in his career. On 4 March 2022, Manchester City manager

Pep Guardiola Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (; born 18 January 1971) is a Catalans, Catalan professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player from Spain who has been the manager of club Manchester City F.C., Ma ...

announced that Dias had suffered an hamstring injury, his first injury in five years, leading him to miss two months of the season, which included the second

Manchester Derby The Manchester derby refers to association football, football matches between Manchester City F.C., Manchester City and Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the City of Manchester Stadium in Bradford, ...

of the season, Manchester City's second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

's qualification play-offs for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. He made his return from injury on 20 April, replacing

Nathan Aké Nathan Benjamin Aké (; born 18 February 1995) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for club Manchester City and the Netherlands national team. Club career Chelsea Early life and career Nathan Benjamin ...

in the 46th minute in a 3–0 victory over

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. On 7 May, Dias suffered another hamstring injury during a match against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, sidelining him for the remainder of the season. Over the course of the

campaign, Dias started and completed almost every minute for Manchester City, playing a major part in their campaign, as City secured their first ever Champions League trophy and complete a

, following a 1–0 victory against

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

in the Champions League final.

International career

2013–2018: Youth level and first international tournament

Dias represented the Under-17 side at the

2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the 13th edition of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, an annual football competition between men's under-17 national teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament was hosted for the first time ...

. Two years later, he served as captain to the under-19 squad at the

2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 15th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship (65th edition if the Under-18 and Junior eras are included), the annual European international youth association football, football champio ...

. The following year, Dias served as captain to the under-20 team at the 2017 U-20 World Cup, which lost to

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

5–4 on penalties in the quarterfinals. On 5 September 2017, he made his debut for the Under-21 in a

2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification The 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-21 football competition that determined the 11 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Italy in the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tourn ...

match against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Ahead of international friendly matches against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, Dias was called up to the senior side by Portugal coach Fernando Santos on 15 March 2018. However, four days later, he was dropped from the squad after picking up right ankle sprain. On 17 May 2018, Dias was named in Portugal's 23-man squad for the

in Russia. Eleven days later, he made his international debut in a friendly match against

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. Despite being present at the World Cup, he did not feature in any of Portugal's four matches in the competition.

2018–2022: Nations League title and subsequent tournaments

Following the World Cup, Dias began establishing himself at centre-back, overtaking

José Fonte José Miguel da Rocha Fonte (born 22 December 1983) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains Primeira Liga club Casa Pia. He started his professional career with Sporting CP B, moving to England with ...

's place alongside

Pepe Pepe is a pet form of the Spanish and Portuguese name José (Joseph). It is also a surname. * People Mononyms *Pepe (footballer, born 1935), Brazilian footballer José Macia *Pepe (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian-born Portuguese footballer ...

, featuring in all of Portugal's

2018–19 UEFA Nations League The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The league phase of the competition ...

matches, helping Portugal reach the

2019 UEFA Nations League final The 2019 UEFA Nations League final was a football match that determined the winners of the final tournament of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. It was the inaugural final of the international football competition involving the men's national ...

on home soil. On 9 June, Portugal defeated the

1–0 in the tournament's final, with Dias being named man of the match. For his performances throughout the competition, he was named in the " Team of the Tournament". On 17 November 2020, Dias scored his first international goals during the

2020–21 UEFA Nations League The 2020–21 UEFA Nations League was the second season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The competition was held from Septembe ...

, with a brace in a 3–2 victory against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. He was selected in Portugal's squad for

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

. On 19 June 2021, he scored an own goal in the 35th minute in a 4–2 loss to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

at Euro 2020. He appeared in all of Portugal's matches, being eventually eliminated at the round of 16, following a 1–0 loss to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

2022–present: Second Nations League title

In October 2022, he was named in Portugal's preliminary 55-man squad for the

in Qatar, before being included in the final 26-man squad for the tournament. He played almost every minute of their campaign, as they were knocked out of the tournament after losing 1–0 in the quarter-finals against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. On 11 September 2023, during a

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2023 to March 2024 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams that would join the automatically qualified host team Germany in the UEFA Eur ...

match against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

at home, Dias earned his 50th cap, starting in Portugal's 9–0 victory, their biggest win in international history. On 21 May 2024, Dias was named in Portugal's squad for

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

in Germany. He started in the team's first two matches against

the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

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 ...

, before being rested for the final

Group F Group F may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant dif ...

match against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He was restored to the starting line-up for Portugal's

round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

match against

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

and played 117 minutes before being substituted for Rúben Neves as Portugal won 3–0 in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

after losing 5–3 in another penalty shootout. On 20 May 2025, Dias was selected for Portugal’s

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

. He and his team would go on to win the tournament 5–3 in a penalty shootout over rivals

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Player profile

Style of play

Dias is a physically strong, right-footed centre-back, who usually features on the left-hand side of central defence, due to being comfortable at passing the ball with both feet. He is able to pass in different directions, whether to a teammate on the same side as him, or switching it to the opposing side or making vertical line-breaking passes. Combining his two-footedness with a very good passing range, Dias can dictate play in any direction from the back. His strength on the ball when shielding it away from forwards running down his channel. Dias is very calm on the ball too and rarely finds himself in a heap of pressure. Dias is extremely proficient at passing, especially in longer passes, as his passing quality and ability is able to help his team retain possession. Dias is also dominant in the air, winning most of his aerial duels, as he looks to target his teammates and find them on a regular basis. He also uses his size to help him contest well in tackles, as he is also great at bodying up on players to win the ball back. He has a good-timing as he is able to anticipate a player's action or react for a "last-ditch" challenge.

Reception

His Manchester City manager

, stated that "Dias a center back who leads the defensive line and in doing so helps others to make good decisions, the same happens in relation to midfielders ..he is a player capable of living every moment of the game ..always being focused on what he has to do and he makes his partner better."

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...

would praise Dias as the "best centre-back in world ..for the

e's is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and drawn by Satoru Yuiga. It was originally serialized in '' Monthly GFantasy'' from 1997 through 2005, and later published in 16 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Square Enix from March 18, 2003, to Febr ...

gaining another level of experience, knowledge". Former Manchester United defender

Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit, former coach and player, and co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. As a player, Neville was a right-back and spent his entire career with Manches ...

, stated that "Dias is the type of player who makes the whole team feel safe." Meanwhile, former

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

defender

Jamie Carragher James Lee Duncan Carragher ( ; born 28 January 1978) is an English football analyst and former player who played as a defender for Premier League club Liverpool during a career which spanned 17 years. A one-club man, he was Liverpool's vice ...

would compare Dias to legendary

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

defender

Carles Puyol Carles Puyol Saforcada (, ; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played List of one-club men in association football, his entire career for FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Considered one of the grea ...

, stating that "the amount of interceptions" during a

match reminded him of legendary Premier League defender

, while also praising his "leadership skills".

Personal life

Dias was in a relationship with Portuguese singer-songwriter

April Ivy Mariana Barreiros dos Santos Gonçalves (born 10 July 1999), better known for her stage name, April Ivy, is a Portuguese singer-songwriter. Since the age of 9, she has been getting a taste of the artistic world, either giving voice to Disney ch ...

from 2018 to 2021. In March 2025,

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker ( ; born 30 November 1960) is an English Sports broadcasting, sports broadcaster and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Lineker is the only player t ...

mentioned in an online video that Dias was now dating British television presenter,

Maya Jama Maya Indea Jama ( ; born 14 August 1994) is a British television presenter and radio DJ. She co-presented BBC One's '' Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer'' alongside Peter Crouch and Alex Horne and was the presenter of the BBC Three competition '' ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Portugal score listed first, score column indicates score after each Dias goal''

Honours

Benfica *

: 2018–19 *

Manchester City *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 2021–22,

, 2023–24 *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

; runner-up: 2023–24, 2024–25 *

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...

; runner-up:

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

Portugal *

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

: 2018–19, 2024–25 Individual *UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Cosme Damião Cosme Damião (2 November 1885 – 12 June 1947) was a Portuguese football player-coach for S.L. Benfica. A former midfielder, he is remembered as the main force behind the birth of Benfica and one of the first great Portuguese football players ...

Awards – Revelation of the Year: 2017 *Primeira Liga Best Young Player of the Year: 2017–18 *UEFA Nations League Finals Team of the Tournament:

*Primeira Liga Defender of the Month: March 2018, October/November 2019 *Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2019–20 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

2020–21 Premier League The 2020–21 Premier League was the 29th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992 and the 122nd season of top-flight English football overall. The season w ...

2022–23 Premier League The 2022–23 Premier League was the 31st season of the Premier League and the 124th season of top-flight English football overall. Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest were the three promoted clubs from the 2021–22 EFL Championship, re ...

* Manchester City Player of the Year:

*UEFA Champions League Squad/Team of the Season:

* ESM Team of the Year: 2020–21 * UEFA Champions League Defender of the Season:

* FIFA FIFPRO World 11: 2021, 2023 * The Best FIFA Men's 11:

IFFHS Men's World Team The IFFHS World Team is a football award given annually since 2017. The award is given by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). Men's winners List of winners In 2017, IFFHS started to nominate a world team ...

: 2021, 2023, 2024 * IFFHS Men's World Youth (U20) Team: 2020

References

External links

Profile
at the Manchester City F.C. website
Profile
at the Portuguese Football Federation website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dias, Ruben 1997 births Living people Footballers from Amadora Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football defenders S.L. Benfica B players S.L. Benfica footballers Manchester City F.C. players Liga Portugal 2 players Primeira Liga players Premier League players UEFA Champions League–winning players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's international footballers 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2024 players UEFA Nations League–winning players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen