Fran Velez

Francisco 'Fran' Manuel Velez Jimenez (born 23 June 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Greek club Panathinaikos as a central defender or a right back.

Club Career

Gimnastic

Born in Tarragona, Catalonia, Velez began playing football for Club Esportiu La Floresta. In the 2009 winter he signed a contract with local giants Gimnastic de Tarragona, where he spent his last year as a junior.

On 10 April 2010, Velez made his official Nastic debut, starting against Albacete Balompie in a 1–1 away draw. He made three more appearances during the season in Segunda Division, against Real Betis, Cadiz CF (where he was sent off) and UD Las Palmas; in the following campaign he represented CF Pobla de Mafumet, the farm team.

In August 2011, Velez was loaned to UD Logrones in Segunda Division B. He scored his only goal of the season against Real Sociedad B, contributing to a 3–1 home win.

On 14 July 2012, Velez returned to Nastic and its main squad. On 26 August he played his first game in his second stint, against Valencia CF Mestalla; he netted his first goal with the club on 7 October, scoring the opener in a 2–0 home success over CD Binissalem.

Almeria

On 2 September 2013, Velez signed with UD Almeria, initially being assigned to the B-side also in the third level. He made his first-team debut on 14 January of the following year, starting as a right-back in a 0–2 home loss against Racing de Santander for the campaign's Copa del Rey (1–3 on aggregate).

Velez'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. He played a further three matches with the main squad, only contributing with four minutes in the last fixture, a 0–0 home draw against Athletic Bilbao.

On 7 June 2014, Velez was definitely promoted

This page also has a version in other languages :  Фран Велес (russian)