Place of birth Mozelos, Portugal Number 6 Height 1.8 m Parents José Neves | Playing position 2005–2014 Porto Weight 80 kg Date joined 2014 (FC Porto) | |
 | ||
Full name Rúben Diogo da Silva Neves Date of birth (1997-03-13) 13 March 1997 (age 20) Current teams FC Porto (#6 / Midfielder), Portugal national football team Similar Iván Marcano, André André, André Miguel Valente S, Evandro Goebel, Danilo Pereira Profiles | ||
Rúben Diogo da Silva Neves (born 13 March 1997) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for FC Porto as a midfielder.
Contents
Club career
Born in Mozelos (Santa Maria da Feira), Aveiro District, Neves joined FC Porto's youth system at the age of 8. He was also loaned for one year to Padroense FC, which acted as Porto's under-16 squad.
At the beginning of July 2014, Neves was supposed to bypass Porto's under-19 team and play with the reserve side, but following the injury of teammate Mikel Agu, he was called by Julen Lopetegui to be part of the main squad's pre-season, with the manager being impressed enough to keep him until its closure.
On 15 August 2014, aged only 17 years and five months, Neves made his Primeira Liga debut, starting in a 2–0 home win against C.S. Marítimo and becoming the youngest player in the club's history to score a goal in the competition. He played his first game in the UEFA Champions League five days later, breaking another record by being the youngest Portuguese to appear in the tournament as he featured 73 minutes in a 1–0 success at Lille OSC for the play-off round.
On 10 December 2014, during a Champions League group phase contest against FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Neves was injured in his right knee following a collision in midfield with Alex Teixeira. At the end of the game, the club explained that he suffered a sprain, with apparent damage to the internal lateral ligament. After almost a month, he returned to the pitch in a 3–1 home win over C.F. União for the Taça da Liga.
On 20 October 2015, aged 18 years and 221 days, Neves became the youngest player to start as captain in the Champions League, helping Porto to a 2–0 win against Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. in the group stage and surpassing previous record holder Rafael van der Vaart, who held it since 16 September 2003. On 5 December, in a 2–1 success over F.C. Paços de Ferreira also at the Estádio do Dragão, he broke another record by becoming the youngest player to achieve 50 games for the club, surpassing players like Fernando Gomes and Jaime Magalhães.
Neves scored his second competitive goal on 3 February 2016, opening the scoreline in a 3–0 triumph at Gil Vicente F.C. for the semi-finals of the Taça de Portugal.
International career
Neves represented Portugal at the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, helping the country reach the semi-finals as team captain. For his performances, he was named among the top ten talents of the tournament by a selection of UEFA reporters.
On 29 August 2014, still aged 17, Neves was called by coach Rui Jorge to be part of the under-21 side. He scored his first goal on 14 October, helping to a 5–4 home win against the Netherlands for the playoff round of the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
When the finals began in the Czech Republic, Neves broke a new record by becoming the youngest player to debut for the Portuguese under-21s in the tournament, aged 18 years and three months, playing five minutes to help beat England 1–0 in the group stage opener. It was his only appearance, as the country reached the final and lost it to Sweden in a penalty shootout.
Neves was first called up to the senior squad on 10 November 2015, ahead of friendlies against Russia and Luxembourg as an injury replacement for João Moutinho. He made his debut in the former match, featuring 17 minutes in the 0–1 loss in Krasnodar, then played the entire 2–0 win against the latter at the Stade Josy Barthel, sharing the midfield area with Porto teammates Danilo Pereira and André André.
Style of play
An article in UEFA.com described Neves as a defensive midfielder that is not afraid to go forward and prompt attacks, showing great maturity combined with an accurate passing skill, great vision and an astute sense of positioning. His playing attributes also granted him comparisons to Portuguese international João Moutinho for his fine first touch, similar desire to press his opponents and excellent distribution.