.jpg) Ruiz withSpain U19 in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abel Ruiz Ortega[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2000-01-28)28 January 2000 (age 25) | ||
| Place of birth | Almussafes, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Girona | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2012 | Valencia | ||
| 2012–2017 | Barcelona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2020 | Barcelona B | 68 | (9) |
| 2019–2020 | Barcelona | 1 | (0) |
| 2020–2024 | Braga | 123 | (20) |
| 2024– | Girona | 25 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015–2017 | Spain U17 | 38 | (25) |
| 2017–2018 | Spain U18 | 4 | (7) |
| 2017–2019 | Spain U19 | 18 | (7) |
| 2019–2023 | Spain U21 | 27 | (13) |
| 2024 | Spain U23 (O.P.) | 5 | (1) |
| 2021– | Spain | 3 | (0) |
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 August 2024 | |||
Abel Ruiz Ortega (Spanish pronunciation:[aˈβelˈrwiθ]; born 28 January 2000) is a Spanish professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forLa Liga clubGirona and theSpain national team.
Formed atBarcelona, where he made one first-team appearance, he moved toBraga in January 2020, where he won theTaça de Portugal in2021.
Ruiz set the record forcaps and goals forSpain's under-17 team, winning theEuropean Championship in2017 and finishing runners-up in2016 and at the2017 World Cup. He made hissenior international debut in 2021.
Born inAlmussafes,Valencian Community, Ruiz joinedBarcelona's youth setup in 2012, fromValencia.[3] On 21 November 2016, he renewed his contract with the club.[4]
On 9 April 2017, while still a junior, Ruiz made his senior debut withthe reserves, coming on as a latesubstitute forJesús Alfaro in a 2–0Segunda División B away win againstBadalona; he also became the first player born in the 2000s to make an appearance for the club's senior ranks.[5]
After Barcelona B's promotion, Ruiz made his professional team debut on 28 August 2017, replacingDavid Concha in an 3–0 home loss againstTenerife in theSegunda División championship.[6] Four days later he scored his first professional goal in a 2–2 draw againstGranada.[7]
Ruiz had his first-team debut in theSupercopa de Catalunya on 7 March 2018, scoring the winning penalty in a shootout againstEspanyol.[8] HisLa Liga debut came on 12 May 2019 in a 2–0 win againstGetafe, as a substitute forPhilippe Coutinho for the final 21 minutes at theCamp Nou.[9]
On 31 January 2020, Ruiz joined Portugal'sBraga on loan for the rest of the season, with a mandatory purchase for €8 million and a buy-back clause.[10] He made his debut on 20 February in the round of 32 first leg of theUEFA Europa League away toRangers, starting the game and scoring in a 3–2 loss.[11] Totalling eight appearances over the season, he scored his firstPrimeira Liga goal on 4 July soon after entering in a 4–0 home win overAves.[12]
Ruiz was the top scorer in theTaça de Portugal as Braga won it in2020–21, contributing seven goals in as many games.[13] This included two in a 3–2 win away toPorto in the semi-finals.[14]
In2021–22, Ruiz scored in each leg of a 3–1 aggregate win overMonaco in the Europa League last 16.[15] He netted the only goal of the game in the next fixture against Rangers, though the Scots won 3–2 over the two games afterextra time.[16]
On 27 June 2024, Ruiz signed forLa Liga clubGirona on a contract until June 2029.[17]
Ruiz made his debut for theSpain under-17 team on 25 October 2015, starting and scoring the first in a 2–02016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification win againstAndorra.[18] He was also named in the list forthe finals in Azerbaijan,[19] despite being one year younger than his teammates.
Ruiz finished the competition with four goals, being awarded the Silver Boot; he was also included in the tournament's best eleven.[20] During the2017 edition in Croatia, he captained the side as Spain achieved their ninth title.[21]
On 22 September 2017, Ruiz was included inSantiago Denia's squad ahead of the2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup,[22] and scored two braces in the tournament, scoring two goals in a 4–0 win againstNiger on 10 October, and two more in a 3–1 semi-finals win againstMali on 25 October.[23]
Due to the isolation of some national team players following the positiveCOVID-19 test ofSergio Busquets, Spain's under-21 squad were called up for the international friendly againstLithuania on 8 June 2021.[24] Ruiz made his senior debut in the 4–0 win inLeganés, missing a penalty in the match.[25][26]
At the2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, in the 20th second of the match againstCroatia, Ruiz scored the quickest goal in the history of the tournament, bringing a 1–0 victory to Spain and advancement to the quarter-finals.[27] He finished as runner-up asEngland defeated Spain by 1-0 in the final and was named in theTeam of the Tournament.[28][29]
Ruiz was called up toSpain U23 for the2024 Summer Olympics as one of the three overaged players in the squad.[30] He was appointed as the teamcaptain and later became an Olympicgold medalist asSpain beat the hostsFrance 5-3 after extra time in the gold medal match.[31]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barcelona B | 2016–17 | Segunda División B | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Segunda División | 26 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 26 | 3 | |||||
| 2018–19 | Segunda División B | 21 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 21 | 3 | |||||
| 2019–20 | Segunda División B | 19 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 68 | 9 | — | — | — | — | 68 | 9 | ||||||
| Barcelona | 2018–19 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Braga (loan) | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 1 | — | 8 | 2 | |
| Braga | 2020–21 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 39 | 11 | |
| 2021–22 | Primeira Liga | 28 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10[c] | 3 | 1[d] | 0 | 43 | 5 | |
| 2022–23 | Primeira Liga | 34 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8[e] | 1 | — | 51 | 12 | ||
| 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 30 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11[f] | 1 | — | 48 | 7 | ||
| Total | 117 | 19 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 33 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 181 | 36 | ||
| Girona | 2024–25 | La Liga | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[g] | 0 | — | 27 | 4 | ||
| 2025–26 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 25 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 30 | 4 | ||||
| Career total | 217 | 33 | 19 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 38 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 288 | 50 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2021 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Barcelona Youth
Barcelona
Braga
Spain U17
Spain U18
Spain U19
Spain U21
Spain U23
Individual
Records
UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final 2023
UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final 2023
