Fran Vélez
Francisco 'Fran' Manuel Vélez Jiménez is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central defender or a right-back for Primera Federación club Cartagena.
Club career
Gimnàstic
Born in Tarragona, Catalonia, Vélez began playing football for Club Esportiu La Floresta. In late 2009 he signed a contract with Gimnàstic de Tarragona, where he spent his last year as a junior.On 10 April 2010, Vélez made his official Nàstic debut, starting against Albacete Balompié in a 1–1 away draw. He made three more appearances during the season in Segunda División, against Real Betis, Cádiz CF and UD Las Palmas. In the following campaign, he represented CF Pobla de Mafumet, the farm team.
Vélez was loaned to UD Logroñés of Segunda División B in August 2011. He scored his only goal of the season against Real Sociedad B, contributing to a 3–1 home win.
On 14 July 2012, Vélez returned to Nàstic 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, opening the 2–0 home victory over CD Binissalem.
Almería
On 2 September 2013, Vélez signed with UD Almería, initially being assigned to the reserves also in the third division. He made his first-team debut on 14 January of the following year, starting as a right-back in a 2–0 home loss to Racing de Santander in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.Vélez'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 four minutes in the last fixture, a 0–0 home draw against Athletic Bilbao.
On 7 June 2014, Vélez was definitely promoted to the first team. On 31 March 2015, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a shoulder injury; the season also ended in relegation.
Vélez was regularly used during the following second-tier campaigns, and cut ties with the club on 28 June 2017.