Fabián Ruiz
Central Midfielder · Paris Saint-Germain · Spain
About Fabián Ruiz
Fabián Ruiz is the deep-lying playmaker who completed one of Spanish football's rarest doubles: Champions League and World Cup winner in the same year, 2026, with Paris Saint-Germain and Spain. A Euro 2024 winner and Team of the Tournament pick, he has never lost in 50 appearances for his country.
Fabián Ruiz's story
A Boy Who Lost Every Duel
Fabián Ruiz Peña was born on 3 April 1996 in Los Palacios y Villafranca, near Seville, a small and thin child who lost most physical duels in youth football. Real Betis's academy signed him anyway, aged eight, for his technique. When his parents separated four years later, his mother Chari Peña raised Fabián and his two siblings alone, working as a cleaner at the same Betis training ground where he trained.
Betis, Elche, and a Life-Changing €30 Million
Ruiz made his Betis debut in December 2014, aged 18, sharpened by a loan at Elche before returning as a first-team regular. In July 2018, Napoli paid Betis €30 million for him, still the biggest transfer fee of his career. Ruiz has said the move let him retire his mother from the cleaning job that had once embarrassed him as a boy, buying his family homes and cars.
Naples, Paris and Luis Enrique's Lesson
Four seasons and 22 goals in Naples, including the 2019-20 Coppa Italia, built his reputation before an €22.5 million move to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2022. Luis Enrique's arrival as coach in 2023 transformed his role. Ruiz calls his influence "an incredible life lesson", saying the coach thinks like one "24 hours a day" but that "it goes far beyond football".
The Season of Everything
PSG retained the Champions League on 30 May 2026, beating Arsenal on penalties, then added Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the Trophée des Champions. Seven weeks later Ruiz scored Spain's opener in a 2-1 World Cup quarter-final win over Belgium and started the 1-0 final win over Argentina, becoming the first Spaniard to win the Champions League and World Cup in the same year.
Unbeaten, and Loyal to His Roots
That World Cup final was Ruiz's 50th Spain cap, reached without a single defeat since his June 2019 debut: 35 wins and 15 draws. Despite his success in Naples and Paris, he has never hidden his hope of a boyhood return: "I'm a Betis fan and one day I hope to return to Betis."
A Playful Side, and Rituals Steeped in Faith
Away from the pitch, Ruiz is often filmed trading PlayStation sessions with Spain team-mate Pedro Porro on flights. He has also spoken with visible emotion about playing in Diego Maradona's shadow at Napoli: "it gives me goosebumps to experience this city, this football, this stadium." He credits former Napoli team-mate Dries Mertens with easing his move to Italy, and still studies Xavi's game to keep improving.
Did you know?
- 🏆 In 2026 he became the first Spanish player in history to win the Champions League and the World Cup in the same year, following PSG's penalty shootout win over Arsenal on 30 May and Spain's win over Argentina on 19 July.
- ⚽ Scored the opening goal in Spain's dramatic 2-1 World Cup quarter-final win over Belgium, finishing from close range in the 30th minute at Los Angeles Stadium, before Mikel Merino's 88th-minute winner sent Spain through to face France.
- 👨👩👧👦 His mother, Chari Peña, worked fourteen years as a cleaner at Real Betis's training ground, a job the club gave her when Fabián joined its academy in 2004, continuing alone after his parents separated when he was 12.
- 🥇 Named in UEFA's Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament, one of six Spain players selected after the country's title win.
- 🎖️ Unbeaten in 50 appearances for Spain (35 wins, 15 draws) since his June 2019 debut, a run spanning the 2023 Nations League, Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup.
- 💍 Married Sevillian psychologist Rosa Pereira on 19 July 2025; dedicated his opening goal against Belgium at the 2026 World Cup to her and their expected first child, a son.
- 🧠 Luis Enrique told Ruiz early on that "if I did what he asked, I would play" and that he "was going to be important", a promise Ruiz says the coach kept.
- 💶 The €30 million fee Napoli paid in July 2018 let him retire his mother from cleaning work; he has since bought homes and cars for his mother and siblings.
- 🙏 Follows a strict matchday ritual: a San Benito Abad bracelet passed down from his mother and grandmother, three prayers recited into his shirt before kick-off, and shin guards printed with family photos that he kisses beforehand.
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