Raul Meireles

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Trindade and the second or paternal family name is Meireles.

Raul Meireles

Raul Meireles playing for Fenerbahçe in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Raul José Trindade Meireles
Date of birth	(1983-03-17) 17 March 1983
Place of birth	Porto, Portugal
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Fenerbahçe
Number	14
Youth career
1999–2001	Boavista
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2004	Boavista	29	(0)
2001–2003	→ Aves (loan)	42	(1)
2004–2010	Porto	138	(15)
2010–2011	Liverpool	35	(5)
2011–2012	Chelsea	32	(2)
2012–	Fenerbahçe	72	(5)
International career‡
2003–2005	Portugal U21	26	(2)
2006–	Portugal	76	(10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:37, 19 November 2015 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 June 2014

Raul José Trindade Meireles (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁɐˈuɫ mɐjˈɾɛl(ɨ)ʃ] Ra-Ul Mey-Re-Lesh) (born 17 March 1983) is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Fenerbahçe in the Turkish Süper Lig.

Raul Meireles started his career as a trainee with Boavista but was loaned to Desportivo das Aves in the Liga de Honra, where he made his professional debut. After a two-year loan spell he returned to Boavista where he made his Primeira Liga debut. His great performances brought Meireles to Porto, winning three Primeira Liga titles in a row, adding two Portuguese Cups and three Portuguese Supercups. In 2010 he moved to Liverpool where he won the 2011 PFA Fans' Player of the Year award following a very successful first season in Premier League. In August 2011, Meireles signed for Chelsea, joining his former manager André Villas-Boas with whom he had spent a short period of time at Porto. During his debut season at Stamford Bridge, he won the 2012 UEFA Champions League and the 2011–12 FA Cup, his first titles since his arrival in England.

In international football Meireles' national career began at youth level when he represented the Under-16 side which won the 2000 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship in Israel. In November 2006 he was called up to the senior squad for the first time, and represented them at UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2012 and at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, earning over 75 caps.

Club career

Boavista

In the summer of 2001, Desportivo das Aves from the Liga de Honra (Portuguese second level football competition) signed Meireles on loan from Boavista, and he was presented on 8 July. He made his senior debut on 8 August 2001, in a friendly match against Gondomar, which Desportivo das Aves won 3–0. In his first campaign, Meireles clocked up only 16 league appearances. In the 2002–03 season, on 25 May 2003, he scored his first senior goal against União da Madeira – Meireles fired a shot 30 metres out past the reach of the União goalkeeper. He scored just one goal in twenty-six league appearances that season.

In the 2003–04 season, he returned to Boavista after a two-year loan spell. Meireles made his debut in the Portuguese first league on 17 August 2003 against Benfica, and was chosen as the man of the match by the Portuguese newspaper Record. That season, he failed to score any goals, but he made 29 league appearances, proving that he was important to the team.

Porto

On 7 July 2004, FC Porto signed Meireles on a five–year contract, being presented in press conference on 12 July. Wearing the No. 33 shirt, Meireles made his debut on 22 September during a 2004–05 Primeira Liga match against União de Leiria at the Estádio do Dragão, coming off the bench in the 59th minute as they drew 1–1. On 18 February 2005, he made his first match in the starting eleven, in an away league victory against Belenenses. Five days later, on 23 February, Meireles made his Champions League debut in the 1–1 draw against Inter Milan, playing the entire 90 minutes. During that season, he made only 13 league appearances, ten as a substitute, recording no goals. His team eventually finished second of the 2004–05 Primeira Liga table with 62 points, six points shy of Benfica.

In the 2005–06 season, Meireles appeared as a starter in Porto's first match of the season against Estrela da Amadora, being replaced only in the 94th minute. During that match he injured his ankle and was out for one month. On 22 October, Meireles made his return in Porto's squad for the Primeira Liga match against Nacional, but he never came off the bench. He returned to play in the following match, against Marco for the Portuguese Cup, on 27 October. On 19 February 2006, Meireles scored his first goal for the team in his 50th league appearance, giving a 1–0 home victory over Marítimo. Only three games later, on 10 March, he scored his second goal of the season in a 2–0 league triumph against Vitória de Setúbal. In that campaign, he scored two league goals in 18 appearances, having surpassed the amount of appearances he made during his first-season, and, he also won his first career title, the 2005–06 Primeira Liga trophy, and some days later his second, the Portuguese Cup.

In the following four seasons, Meireles featured regularly in Porto's midfield. He scored his first goal in the Champions League during the 2006–07 season, on 21 February 2007, against Chelsea. He won three Portuguese League titles in a row, in 2006–07, 2007–08, and 2008–09, adding two Portuguese Cups in 2009 and 2010.

Liverpool

Meireles during a Liverpool pre-season training in Singapore.

On 29 August 2010, Meireles moved to Liverpool for a fee of £11.5 million. He was awarded the No. 4 shirt, which was vacated by Alberto Aquilani, who joined Juventus in Italy on loan. He made his Premier League debut as a substitute, on 12 September 2010, in a 0–0 away draw against Birmingham City. Only four days later, he made his UEFA Europa League debut in a 4–1 victory over Steaua Bucureşti at Anfield, playing the entire game. He was handed his first league start on 19 September in a 3–2 loss against Manchester United at Old Trafford. On 16 January 2011, Meireles scored his first goal for Liverpool against Everton in a 2–2 Premier League draw at Anfield, coinciding with Kenny Dalglish's first home game back as manager. His second goal came only six days later, in a 3–0 away win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, when he struck a dipping 25-yard volley into the top corner of the net in the 50th minute. On 2 February 2011, he scored another goal, his third in four games, in a 2–0 home victory against Stoke City, and four days later, Meireles scored the victory goal at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, after taking advantage of a mix-up between The Blues goalkeeper Petr Čech and Branislav Ivanović to score his fourth goal in five matches. He increased, again, his goal tally for the club on 12 February by scoring the first goal of the match against Wigan Athletic, taking his tally to five goals in six Premier League matches, but unfortunately for his team, it was a 1–1 draw, with a goal that came as Liverpool attempted to reorganise following Meireles replacement due a stomach bug. His impressive six-game run was rewarded with the ESPN PFA Fans' Player of the Month (February) trophy, helping to lift The Reds from the Premier League doldrums to contenders for European qualification. Meireles finished the season with 5 goals in 33 league appearances as Liverpool claimed sixth spot on the 2010–11 Premier League table with 58 points. During his first season in England, he emerged as a key figure for Dalglish's Liverpool, being awarded with the 2011 PFA Fans' Player of the Year, beating the likes of Fernando Torres, Samir Nasri, Dimitar Berbatov and David Luiz. He became the second Portuguese footballer to win this award, after Cristiano Ronaldo, who won it in 2007 and 2008.

Meireles started the 2011–12 Premier League campaign as a 75th-minute substitute against Sunderland on 13 August. In the following match, against Arsenal, he was a 71st-minute and assisted with one goal, as his team won 2–0 for their first league win at Arsenal for 11 years. Some days later, on 31 August 2011, he submitted a written transfer request, in the last minutes of the transfer window.

Chelsea

With Chelsea in the market for a midfielder following a long-term injury to Michael Essien and an unsuccessful bid to acquire Luka Modrić from Tottenham, on 31 August 2011, Meireles signed for the club on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee reported to be in the region of £12 million. He chose the squad number 16, following the likes of Arjen Robben and manager Roberto Di Matteo, a number he wears regularly when on international duty. Some days later, Meireles claimed he never wanted to leave Liverpool, but that the chance to work with André Villas-Boas, with whom he had spent a short period of time at Porto, was too good an opportunity to turn down.

Meireles made his debut on 10 September 2011 against Sunderland which ended in a 2–1 win for Chelsea with Meireles setting up Daniel Sturridge's goal with a long pass. In the following month, he scored his first Chelsea goal during their UEFA Champions League group stage 5–0 victory against Racing Genk. On 12 December 2011, Meireles scored his first Premier League goal for The Blues in a 2–1 home win over league leaders Manchester City. Three months later, on 7 March 2012, he scored his third goal of the season, this time from a powerful long range effort in the FA Cup fifth round replay victory over Birmingham City. In the following round, on 18 March, Meireles scored a goal and provided two assists to Fernando Torres, who ended his 24-game goal drought, in the 5–2 win against Leicester City that sealed a Wembley berth for the FA Cup semi-final. Next month, On 4 April, he scored a belter in the final minutes of Chelsea Champions League quarter-finals 2–1 victory over Benfica, setting up a semi-final tie with reigning champions Barcelona. About one month later, on 5 May, Meireles won his first title in England, after a 2–1 win against his former team, Liverpool, in the 2012 FA Cup Final. In that match he came on as a substitute for Ramires after 75 minutes. During the final matchday of the season, on 13 May, Meireles scored his second league goal in Chelsea 2–1 victory over relegated Blackburn Rovers. The Blues eventually finished sixth in the Premier League table with 64 points. At the end of the season, he sat out the Champions League final against Bayern Munich by receiving a yellow card in the semi-finals 2–2 draw against Barcelona at Camp Nou, but was able to take part in the celebrations, receiving a medal for his participation after Chelsea's 4–3 victory on penalties, after a 1–1 draw following extra time.

Fenerbahçe

On 3 September 2012, it was confirmed that Chelsea agreed to sell Meireles to Turkish club Fenerbahçe for £8 million. Meireles earned €3 million in his first season in addition to a €10,000 per-match bonus.

On 4 October 2012, Meireles scored his first goal for Fenerbahçe against Borussia Mönchengladbach in a 4–2 UEFA Europa League victory. Meireles scored his second career goal for Fenerbahce against Gençlerbirliği in a 4–1 Süper Lig victory. Meireles was handed an eleven-match ban by the Turkish Football Federation for spitting at a referee. The alleged actions were followed by accusations of homophobic remarks after he received a second yellow card in the second half of a 2–1 away defeat to rivals Galatasaray. However, the ban was reduced on appeal to 4 games, after the Turkish Football Federation ruled that he could not have spat at the referee, but was still guilty of verbal abuse. On 10 March 2013, Meireles scored once in Fenerbahçe's 4–1 win against Bursaspor.

International career

Portuguese national youth teams

Under-16 to Under-20

Although he features regularly for the Portugal national team, Meireles' international career began at youth level. He represented the Under-16 side at the 2000 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship in Israel, when his country advanced all the way to the final, beating Czech Republic 2–1. Next year, Meireles represented the under-17 team in the 2001 Meridian Cup held in Bari, Italy. In the tournament, he played the entire game on Portugal's opening match 6–0 victory against Nigeria, then he started again in Portugal's following a 1–1 draw against Ghana, and, on the third and last tournament match, he was again in the starting XI during the 4–2 victory over Cameroon. Consequently, Portugal finished third in the competition. In November, he was named in the Portuguese squad for European Under-19 Championship qualifying tournament, where Portugal assured a place in the major competition, and Meireles scored one goal in the 2–1 loss against Belarus. On 2 June 2003, he was selected in the Portuguese Under-20 squad for the 2003 Toulon Tournament, which Portugal won and saw Meireles nominated second best player of the tournament.

Under-21 and Olympics

Raul Meireles featured regularly in the 2004 European Under-21 Championship qualifying stage, including an epic playoff game against France where the midfielder played the entire game, and Portugal emerged victorious 4–1 on penalties. As expected, he was named in the 2004 European Under-21 Championship Portuguese squad. Meireles played in four of Portugal's five matches in the tournament, including the 3–1 defeat against Sweden, the 2–2 draw against Switzerland, and the 2–1 victory over Germany, all in the group stage. He missed the semi-finals match due to a suspension, but he appeared again in the third place match victory against Sweden, where Portugal assured a place in the 2004 Summer Olympics. On 21 July 2004, Meireles was selected as a part of José Romão's 18-man squad for the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens, Greece. In the first group game against Iraq, Meireles came on as a second-half substitute, where Portugal lost 4–2. He started the next two group stage matches. Portugal won their second game against Morocco, and lost 4–2 in their third against Costa Rica, and consequently, they were eliminated from the tournament.

Portuguese national senior team

UEFA Euro 2008

In November 2006, Raul Meireles had his first appearance for the Portugal national team, in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Kazakhstan. On 12 May 2008, Meireles was selected for the Portuguese Euro 2008 squad. In this tournament, he came on as an 83rd-minute substitute in Portugal's first group stage match against Turkey, scoring his first international goal. He then started alongside Portugal's reserve players in their third group match against host-nation Switzerland. Four days later, Meireles made his third appearance in the tournament, when he came on as a substitute for João Moutinho after 31 minutes in the quarter-final 3–2 loss against Germany.

2010 FIFA World Cup

Ángel Di María (left) and Meireles (right) during a match between Portugal and Argentina on 9 February 2011.

Meireles featured regularly in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. He scored an important away goal in the 1–0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the second play-off game after scraping a 1–0 win in Lisbon. Portugal won 2–0 on aggregate and qualified for the final stages in South Africa. As expected, on 10 May 2010, Meireles was named in the Portuguese squad for the 2010 World Cup. He started all of Portugal's matches at the tournament, scoring one goal in Portugal's second group stage match against North Korea in Cape Town. Portugal reached the Round of 16, where they lost 1–0 against eventual champions Spain.

International goals

Under-19

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	24 November 2001	Stadio Quinto Ricci, Aprilia, Italy	Belarus	1–2	1–2	European Under-19 Championship qualifying tournament

Under-20

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	5 March 2003	Estádio da Madeira, Madeira, Portugal	Madeira	1–0	1–0	Madeira Tournament

Under–21

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	17 February 2004	Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal	Sweden	1–0	4–1	Friendly
2.	3 September 2004	Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia	Latvia	0–1	1–2	2006 UEFA Under-21 Championship qualification

Senior team

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	7 June 2008	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Turkey	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2008
2.	12 August 2009	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	0–2	0–3	Friendly
3.	18 November 2009	Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0–1	0–1	2010 World Cup qualification – Playoffs
4.	1 June 2010	Complexo Desportivo da Covilhã, Covilhã, Portugal	Cameroon	1–0	3–1	Friendly
5.	1 June 2010	Complexo Desportivo da Covilhã, Covilhã, Portugal	Cameroon	2–0	3–1	Friendly
6.	21 June 2010	Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa	North Korea	1–0	7–0	2010 FIFA World Cup
7.	3 September 2010	Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães, Portugal	Cyprus	2–2	4–4	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
8.	12 October 2010	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Iceland	1–2	1–3	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
9.	10 September 2013	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, USA	Brazil	1–0	1–3	Friendly
10.	5 March 2014	Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal	Cameroon	2–1	5–1	Friendly

Playing style

Raul Meireles can play in any position in the midfield, but he prefers the central midfielder position. His versatility is marked by him playing at both a deep and attacking role in the middle of the field, depending of the players available and coaches' strategies. As an example, at Porto, he was used initially as a defensive midfielder, but some tactical factors saw him make progress as an attacking midfielder. As another example, showing the opposite process, when Paulo Bento was appointed as the Portuguese head coach in 2010, Meireles, who was initially an attacking midfielder at the national team, started playing as a defensive midfielder.

Outside football

Meireles' wedding ceremony was held at Martim Church.

Personal life

Raul Meireles' father, Raul Meireles, Sr., was a former massage therapist from Boavista FC, who encouraged him to play football in that team when he was only six. In 2008, Meireles married Ivone, with whom he had been in a relationship for several years. The couple met while Meireles was at youth level during his career at Boavista. Their wedding ceremony was held at Martim Church in Barcelos, with a lot of guests including some of Meireles' former teammates such as Lisandro López, Nuno Espírito Santo, José Bosingwa, Lucho González, Mariano González, Pepe, Pedro Emanuel and Bruno Alves. Raul and Ivone's wedding clothes were designed by the famous fashion designer Fátima Lopes. The christening for their only daughter, Lara, who was born in 2005 was also performed at their wedding. On the 17 February 2009, the couple opened a clothing store in Ermesinde, Portugal. During the opening, Ivone said that the idea made a lot of sense because she and Meireles are both lovers of fashion.

Tattoos

Raul Meireles has been a fan of tattoos since he was 18 years old. He has numerous tattoos adorning his body, including images of his wife Ivone and their only daughter, Lara. He also has a large tattoo of a black and red Chinese-style dragon, drawn in two stages, that sprawls across his back, and, a huge necklace tattoo with a skull, drawn one week after his twenty-eighth birthday.

After moving to Anfield, during an interview with Liverpool's official website, he said jokingly that he wanted to win the "tattoos championship" against Daniel Agger and Martin Škrtel, due to their shared affection for tattoos.

Club statistics

As of 19 November 2015.

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Aves (loan)	2001–02	Segunda Liga	18	0	0	0	—						18	0
	2002–03	Segunda Liga	26	1	0	0	—						26	1
	Total		44	1	0	0	—						44	1
Boavista	2003–04	Primeira Liga	29	0	0	0	—						29	0
	Total		29	0	0	0	—						29	0
Porto	2004–05	Primeira Liga	13	0	0	0	—		2	0	—		15	0
	2005–06	Primeira Liga	18	2	3	0	—		1	0	—		22	2
	2006–07	Primeira Liga	25	3	1	0	—		7	1	1	0	34	4
	2007–08	Primeira Liga	28	4	4	0	0	0	8	1	1	0	41	5
	2008–09	Primeira Liga	28	4	4	1	0	0	9	0	1	0	42	5
	2009–10	Primeira Liga	25	2	4	2	1	0	8	0	1	0	39	4
	2010–11	Primeira Liga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	Total		137	15	20	3	1	0	35	2	5	0	198	20
Liverpool	2010–11	Premier League	33	5	1	0	0	0	7	0	—		41	5
	2011–12	Premier League	2	0	0	0	1	0	—		—		3	0
	Total		35	5	1	0	1	0	7	0	—		44	6
Chelsea	2011–12	Premier League	28	2	0	0	6	2	11	2	—		45	6
	2012–13	Premier League	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		31	2	0	0	6	2	11	2	0	0	48	6
Fenerbahçe	2012–13	Süper Lig	22	2	3	0	—		8	1	—		33	3
	2013–14	Süper Lig	20	1	0	0	—		4	1	0	0	24	2
	2014–15	Süper Lig	23	2	3	0	—		—		1	0	24	2
	2015–16	Süper Lig	7	0	0	0	—		6	0	—		13	0
	Total		72	5	6	0	—		18	2	1	0	97	7
Career total			352	27	27	3	8	2	71	6	6	0	464	38

Honours

Club

Porto

• Primeira Liga: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
• Taça de Portugal: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10
• Supertaça de Portugal: 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010
• Intercontinental Cup: 2004

Chelsea

• FA Cup: 2011–12
• UEFA Champions League: 2011–12

Fenerbahçe

• Süper Lig: 2013–14
• Turkish Cup: 2012–13
• Turkish Super Cup: 2014

Country

• UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship: 2000
• UEFA Euro: 2012 Bronze Medal

Individual

• Premier League Goal of the Month: January 2011
• PFA Fans' Player of the Month: February 2011
• PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2011
• Standard Chartered Liverpool Player of the Month Award: November 2010, January 2011

External links

• Raul Meireles at footballzz.co.uk
• Raul Meireles profile at ForaDeJogo (Portuguese)
• PortuGOAL profile
• Raul Meireles at National-Football-Teams.com
• LFC History profile
• ESPN Profile
• Raul Meireles career statistics at Soccerbase