| Raul Meireles | |
|---|---|
| |
| Personal information | |
| Date of Birth |
17 March 1983 |
| Place of Birth |
Porto, Portugal |
| Height |
1.79 m (5'10 1/2") |
| Position |
Midfielder |
| Liverpool statistics | |
| Years |
2010-2011 |
| Appearances |
44 |
| Goals |
5 |
Raul José Trindade Meireles (born 17 March 1983) is a Portuguese international footballer who played for Liverpool from 2010 until 2011.
Liverpool career[]
Meireles made his move from Porto to Liverpool on 29 August 2010 for a fee of €13 million. He was given the number 4 shirt vacated by loaned midfielder Alberto Aquilani. Meireles' arrival became necessary due to the departure of Javier Mascherano who signed for Barcelona just days earlier.
Meireles made his Premier League debut as a substitute in the 0-0 draw to Birmingham City on 12 September 2010. He made his Europa League debut against Steaua Bucureşti just four days later in a 4-1 win. He made his first league start on 19 September 2010 in a 3-2 loss to arch-rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford. Meireles scored his first goal during the Merseyside Derby 2-2 draw on 16 January 2010. Six days later he kept up his goalscoring form with a spectacular right-footed volley against Wolverhampton. He scored his third goal in four games on 2 February 2011 in a 2–0 home win against Stoke City. He scored the decisive goal at Stamford Bridge against rivals Chelsea in the 0-1 win. He made his goal tally 5 in six games by scoring against Wigan Athletic on 12 February 2011.
Meireles won the PFA Fans' Player of the Year for the 2010-2011 season beating the likes of former teammate Fernando Torres. During his debut season he clocked 5 goals in 41 appearances.
On 31 August 2011, Liverpool confirmed that Meireles had handed in an written transfer request. Later that day Chelsea confirmed the signing of Meireles for a fee reported to be around £12,000,000. It has been widely reported that the cause of Meireles' dispute with the club is due to what he considers to be an unfulfilled promise made to him when he signed. It is believed Meireles signed on a comparatively low wage when bought by Roy Hodgson with the promise that if he performed well in his first season with the club, he would be rewarded with a pay rise. Meireles did indeed have a good first season, as evidenced by his PFA Fans' Player of the Year Award, however the new management team and owners are thought to have refused to honour the promise made to him by their predecessors. With new midfield recruits, Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam coming into the club as well, it is thought that Meireles considered his time at the club should come to an end.
Playing style[]
Meireles plays predominatly as a central midfielder. He is able to feed the balls to attackers and create passes after dispossessing the opposition. Although not known for goalscoring he can score from distance and has demonstrated his ability to take a volley.
Honours[]
Individual[]
- PFA Fans' Player of the Month: February 2011
- PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2010-11
Stats[]
| Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| 2010-11 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 5 |
| 2011-12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 35 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 5 |
External links[]
- Raul Meireles career stats at Soccerbase