Raul José Trindade Meireles (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁɐˈuɫ mɐjˈɾɛl(ɨ)ʃ] Ra-Ul Mey-Re-Lesh) (born 17 March 1983) is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for Chelsea as a midfielder in the Premier League.
Raul
Meireles started his career as a trainee with Boavista but was loaned
to Desportivo das Aves from 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. By his great performances,
Meireles was brought to the Portuguese powerhouse, FC 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. On August 2011, Meireles signed for
Chelsea, joining his former manager André Villas-Boas with whom he had
spent a short period of time.
In
international football Meireles national career began at youth level
when he represented the Under-16 side at 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. He later represented Portugal in
the UEFA Euro 2008 and 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Porto (2004–2010)
On 7 July 2004, FC Porto signed Meireles on a five–year contract, being presented in press conference on 12 July. Wearing the #33 shirt, Meireles made his Porto debut on 22 September 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 XI, in an away league victory against Belenenses. Five days later, on 23 February, Meireles made his Champions League debut against Internazionale, playing the entire 90 minutes. During that season, he made only 13 league appearances, ten as substitute, recording no goals.In the 2005–06 season, on 19 February 2006, Meireles scored his first goal for the team in his 50th league appearance, where Porto beat Marítimo 1–0. Only three games later, on 10 March, he scored his second goal of the season in a 2–0 league victory over Vitória de Setúbal.In that campaign, he scored two goals in 18 appearances, winning his first Portuguese league title and 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 (2010–2011)
On 29 August 2010, Meireles moved to Liverpool for a fee of €13 million, being awarded the #4 shirt, which was vacated by Alberto Aquilani, who joined Juventus in Italy on loan. The club bought the player as an instant replacement for the Argentine Javier Mascherano, who joined FC Barcelona earlier that summer. 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 Europa League debut in a 4–1 victory over Steaua Bucureşti at Anfield. He was handed his first league start on 19 September in a 3–2 loss against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Meireles scored his first goal for Liverpool against Everton in a 2–2 premier league draw on 16 January 2011 in Kenny Dalglish's first home game back as manager. His second goal came six days later, with a stunning right foot volley against Wolverhampton Wanders in a 3–0 win. He scored his third goal in four games on 2 February 2011 in a 2–0 home victory against Stoke City,and then made it four in five, by scoring the victory goal at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea on 6 February. Meireles increased his goal tally for the club on 12 February by scoring against Wigan Athletic, taking his tally to five goals in six premier league matches. A couple of months after his goal streak, Meireles won the 2011 PFA Fans' Player of the Year, beating the likes of Fernando Torres, Samir Nasri, Dimitar Berbatov and David Luiz.
Meireles started the 2011–12 Premier League campaign as a 75th minute substitute against Sunderland.
In the following match, against Arsenal, he didn't feature in the
starting eleven again, coming off the bench in the 71st minute assisting
one goal. Some days later, on 31 August 2011, he submitted a written transfer request, in the last minutes of the transfer window.
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