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Ruíz: "My mission is to help and contribute"

The returning defender is officially presented

Twelve years after being transferred to Napoli, Víctor Ruiz has returned to RCD Espanyol as a free agent. The defender was presented on Thursday, and was full of praise for the club he says "trained me and made me a professional."

Ruiz added that he had “a lot of desire to play."

"My mission is to help and contribute. Anyone who knows me knows that the idea of returning to Espanyol was on my mind. At the time I didn't get to enjoy playing in the first team very much. I feel good. I'm not up to the pace of my teammates, but in a few days I will take on that competitive rhythm to contribute everything I can."

Ruiz revealed that he is “convinced and determined to achieve the objective for the season. I want to help the club to return to the Primera Division, which is the main goal. Even though the team have conceded in the last few games, we are also the top scorers in the division."

During the presentation, Mao Ye, CEO of the club, welcomed him and explained that “we hope that he will bring experience and a veteran voice to your younger teammates. He is a homegrown player who is returning, and who will give us that extra boost."

Sporting Director Fran Garagarza stated that “we had been working on and analysing the incorporation of Víctor Ruiz for some time. Now we have to thank him for his effort to come here. He arrives with conviction, desire and enthusiasm. We had to work a lot to get Victor here. We did not want to rush and we were looking for such a specific profile that we wanted it to be him,” he concluded.