Ruben Dias is a Portuguese international soccer player who plays for Premier League club Manchester City as a centre-back.

Dias joined Manchester City from Benfica, with whom he spent the majority of his youth career and the bulk of his senior career.

Dias has been nicknamed "The Door" due to his ability in defence. He was part of the Benfica team which won the 2018/19 Primeira Liga and the Portugal side which won the inaugural UEFA Nations League tournament, also in the 2018/19 season.

Ruben Dias and Benfica

Moving to Manchester City

However, Dias joined a Manchester City side that was still smarting from the loss of the Premier League title which they had held for two consecutive seasons to Liverpool during the 2019/20 campaign. Captain Vincent Kompany had left City after leading them to the 2018/19 title and Pep Guardiola had struggled to fill the void at centre-back.

Enter Dias soon became one of the most reliable performers in a team brimming with talent. Guardiola regularly rotated his team, but Dias remained an ever-present throughout most of his first few months at the Etihad Stadium.

Dias made his league debut in a fiercely fought 1-1 draw with Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United. This was one of the many matches early in the season which City dropped points in. However, as time passed, they began to gather some momentum, picking up 21 wins in a row and soaring well clear at the top of the Premier League table.

In November 2020, Dias was named Manchester City Player of the Month. On 27 February 2021, he scored his first goal for his new club in a 2-1 victory over West Ham United.

Dias had immediately established himself as a vital part of a brilliant Manchester City team that dominated the Premier League in the 2020/21 season, and he was recognised for his superb performances by being named the FWA Player of the Year.

On the international stage with Portugal

On 15 March 2018, Dias was handed his first ever senior national team call-up by Fernando Santos for friendlies against Egypt and the Netherlands. However, he picked up a sprain to his right ankle and had to be dropped from the squad.

On 17 May 2018, Dias was included in Portugal's squad for the FIFA World Cup in Russia despite having not yet made his debut at the time. He did so 11 days later in a pre-tournament friendly against Tunisia, but did not play any matches in Portugal's FIFA World Cup campaign, which ended in elimination to Uruguay in the round of 16.

Dias scored his first goals for Portugal in a UEFA Nations League 2020/21 clash with Croatia, bagging a brace in Portugal's 3-2 win over their opponentson 17 November 2020.

Personal life

Reported net worth

According to Spotrac, Dias earns around £115,000 per week at Manchester City, with his annual salary of £6million making him the 10th highest-paid player at the club.