Wolves In Line To Sign Ruben Semedo Despite His 5-Year Suspended Prison Sentence For Robbery, Assault, Kidnapping & Firearms

Wolves are in advanced talks to sign a criminal who confessed to robbery, assault, kidnapping, and possession of a firearm.

Olympiacos defender, Ruben Semedo was last year handed a five-year suspended prison term and banned from visiting Spain for eight years.

The 27-year-old Olympiacos centre back was detained by the Spanish authorities for five months and was later found guilty of a host of offences, including robbery, assault, kidnap and possession of a firearm.

He was arrested in 2018 while playing in Spain after being accused of assaulting and tying up a man in his home before going on to burgle the victim’s property along with two others.

Semedo, who was also charged with attempted murder – a claim he has always denied – managed to escape custody after paying his €30,000 (£25,000) bail.

 
But the Provincial Court of Valencia handed him a five-year suspended prison sentence and barred him from entering Spain for eight years back in July 2020.

However, Semedo’s past had reportedly not put Wolves off wanting to sign him with the Premier League outfit interested in a one-year loan deal.

According to The Sun, manager Bruno Lage also wanted to include an option to buy in any deal for Semedo, who has also played for Villarreal and Sporting Lisbon during his career.

But Sky Sports News appear to have poured cold water on any deal, claiming that Wolves would be unable to get a work permit for Semedo in the UK because of his conviction.

Spanish newspapers reported at the time of his sentencing that Semedo, who has three caps for Portugal, claimed he was forced into the incident because he was indebted to a third party.  

Villarreal suspended Semedo with pay and were actively trying to sell him before a move to Olympiacos was completed in 2019. 

Speaking about his experience of prison, Semedo said in an interview with Portuguese newspaper A Bola: ‘I cried a lot of nights. I never did it in front of anybody, but I couldn’t sleep many nights and I was just thinking about my children and my family suffering.

‘It makes you think if it is really worth not spending time with your family to spend time with people who don’t care about you and lead you down paths which won’t get you anywhere.

‘I suffered a lot and yes, I cried a lot of nights.’
 

Semedo has featured against English teams in Europe.  The defender scored against Spurs in the Champions League during a 4-2 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019.

He also featured against Arsenal and Wolves in that season’s Europa League and helped the Greek giants knock the Gunners out of the competition.