Former Villarreal defender Ruben Semedo has admitted he has made ‘many mistakes’ but now wants to ‘forget about the past’.
The controversial defender spent last season away from the Yellow Submarine on loan deals at Huesca and Rio Ave in Portugal respectively, before joining Olympiakos in a permanent €4.5m deal last summer.
The 25-year-old previously spent five months in prison in Spain after he was charged with a number of offences including robbery, assault, kidnapping and attempted murder.
“I am in a good moment, justifying what was said about me in the past,” Semedo told Radio Marca.
“I want to be one of the best and this is the path I am on, I have turned the page. I am leaning on my teammates and achieving my goals – such as being called up for the Portugal national team.
“Olympiakos are a great club, plays European competitions and there are many Portuguese players here. That's why I chose them.
“Everything that has happened has been my fault as I have made many mistakes, but I am learning and have served my time.”
On 20 February 2018, Semedo was detained for supposedly tying up and assaulting a man in his home alongside two others, then proceeding to go to the victim's house to rob the property.
The complainant alleges that he was locked in a room after being immobilised, while the accused stole his keys, broke into his apartment and carried out large scale theft, with gunshots also said to be involved to intimidate the individual.
The defender had then been suspended without pay by Villarreal and the club had been actively trying to sell him since, before his move to the Greek side last summer.
The Portugal international’s run-in with the law made headlines in Spain prior to this allegedly carrying a firearm at a nightclub in Valencia in November 2017 and smashing a man over the head with a glass bottle in separate incidents.
Semedo originally joined Villarreal from Sporting CP in the summer of 2017 for €14m.
