Àngel Rangel

Swansea City

Born in Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona, Catalonia, Rangel represented CD Tortosa, CF Reus Deportiu, Girona FC, UE Sant Andreu and Terrassa FC in his homeland, never in higher than the Segunda División B. In summer 2007, he joined Swansea City in the English League One on a one-year performance-related deal, as countryman Roberto Martínez was the manager. The latter was in attendance of a match between Terrassa and Benidorm CF to scout striker Jorge Molina, but Rangel's performance in the 3–3 draw convinced Martínez to sign him; Terrassa demanded €15,000 for him but the Welsh club was only willing to spend €5,000, and the player paid the remaining €10,000 himself. Rangel played a massive role in his first season as the Swans returned to the Championship after a 24-year absence, as league champions. He scored his first goal for them on 27 November 2007, netting eight minutes from time in a 1–0 home win against Hartlepool United. Two weeks later, again at the Liberty Stadium, he netted in a 3–0 victory over Southend United. In April 2008, he was one of five team players to make the PFA League One Team of the Year alongside Ferrie Bodde, Garry Monk, Andy Robinson and the league's top scorer Jason Scotland. On 5 September 2008, Rangel signed a new contract until June 2010. He continued to feature prominently in the following years and, in mid-February 2010, agreed to an extension until June 2011. The 2010–11 campaign was a successful one for both Swansea…

Rangel was believed to qualify to represent Wales on residency grounds, but was ruled ineligible in July 2012 as he had not had five years of continuous education in the country.

On 18 January 2013, Rangel drove around Swansea with his wife Nikki to distribute food to the homeless. He told CNN: "We went for something to eat in a local sandwich chain and overheard the manager saying they had to throw out food as they were about to close for the night. My wife, Nikki, who is a very caring and charitable person, asked if we could have them for the homeless rather than see them thrown in the bin. They agreed and we drove around Swansea for over an hour, but couldn't find any homeless people as it was so cold out on the streets with all the snow. We decided to tweet a plea and we were guided to a local charity shelter who looked after the homeless." He was so pleased with the reaction to his gesture he confirmed that he would be helping out again. On 5 April 2013, Rangel announced plans to hold charity auctions with his wife and teammates Chico Flores, Ben Davies, Jonathan de Guzmán, Pablo Hernández, Michu and Itay Shechter, to raise money for the Severn Hospice in Telford, Maggie's Cancer Centre in Swansea and The Christian Lewis Trust Kids Cancer Charity; among the top prizes on offer at one of the auctions were Rangel's personal box for the game against Manchester City, and a visit to a Formula One garage during qualifying of the German Grand Prix. He was inspired to do this by Nikki, who has had three family members diagnosed with cancer.

Swansea City

Football League Cup: 2012–13 Football League Championship play-offs: 2011 Football League One: 2007–08 Individual

PFA Team of the Year: 2007–08 League One Football League Team of the Decade