Fans of UD Las Palmas could be forgiven for thinking the relegated club’s star signing of the summer is a case of deja vu.
Midfielder Jonathan Viera was unveiled to the media yesterday (Sunday) in a ceremony that has become all too familiar.
Born on the island, Viera has now returned to his home team no fewer than four times in less than a decade!
The 35-year-old, who has been capped once by Spain in 2017, came through the junior ranks at Las Palmas but moved to Valencia in 2012 after 60 appearances in two seasons for the senior side.
A chequered career then took him to Rayo Vallecano and Belgian side Standard Liege before returning home for a further three years (2015-18), followed by a spell in China with Beijing Guoan which was interrupted by a homecoming on loan in 2019-2020. Viera returned to China for a year but was soon back in Las Palmas, where he stayed for almost three years until February 2024 when he left for Almería after a mid-season fall-out at the club. In the summer of 2024 he headed off on his travels again, with brief stints in the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.
Insisting that he is going to play for the minimum wage a player can earn but “not free because the league does not allow it”, Viera said he understood that fans might have reservations about his signing, which has surprised many as initial rumours of his arrival were dismissed by the club chairman, who insisted three days earlier that the player was not under consideration. Speculation that Viera and director of football Luis Helguera had clashed during talks was rife in the sporting media last week.
Speaking at his unveiling, Viera admitted that “the fans are entitled to their opinion and I can only change that on the pitch”. The player has been criticised in the past by many for not seeing out his contracts at his various clubs and for his lack of commitment to Las Palmas.
However, others are prepared to give him a further chance this fifth time (this will be his eleventh season in total in a Las Palmas jersey) and see his as experience as a useful asset in a squad that hopes to return to the top flight at the first time of asking, following relegation last May.
