Braulio Nóbrega Rodríguez, known simply as Braulio, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward.
Club career
Braulio was born in Puerto del Rosario, Canary Islands. Having grown through the youth system of Atlético Madrid, he played 11 La Liga games for the Colchoneros between 2004 and 2006 before being loaned to RCD Mallorca in January 2006 and second division's UD Salamanca in 2006–07, finishing the campaign as the latter team's top scorer. Braulio was loaned again in 2007–08, this time to Madrid side Getafe CF, where he teamed up again with Manu del Moral who had played with him in Atlético's youth squads. On 25 October 2007 he scored a marvellous backheel goal in the group stage of the UEFA Cup, in a 2–1 win against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. He also netted the third and final goal for Getafe in the competition's quarter-final second leg match against FC Bayern Munich, capitalizing on a defensive mistake by Lúcioin the box and proceeding to put the ball past Oliver Kahn, in a 3–3 home draw. On 28 June 2008, Braulio signed a four-year contract with Real Zaragoza, freshly relegated to the second level. He was relatively used as the Aragonese were immediately promoted to the top flight, but then suffered an injury which sidelined him for several months; upon return in late 2009 he found himself without room in the first team and, on 23 January 2010, was loaned to Recreativo de Huelva, as another forward, Adrián Colunga, moved on loan in the opposite direction. In January 2012, after being released by Zaragoza and sorting out his legal problems, Braulio joined FC Cartagena in division two. He scored six goals in only four-and-a-half months, not enough however to help the Murcian team avoid relegation; in July he joined another club in that tier, Hércules CF. In summer 2014, after an unassuming spell in Malaysia, Braulio signed with Millonarios FC, being released shortly after and taking the Colombian club to court. The same situation occurred with another side in the country, Patriotas FC, but an amicable settlement was reached. Braulio spent the 2014–15 season with Recreativo de Huelva, failing to find the net in 25 competitive appearances and also suffering team relegation. On 4 January 2016, after a trial, he joined AEL Kalloni F.C. from the Superleague Greece, until June. On 7 September 2016, Braulio returned to his country after signing with Caudal Deportivo in the third division. The following 7 August, he agreed to a one-year contract with Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC, being released in February 2018 due to injury and replaced by countryman Daniel Lucas.
Personal life
On 21 September 2011, Braulio was arrested on a charge of sexual assault, which occurred in a town near Zaragoza – Cuarte de Huerva – shortly before Real Zaragoza's morning training. He was not incarcerated immediately, and the following day pleaded guilty, being ousted from the squad until the situation was cleared and released by the club the following month. On 18 October 2011, Braulio changed his plea to "not guilty," citing poor advice as the reason for this sudden change. Finally, on 22 June of the following year, he avoided a prison sentence and reached an agreement to pay €11,400 in damages.
