Biography

Spanish coach and manager Ruben Selles took over the reins at Hull City in December 2024, a fortnight after the dismissal of German Tim Walter. Appointed on a Friday evening, he sat in the stands as Andy Dawson conducted pitchside business during the next day’s storms and watched his new charges slump to bottom of the Championship table ahead of taking over fully on the Monday morning. A week before Christmas Selles masterminded a victory over Swansea City that ended a thirteen match winless run and lifted the Tigers out of the bottom three.
Rubén Sellés Salvador was born raised in the Marxalenes district of eastern Spanish city Valencia, located on the Mediterranean coast at almost the precise same line of longitude as Hull City’s Circle Stadium. He played local junior football in his home city as a teenager but by the time he was 19 he was attending the University of Valencia and coaching the football first team, which played senior football in the Spanish regional leagues.
Eager to develop his career in football coaching, in July 2008 he joined Greek top flight side Aris Thessaloniki as a fitness coach. He returned to Spain at the start of the 2009/10 season when he took a fitness coach role for the youth team at La Liga side Villareal but ended the season in the Russia second tier, working as Assistant Manager at Shinnik Yaroslavl. Ruben returned to Greece’s second city for the 2011/12 season, taking up the Assistant Manager role at Aris Thessaloniki. In July 2012 he was appointed assistant manager at Azerbaijani side Neftchi PFK, a post he held for eighteen months.
At the start of 2015 Selles took the role of chief analyst at Norwegian Eliteserien side Stromsgodset, assisting the Drammen based side as they finished second in the League. He then had two further spells as Assistant Manager as his European odyssey continued – between July 2015 and December 2017 he was at Azerbaijani side Qarabag FK as the side won two league titles, then between January 2018 and July 2020 he served Danish top flight side Aarhus GF as they qualified for European competition.
In August 2020 he returned to his hometown club, becoming Under-18s manager at Valencia. In January 2021 he was on the move again, becoming Assistant Manager at Danish Superliga side FC Copenhagen, helping the side win the league title in the 2021/22 season.
In June 2022 Selles took his first job in England when he was appointed Assistant Manager at Premier League side Southampton, working under Austrian first team manager Ralph Hasenhuttl. The Saints struggled throughout the 2022/23 season, Hasenhuttl was replaced by fiery Welshman Nathan Jones in November 2022 and Selles retained his assistant manager post having been caretaker manager for one match, a draw in the League Cup that ended with a penalty shootout victory. When Jones was also sacked in February 2023 Selles again took temporary charge and led the Saints for the rest of the season that ended in relegation to the Championship – though Selles’ second spell as first team manager yielded only two wins in 17 matches, his prospects of saving the club from relegation were in truth very slim.
Selles left Southampton in June 2023 and was immediately appointed first team manager at League One side Reading. The Royals were in a perilous financial state thanks to the incompetent ownership of Chinese businessman Dai Yongge, a man that had briefly been interested in purchasing Hull City in 2016. Despite starting the season with a points deduction, Selles guided Reading to a mid-table finish and by December 2024 the side had risen to the fringes of the League One play-off places with a squad compromising free transfers and youth team products. Selles was also a popular figure with Reading fans at a time when opposition to the owner and chief executive was rife. It was this combination of team management skills and popularity with supporters that made him a suitable replacement for his taciturn predecessor Tim Walter. Selles managed Reading for 78 matches.
Details
Nationality: Spain
Date/Place of Birth: 15 June 1983, Valencia, Spain
Appointed by Hull City: 6 December 2024; 41 years, 174 days old
Left Hull City: incumbent
Tenure: incumbent
Clubs Managed
Southampton (2023), Reading (2023-2024), Hull City (2024-current)
Hull City Record
Managerial Record: Played 12, Won 4, Drawn 3, Lost 5, Goals For 15, Goals Against 14
Achievements: None