Carlos Forbs
Portuguese footballer (born 2004)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carlos Roberto Forbs Borges (born 19 March 2004) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Belgian Pro League club Club Brugge and the Portugal national team.
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Forbs with Ajax in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Carlos Roberto Forbs Borges | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 19 March 2004 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sintra, Portugal | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Winger | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Club Brugge | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 9 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | NADCC Sintra | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Sporting CP | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2023 | Manchester City | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2025 | Ajax | 22 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Jong Ajax | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Club Brugge | 35 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Portugal U16 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Portugal U18 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Portugal U19 | 16 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Portugal U21 | 18 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Portugal | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:15, 16 November 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Early career
Born in Sintra, Lisboa Region, Forbs started playing football there, before enjoying a season-short spell at Sporting CP in the capital. He moved to England at the age of around 11, where he attended high-school at the Cooperative Academy of Leeds, but soon caught the eye of many Premier League scouts, joining the Manchester City academy in 2015.[1][2][3]
In Manchester, he progressed through all of the youth categories, becoming a regular provider of goals and assists with the under-18 and under-23 teams, as City won both national tournaments between 2020 and 2022.[1][2][4][5] He was named under-18 player of the season for Manchester City in May 2021.[6]
By the end of 2021, he made his Youth League debut, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 away pool win against RB Leipzig.[7]
He made headlines in September 2022, as he scored a hat-trick and delivered an assist during Manchester City's opening game of the Youth League, a 5–1 away win against Sevilla.[1][3][7][8] He also proved to be instrumental a month later, with a goal and an assist in the 3–1 win at Copenhagen.[9] In the 2022–23 season, he scored 25 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions for Manchester City U21.[10]
Ajax
On 3 August 2023, Forbs signed for Eredivisie club Ajax on a five-year contract in a €14 million deal, which could rise to €19 million with variables.[11][12] Nine days later, he made his professional debut for the Amsterdam side, coming off the bench to replace Brian Brobbey in the final minutes of a 4–1 home victory over Heracles Almelo, in the 2023–24 Eredivisie's opening game-week.[13] Ten days later, in the next league match, away to Excelsior, Forbs started and assisted Brobbey's opener, before being replaced by Davy Klaassen in the 60th minute; the game ended in a 2–2 draw.[14] On 24 August, he made his debut in European competitions, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 4–1 win away at Ludogorets Razgrad, in the UEFA Europa League play-off round.[15] On 21 September, in an Europa League group stage match at home to Marseille, Forbs scored his first professional goal and also provided an assist; the game ended in a 3–3 draw.[16]
Wolverhampton Wanderers
On 30 August 2024, Forbs returned to England and joined Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers on an initial season-long loan.[17]
Club Brugge
On 17 July 2025, Forbs joined Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge for a reported fee close to €8 million, signing a four-year contract.[18][19] He made his debut for the club as a 46th minute substitute for Hugo Vetlesen against Genk on 27 July, entering the field while his team was 0–1 down in an eventual 2–1 win.[20][21] On 5 November 2025, Forbs scored twice and provided an assist in a 3–3 draw against Barcelona in the Champions League league phase, being named Player of the Match for his efforts.[22]
International career
Born in Portugal, Forbs is of Bissau-Guinean descent.[23] He is a youth international for Portugal. By 2022, he became a regular starter with the Portuguese under-19s.[3][24]
On 8 September 2023, Forbs made his debut for Portugal's under-21s, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–0 home win over Andorra, in a qualifier for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[25]
Forbs was called up to the Portugal senior team on 8 November 2025 for the 2025 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Republic of Ireland and Armenia respectively.[26] He made his senior national debut on 16 November, coming off the bench to replace Bernardo Silva and winning a penalty in a 9–1 victory over Armenia, at the Estádio do Dragão, as Portugal secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup.[27]
Personal life
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 21 May 2026[29]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester City U21 | 2022–23 | — | – | – | – | 3[c] | 4 | 3 | 4 | |||||
| Ajax | 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 10[d] | 1 | – | 32 | 3 | ||
| 2024–25 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5[e] | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | |||
| Total | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 15 | 1 | – | 38 | 4 | ||||
| Jong Ajax | 2023–24 | Eerste Divisie | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 2024–25 | Premier League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 11 | 0 | ||
| Club Brugge | 2025–26 | Belgian Pro League | 35 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | 13[f] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 10 | |
| Career total | 69 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 102 | 18 | ||
- Appearances in EFL Trophy
- Eight appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Apperanaces in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
International
- As of match played 16 November 2025[30]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |