Diego Moreira
Belgian footballer (born 2004)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Diego Manuel Jadon da Silva Moreira (Portuguese pronunciation: [diˈɛɣu muˈɾɐjɾɐ]; born 6 August 2004), also known as Moreira Jr., is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a left midfielder or left wing-back for Serie A club AC Milan and the Belgium national team.
|
Moreira with Strasbourg in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego Manuel Jadon da Silva Moreira | ||
| Date of birth | 6 August 2004[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Liège, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)[2] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AC Milan | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2020 | Standard Liège | ||
| 2020–2021 | Benfica | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2023 | Benfica B | 25 | (3) |
| 2022–2023 | Benfica | 1 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Chelsea | 0 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Lyon (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2024–2026 | Strasbourg | 59 | (6) |
| 2026– | AC Milan | 2 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | Belgium U15 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Portugal U16 | 12 | (1) |
| 2021 | Portugal U18 | 8 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | Portugal U19 | 12 | (2) |
| 2023 | Portugal U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Portugal U21 | 7 | (0) |
| 2025– | Belgium U21 | 2 | (1) |
| 2025– | Belgium | 4 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:03, 6 September 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15:35, 2 July 2026 (UTC) | |||
Early life
Moreira was born in Liège, where his father, former Guinea-Bissau international Almami Moreira, was then playing professional football at Standard de Liege.[3][4][5] His mother is Émilie Graf. From his mother's side, Moreira is the grandson of Helmut Graf, a German-born footballer who also played for the Belgian club from 1976 to 1982.[6][7][8]
Club career
Early career
Coming through the youth ranks at Standard—where his father played until 2006[7]— Moreira first tried to leave the club in 2019 for personal reasons, training with Lierse Kempenzonen, but with the Belgian federation eventually not approving his move.[9] He ended up leaving Les Rouches for Benfica in August 2020, signing his first professional contract with the club from Lisbon, where his father lived.[3][4][5][10]
Benfica
Moreira started to play with Benfica's under-23 in the Liga Revelação midway through the 2020–21 season.[11] During the following season, he became a regular starter with the U23 team—scoring his first goal with the team during a 3–0 Lisbon derby win against Sporting.[12] He made his professional debut for Benfica B on the 10 January 2022, replacing Tiago Gouveia for the last 15 minutes of a 1–2 home Segunda Liga loss to rivals Porto B.[13][14]
He played a major role in the UEFA Youth League, where Benfica U19 topped their group against Dynamo Kyiv, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Moreira most notably scoring a goal against the latter during a 4–0 home win in October 2021.[5][15][16] In the final phases, he scored a brace and provided two assists in a 4–0 derby win against Sporting in the quarter-finals; and provided another two assists in the final in a 6–0 win over Red Bull Salzburg to help Benfica win their first Youth League title, and their first title in European football since the 1961–62 European Cup.[17]
Under interim manager Nélson Veríssimo, Moreira was promoted to Benfica's first team alongside seven other Benfica youth team players, making his debut on 13 May 2022, in a 2–0 away win to Paços de Ferreira in the Primeira Liga.[18] However, after refusing to sign a new contract during the pre-season, he was demoted to the B team, and sporadically appeared for the latter, with the team's manager Luís Castro deeming his situation "difficult", before returning to the under-23s for the rest of the season.[19]
Chelsea
On 1 July 2023, Moreira joined Premier League club Chelsea, following the expiration of his contract with Benfica.[20] On 30 August 2023, he made his debut for the club starting in their EFL Cup second round tie against AFC Wimbledon, featuring for 45 minutes in the eventual 2–1 victory.[21]
Loan to Lyon
On 1 September 2023, Moreira joined Ligue 1 club Lyon on a season-long loan.[22] He made his debut for the club on 17 September, coming off the bench to replace Ernest Nuamah on the 77th minute of a 0–0 league draw at home to Le Havre.[23] Six days later, he made his first start for Les Gones, playing 52 minutes in a 1–0 league loss away at Brest.[24]
On 22 January 2024, Moreira was recalled from his loan by Chelsea.[25]
Strasbourg
On 16 August 2024, Moreira joined Ligue 1 club Strasbourg on a permanent transfer.[26] Later that year, on 29 September, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 victory over Marseille.[27]
AC Milan
On 19 August 2026, Moreira was signed by Serie A club AC Milan for a fee of €50 million, a record sale in Strasbourg history.[28] He signed a five-year contract until 2031.[29][30]
International career
A dual citizen of Belgium and Portugal[9][31] —while also eligible to play for both Guinea-Bissau and Germany— Moreira first played with the Belgium under-15 as he was a starter during their 3–1 win against England at St George's Park in February 2019.[32][33]
But even before leaving to play his club football in Portugal, the youngster chose to switch for the Portuguese national team in 2019, becoming a regular with the under-16[4][5] and—after a COVID-interrupted 2020–21 season—with the under-18.[34][35][36]
On 19 May 2025, Moreira's request to switch international allegiance to Belgium was approved by FIFA.[37] He was subsequently named in the senior Belgium squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against North Macedonia and Wales on 6 and 9 June 2025, respectively.[38]
Style of play
A left-footed winger able to play on both sides of the attack, Moreira is described as a fast, explosive and technically gifted footballer, most notably excelling in dribbling past his opponent. He is compared to the likes of Portuguese international Nani.[39] During his time at Strasbourg, Moreira has since transitioned playing into more of a defensive role at left-back under Liam Rosenior.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 12 September 2026[40]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Benfica B | 2021–22 | Liga Portugal 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | Liga Portugal 2 | 24 | 3 | — | — | — | 24 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 25 | 3 | — | — | — | 25 | 3 | |||||
| Benfica | 2021–22 | Primeira Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022–23 | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Chelsea | 2023–24 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Lyon (loan) | 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Strasbourg | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 2 | ||
| 2025–26 | Ligue 1 | 27 | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | 11[d] | 0 | 42 | 5 | ||
| Total | 59 | 6 | 6 | 1 | — | 11 | 0 | 76 | 7 | |||
| AC Milan | 2026–27 | Serie A | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Career total | 94 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 115 | 12 | ||
- Includes Coupe de France
- Appearance in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 1 July 2026[41]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 2025 | 2 | 0 |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
Honours
Benfica U19
