Francisco Geraldes
Portuguese footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Francisco 'Chico' Oliveira Geraldes (born 18 April 1995) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for K League 2 club Seoul E-Land.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Oliveira Geraldes[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 18 April 1995[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Lisbon, Portugal[1] | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Seoul E-Land | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2014 | Sporting CP | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2017 | Sporting CP B | 71 | (11) |
| 2015–2020 | Sporting CP | 15 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | → Moreirense (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | → Rio Ave (loan) | 30 | (3) |
| 2018 | → Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | → AEK Athens (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Rio Ave | 32 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | Estoril | 58 | (5) |
| 2023–2024 | Baniyas | 12 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 5 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Eldense (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2025 | → Wellington Phoenix (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2025 | Athletic-MG | 10 | (0) |
| 2026– | Seoul E-Land | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2012–2013 | Portugal U18 | 3 | (0) |
| 2015 | Portugal U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2016 | Portugal U21 | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18 December 2025 | |||
Club career
Born in Lisbon, Geraldes joined local Sporting CP's youth system in 2003, aged 8. On 30 March 2013, whilst still a junior, he made his professional debut with their reserves, playing one minute in a 3–1 home loss against Benfica B in the Segunda Liga.[2]
Geraldes spent the first part of the 2016–17 season on loan to Primeira Liga team Moreirense,[3] his maiden appearance in the competition taking place on 13 August 2016 in a 1–1 home draw with Paços de Ferreira.[4] His first goal came the following weekend, when he helped the visitors defeat Feirense 3–0 also as a starter.[5]
In late January 2017, both Geraldes and Daniel Podence were recalled from their loans by Sporting manager Jorge Jesus.[6] He made his competitive debut for his parent club on 11 March, coming on as a late substitute in the 4–1 away win over Tondela.[7]
For 2017–18, still owned by Sporting, Geraldes signed with Rio Ave.[8] The following campaign, also on loan, he joined Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt.[9]
Geraldes was loaned to AEK Athens on 24 June 2019, with no purchase option included in the deal.[10] On 21 August 2020, he returned to Rio Ave on a permanent three-year contract.[11] On 1 October, he equalised an eventual 2–2 home draw against AC Milan, and also converted his attempt in the penalty shoot-out loss in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League.[12]
On 30 July 2021, with 38 official appearances at the Estádio dos Arcos to his credit (one goal), Geraldes signed a two-year deal with newly promoted Estoril.[13] In August 2023, after it expired, he joined Baniyas in the UAE Pro League on a contract of the same duration.[14]
Geraldes left the latter by mutual agreement on 6 January 2024,[15] moving to Johor Darul Ta'zim from the Malaysia Super League one week later.[16] He scored four times in the year's FA Cup in six games as his side won the tournament.[17][18][19][20]
On 30 August 2024, Geraldes joined Spanish Segunda División side Eldense on a one-year loan.[21] The following 7 February, having made just four total appearances, the move was cancelled,[22] and five days later he agreed to a contract at Wellington Phoenix of the A-League also on loan.[23]
On 12 August 2025, Geraldes signed for Campeonato Brasileiro Série B's Athletic-MG, as the club was coached by his compatriot Rui Duarte.[24] The 31-year-old moved to the K League 2 with Seoul E-Land in March 2026.[25]
International career
Geraldes won two caps for Portugal at under-21 level. His first was on 6 October 2016, in a 3–3 draw in Hungary in the 2017 UEFA European Championship qualifiers where he provided an assist to Podence.[26] The following month, he featured in the 3–1 friendly win against the Czech Republic in Setúbal.[27]
Personal life
An avid reader, Geraldes listed George Orwell as his favourite author.[28][29]
Career statistics
- As of 24 August 2024[30]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting CP B | 2012–13 | Segunda Liga | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2014–15 | 25 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 4 | ||||||
| 2015–16 | 38 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 38 | 7 | ||||||
| 2016–17 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 71 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 11 | ||
| Moreirense (loan) | 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 19 | 2 | ||
| Sporting CP | 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Total | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| Rio Ave (loan) | 2017–18 | Primeira Liga | 30 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 3 | ||
| Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) | 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| AEK Athens (loan) | 2019–20 | Super League Greece | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| Rio Ave | 2020–21 | Primeira Liga | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 1 |
| 2021–22 | Liga Portugal 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 1 | ||
| Estoril | 2021–22 | Primeira Liga | 32 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 4 | |||
| Total | 58 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 6 | ||
| Baniyas | 2023–24 | UAE Pro League | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 2024–25 | Malaysia Super League | 5 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| Career total | 241 | 20 | 17 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 274 | 27 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
Moreirense
Johor Darul Ta'zim
