Luís Mata
Portuguese footballer (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Luís Carlos Machado Mata (born 6 July 1997) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Kazakh club Kairat.
|
Mata receiving a medal for Ekstraklasa third-place finish in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luís Carlos Machado Mata | ||
| Date of birth | 6 July 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Porto, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Left-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kairat | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2006 | Oliveira do Douro | ||
| 2006–2016 | Porto | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2020 | Porto B | 62 | (1) |
| 2017 | → Portimonense (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Cartagena (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2020–2023 | Pogoń Szczecin | 61 | (0) |
| 2020 | Pogoń Szczecin II | 2 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Zagłębie Lubin | 26 | (0) |
| 2023 | Zagłębie Lubin II | 4 | (0) |
| 2025 | → Kairat (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2025– | Kairat | 35 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2011 | Portugal U15 | 2 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Portugal U16 | 14 | (5) |
| 2012–2014 | Portugal U17 | 22 | (3) |
| 2015 | Portugal U18 | 7 | (0) |
| 2016 | Portugal U19 | 6 | (0) |
| 2017 | Portugal U21 | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 September 2026 | |||
Club career
Porto B
Born in Porto, Mata came through the ranks of hometown club Porto. On 7 August 2016, he made his professional debut with Porto B in a 2016–17 LigaPro match against Aves, a 2–1 away loss.[2] The following January, he was loaned to Portimonense of the same league for the rest of the season.[3]
On 27 September 2017, Mata scored his only goal for Porto B to conclude a 2–0 home win over Cova da Piedade.[4] The following 6 March, he had his one call-up to the first team, remaining unused in a goalless draw away to Liverpool after the Dragons had already lost the first leg of the UEFA Champions League last 16 5–0 at home.[5]
Mata was loaned to Cartagena of the Spanish Segunda División B on 31 August 2018, along with teammates Rui Moreira and João Costa.[6] Under manager Gustavo Munúa, he was fourth choice in his primary position, but made more appearances in the second half of the season at right back due to an injury crisis.[7]
On 5 January 2020, captain Mata was sent off in the 17th minute of Porto B's 3–1 home loss to Académica de Coimbra for giving away a penalty, from which Zé Castro opened the scoring.[8]
Pogoń Szczecin
On 9 July 2020, Mata ended his 13-year stay with Porto with 12 months of his contract remaining, to sign a three-year deal at Pogoń Szczecin in the Polish Ekstraklasa. He joined his compatriot former teammate Tomás Podstawski at the club.[9]
Zagłębie Lubin
On 8 February 2023, having lost his spot in the line-up to Léo Borges in the latter half of 2022, and with Leonardo Koutris' arrival in the winter, Mata left Pogoń for another Ekstraklasa team, Zagłębie Lubin, penning a deal until June 2025.[10]
Loan to Kairat
On 27 February 2025, Mata moved to Kazakh club Kairat on loan for the remainder of the season.[11]
Career statistics
- As of match played 17 September 2026
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Porto B | 2016–17 | Liga Portugal 2 | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | Liga Portugal 2 | 23 | 1 | — | — | — | 23 | 1 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Liga Portugal 2 | 23 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 62 | 1 | — | — | — | 62 | 1 | |||||
| Portimonense (loan) | 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| Cartagena (loan) | 2018–19 | Segunda División B | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[a] | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Pogoń Szczecin | 2020–21 | Ekstraklasa | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Ekstraklasa | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Ekstraklasa | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| Total | 61 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 69 | 0 | |||
| Pogoń Szczecin II | 2020–21 | III liga | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Zagłębie Lubin | 2022–23 | Ekstraklasa | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Ekstraklasa | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| 2024–25 | Ekstraklasa | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Total | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | ||||
| Zagłębie Lubin II | 2022–23 | II liga | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | II liga | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Kairat (loan) | 2025 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Kairat | Kazakhstan Premier League | 11 | 0 | — | 12[c] | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2026 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 35 | 2 | |
| Total | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 232 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 272 | 3 | ||
- Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
- Appearances in UEFA Conference League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Eight appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Kazakhstan Super Cup
Honours
- Kairat