Nuno Santos (footballer, born 1995)
Portuguese footballer (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nuno Miguel Gomes dos Santos (born 13 February 1995) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a left winger or left wing-back for Sporting CP.
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Santos with Sporting CP in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nuno Miguel Gomes dos Santos[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 13 February 1995[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Trofa, Portugal[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Positions | |||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Sporting CP | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 11 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2005 | Trofense | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2012 | Porto | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | → Padroense (loan) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Rio Ave | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Benfica | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Benfica B | 42 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Benfica | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | → Vitória Setúbal (loan) | 26 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2020 | Rio Ave | 66 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020– | Sporting CP | 136 | (25) | ||||||||||||||
| 2026– | Sporting CP B | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Portugal U16 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Portugal U18 | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Portugal U19 | 15 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Portugal U20 | 9 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Portugal U21 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:19, 4 May 2026 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Benfica
Born in Trofa, Porto District, Santos began his development at local C.D. Trofense before joining the ranks of FC Porto, and after a year at Rio Ave F.C. he signed for S.L. Benfica in 2013.[2] On 30 August 2014, he made his professional debut with their reserves in the Segunda Liga, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute for João Amorim in a 3–1 home win against S.C. Covilhã.[3][4] He scored eight goals in 36 games in his first season,[2] starting in a 3–2 loss at S.C. Braga B on 14 December.[5] On 14 February 2015, he scored twice in a 4–1 home victory over U.D. Oliveirense (4–1).[6]
Santos made his only appearance for the first team in the Primeira Liga on 11 September 2015, playing the final 11 minutes in place of Pizzi in a 6–0 home rout of C.F. Os Belenenses.[7] That December, he suffered an injury to his left knee that was still an issue when he signed a season-long loan to fellow top-flight club Vitória F.C. in June 2016.[8]
Rio Ave
On 16 June 2017, Santos signed a five-year contract with Rio Ave also of the top tier.[9] Almost exclusively a substitute in his first season, he scored once for his first goal in the league on 17 September, at the end of a 1–2 home defeat to eventual champions FC Porto.[10]
Santos suffered more problems with his left knee in July 2018, and did not return to the pitch until the following March.[11] On 17 June 2020, he was one of three players in his team to be sent off in a 2–1 home loss to Benfica – for a high foot on Pizzi – and was subjected to social media abuse by his club's fans.[12]
Sporting CP
On 21 August 2020, Santos joined Sporting CP on a five-year deal[13] for €4 million plus shares in the economic rights of Gelson Dala (50%) and Francisco Geraldes (75%), and a buyout clause of €60 million.[14] He scored eight competitive goals in his first season for the champions, seven in the league.[15][16]
As Sporting often operated on a 3–5–2 formation under Ruben Amorim, Santos was deployed as a left wing-back on several occasions.[17][18] He contributed four goals in 2,073 minutes in 2023–24 to another league title,[19] but missed the vast majority of the following campaign after rupturing the tendon of his right knee;[20] in November 2024, he was handed an eight-match suspension for smashing a glass protection while in the stands – he was not part of the squad due to injury – and injuring two spectators (one of them seriously) during the 4–3 loss against Porto in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in August but, controversially, the ban was to be served while he recovered.[21][22]
Santos returned to action on 1 February 2026, playing 26 minutes for Sporting's reserves in the 2–0 second-division home win over Oliveirense.[23] His first appearance for the main squad since his injury took place four days later, as he replaced Francisco Trincão late into the second half in a 3–2 extra-time victory against AVS Futebol SAD in the quarter-finals of the Taça de Portugal.[24]
International career
Santos was part of the Portugal squad at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, scoring an early goal against Senegal (3–0)[25] and a late one against Colombia (3–1 win) in the group stage,[26] in an eventual quarter-final exit in New Zealand. He won the first of his two caps for the under-21 side on 12 November of that year, replacing Rony Lopes midway through the second half of the 4–0 victory over Albania for the 2017 UEFA European Championship qualifiers held in Arouca.[27]
In October 2022, Santos was named in a preliminary 55-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[28]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Taça de Portugal | Taça da Liga | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Benfica B | 2014–15 | Segunda Liga | 36 | 8 | — | — | — | — | 36 | 8 | ||||
| 2015–16 | LigaPro | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 42 | 10 | — | — | — | — | 42 | 10 | ||||||
| Benfica | 2015–16 | Primeira Liga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Vitória Setúbal (loan) | 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| Rio Ave | 2017–18 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Primeira Liga | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 3 | ||
| 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 32 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 38 | 5 | |||
| Total | 66 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 78 | 10 | |||
| Sporting CP | 2020–21 | Primeira Liga | 31 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | — | 37 | 8 | |
| 2021–22 | Primeira Liga | 32 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7[b] | 1 | 1[c] | 0 | 50 | 10 | |
| 2022–23 | Primeira Liga | 31 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 12[d] | 1 | — | 49 | 9 | ||
| 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 31 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9[a] | 0 | — | 50 | 6 | ||
| 2024–25 | Primeira Liga | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2025–26 | Primeira Liga | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 136 | 25 | 20 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 204 | 34 | ||
| Sporting CP B | 2025–26 | Liga Portugal 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 271 | 41 | 28 | 6 | 25 | 4 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 358 | 54 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
- Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
