Paulo Jorge dos Santos Futre (; born 28 February 1966) is a Portuguese former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played mostly as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He is one of the greatest natural talents of the

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. After starting playing for Sporting, he moved to

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

– winning the 1987 European Cup – after which he embarked in an extensive professional career, having represented clubs in Spain, France, Italy, England and Japan, most notably

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

. He also appeared for Benfica during four months in 1993, and his later years were blighted by injury problems. A Portuguese international since the age of 17, Futre earned over 40

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for his country, representing it at the 1986 World Cup.

Club career

Sporting / Porto

Born in Montijo,

Setúbal District The District of Setúbal ( pt, Distrito de Setúbal ) is a district located in the south-west of Portugal. It is named for its capital, the city of Setúbal. Geography It is delimited by Lisbon District and Santarém District on the north, Év ...

, Futre first appeared professionally in 1983–84, as a 17-year-old for

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

, whose

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

he had joined at the age of nine. When he requested a pay raise from president João Rocha, he was turned down and left for

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

after just one season, as veterans

Jaime Pacheco Jaime Moreira Pacheco (born 22 July 1958) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a central midfielder, and is a current manager. During his career he played, among others, for Porto and Sporting, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 296 m ...

and

António Sousa António Augusto Gomes de Sousa (; born 28 April 1957) is a Portuguese former football central midfielder and manager. During his career he played, among others, for Porto and Sporting, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 483 matches and 83 go ...

moved in the opposite direction as part of the deal. In the following years, Futre collected two

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

titles, also helping the northerners to the 1986–87 European Cup, putting on a ''

Man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

'' performance in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

against

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which play ...

Atlético Madrid

After that continental win, Futre was traded to

in Spain, earning a reported annual salary of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

650,000. At the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

club he quickly rose to fan favourite status, but his physical weakness left him with several knee injuries which tormented his career in the 1990s. In his fifth season, Futre provided countless assists for striker

Manolo Manolo, a form of Manuel (name), is a male given name which may refer to: People: * Manolo Álvarez Mera (1923–1986), Cuban-born bel canto tenor *Manolo Badrena (born 1952), Puerto Rican percussionist *Manolo Blahnik (born 1942), Spanish fashion ...

who scored 27 goals for the

Pichichi Trophy In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...

, with him netting in the campaign's

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

, a 2–0 win over neighbours

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. During most of his spell with the ''Colchoneros'', he was also

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

Journeyman / Retirement

In January 1993, Futre moved to Porto and Sporting rivals

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional association football, football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese footba ...

, winning a

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...

in his short stay (and scoring in the final against

Boavista F.C. Boavista Futebol Clube, commonly known as Boavista (), is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Porto. Founded on 1 August 1903 by British entrepreneurs and Portuguese textile workers (thus the "FC" being appended – the British way as oppos ...

in a 5–2 triumph), as his injury woes persisted. Afterwards, he signed a one-season contract with

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

, where he teamed up with countryman

Rui Barros Rui Gil Soares de Barros (born 24 November 1965) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, currently a manager. He played with success in Portugal (at Porto), Italy – at Juventus – and France (two ...

. His time in France was largely disappointing, however, once again due to continual injuries, as well as competition from

Dragan Stojković Dragan Stojković ( sr-Cyrl, Драган Стојковић, ; born 3 March 1965), also known by the nickname Piksi (Пикси), is a Serbian former footballer who played as a midfielder, and the current manager of the Serbia national team. Wi ...

in his position, which limited him to only two goals in eight league appearances. Halfway through 1993–94, despite being linked with

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

, Futre eventually transferred to newly promoted

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

side

A.C. Reggiana 1919 Associazione Calcio Reggiana 1919, commonly referred to as Reggiana, is a professional football club based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The club was formed in 2018 upon an idea of 1919, and plays in the Serie C, the third tier of It ...

. On his debut, on 21 November 1993, he scored a memorable individual goal which opened the scoring in a 2–0 success over

U.S. Cremonese Unione Sportiva Cremonese, commonly referred to as Cremonese, is an Italian football club based in Cremona, Lombardy, which plays in the . History Cremonese was in the Serie A in its first season, 1929–30, but entered a long period of decli ...

and gave the hosts their first ever win in the top flight; during the second half, however, he suffered a serious injury after an aggressive challenge from Alessandro Pedroni, which kept him out for the rest of the season as his team narrowly avoided relegation. The following campaign, Futre managed only 12 appearances and netted four times, which were not enough to save Reggiana from relegation. For 1995–96 he did move to Milan but, due to continuing injury troubles as well as competition from other talented offensive, creative players in his position, he only featured once for the

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...

-led team, coming on as a substitute for Roberto Baggio in the final match of the season against Cremonese at the

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...

, which ended 7–1 for the hosts who celebrated the league conquest. After his time in Italy, Futre agreed to a one-year deal with

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, where he infamously refused to play until he was given squad number 10. Finally, he returned to Atlético Madrid (ten

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

matches in 1997–98), effectively ending his career with

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

club

Yokohama Flügels was a Japanese football club that played in the J.League between 1993 and 1998. The club was an original member ("Original Ten") of the J.League in 1993. In 1999 the club was officially merged with local rivals Yokohama Marinos and the two te ...

; he ranked joint-98th in World Soccer's 100 Greatest Players of the 20th Century, published in December 1999. Futre worked as

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

at Atlético Madrid from 2000 to 2003, subsequently becoming a real-estate developer in his hometown. In May 2011, he was part of Dias Ferreira's team in an unsuccessful run for Sporting's presidency.

International career

Futre played 41 times for

in a 12-year span, scoring six goals. His debut came against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

for the

UEFA Euro 1984 The 1984 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in France from 12 to 27 June 1984. It was the seventh UEFA European Championship, a competition held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. At the time, only eight countries ...

qualifiers, on 27 April 1983 – he was only 17 years and 204 days old, breaking a national team record. Futre was a member of the national team that competed in the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...

in Mexico, playing 90 minutes in the 1–3 loss to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

in an eventual group stage exit.

Style of play

A highly talented and creative left-footed winger whose playing style initially drew comparisons with

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...

, Futre was known in particular for his explosive acceleration as well as his excellent technical ability. His

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

skills, speed, flair, balance, agility and quick feet enabled him to be extremely fast with the ball at his feet and allowed him to take on several opponents. Due to his vision and work-rate, Futre was capable both of creating and scoring goals, and was a versatile player who was also deployed as a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

and as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

on occasion during his time in Italy. Despite the precocious talent he demonstrated in his youth, he was also prone to injuries which greatly affected his career, leading to increasingly inconsistent performances, a poorer goalscoring rate, and a premature retirement at the age of 32.

Personal life

Futre's younger son, Fábio, was also a footballer. A

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, he played for Atlético Madrid's youth teams, and was called up for Portugal under-17s. His nephew, Artur Futre, appeared professionally for

F.C. Alverca Futebol Clube de Alverca is a Portuguese Association football, football club based in Alverca do Ribatejo, Vila Franca de Xira. It currently plays in the Portuguese 3rd Division. History F.C. Alverca was founded on 1 September 1939. After many ...

F.C. Maia Futebol Clube da Maia is a Portuguese football club based in Maia, Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto. Founded on 4 April 1954, it currently plays in the Porto Regional League, holding home matches at the Estádio Professor Doutor Vieira de Carv ...

and

C.D. Aves Clube Desportivo das Aves (), commonly known as Desportivo das Aves, or simply as Aves, is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila das Aves, Santo Tirso. The club was founded on 12 November 1930 and plays at the Estádio do Clube ...

, without much impact; his older son, Paulo, played in a rock band, "Fr1day". Paulo Sr. was also a

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

, hosting the

TVI 24 CNN Portugal is a Portugal, Portuguese cable television, basic cable and satellite television news television channel, channel owned by Media Capital, launched on 26 February 2009 as TVI 24, the 24-hour news cycle, 24-hour news channel of the ter ...

late night talk show ''A Noite do Futrebol''.

Career statistics

Club

''Appearances and goals by club, season and competition.''

International

''National team appearances and goals listed by year.''

International goals

''Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Futre goal.''

Honours

Porto *

: 1984–85, 1985–86 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

: 1984,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

: 1986–87 Atlético Madrid *

: 1990–91, 1991–92 Benfica *

: 1992–93 Milan *

: 1995–96 Individual *

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Pl ...

: 1987 (2nd place) *

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

European Footballer of the Season: 1986–87 * Portuguese Footballer of the Year: 1986, 1987 * World Soccer: 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time

References

External links

* * * *
National team data
*
Paulo Futre
at

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by '' Time' ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Futre, Paulo 1966 births Living people People from Montijo, Portugal Portuguese footballers Association football wingers Primeira Liga players Sporting CP footballers FC Porto players S.L. Benfica footballers La Liga players Atlético Madrid footballers Ligue 1 players Olympique de Marseille players Serie A players A.C. Reggiana 1919 players A.C. Milan players Premier League players West Ham United F.C. players J1 League players Yokohama Flügels players Portugal youth international footballers Portugal under-21 international footballers Portugal international footballers 1986 FIFA World Cup players Portuguese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Japan Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in France Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Italy Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Japan Atlético Madrid non-playing staff Sportspeople from Setúbal District