Tiago Abiola Delfim Almeida Ilori (born 26 February 1993) is a Portuguese

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 plays as a centre-back for

F.C. Paços de Ferreira Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira () is a Portuguese football club based in Paços de Ferreira, Porto district. Founded in 1950, the club competes in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at the 9,077-seater Estádio da Mata Real, a municipal s ...

on loan from

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 ...

. He started his career with Sporting, making his debut with the first team in 2011 before signing with

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

two years later. He spent three seasons in the English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

with

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

after joining in January 2017, and also competed professionally in Spain and France. Ilori earned 36

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

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 ...

at youth level, including ten with the under-21 team.

Club career

Sporting CP

Born in Hampstead,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to a British father of

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

descent and a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

mother, Ilori spent his childhood in the town of

Albufeira Albufeira () is a city and seat of its own municipality in the district of Faro, in the southernmost Portuguese region of Algarve. The municipality population in 2021 was 44,158, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 28,645 in 2021 ...

in the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

, where he started playing football with local Imortal DC. He joined

's youth ranks in the summer of 2006 as a striker, being loaned to Lisbon neighbours G.D. Estoril Praia at the age of 14 and returning for three more years already reconverted as a stopper. Ilori made his official debut for the ''Lions first team on 6 November 2011, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 3–1 Primeira Liga home win against

U.D. Leiria União Desportiva de Leiria, commonly known as União de Leiria (), is a Portuguese football club based in Leiria, central Portugal. Founded on 6 June 1966, it currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, holding home matches at Estádio Dr. ...

. On 14 December he played his first game in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

, starting in a 2–0 group stage loss to S.S. Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico as his team had already secured the first place in their group. In only his fourth competitive appearance for Sporting, on 16 February 2013 at Gil Vicente FC, Ilori again played the entire match, and helped to a 3–2 victory by scoring the former's second goal in the sixth minute.

Liverpool

On 2 September 2013, Ilori was signed by

for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around £7 million. It was also announced that

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

were in talks with the player for him to switch nationality and represent

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

internationally. On 5 January 2014, Ilori was named on his new team's bench for the first time, in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

match against

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

. Fifteen days later, he was loaned to

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (), known simply as Granada, is a Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that plays in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021� ...

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' ...

until the end of the campaign. On 7 February he made his debut for the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

ns, in a 1–0 away defeat to

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...

. In the following round he also started, and assisted

Piti Piti may refer to: * Pīti, a mental factor in Buddhism * PITI, the principal, interest, taxes, and insurance sum of a mortgage payment * Piti (food), a soup dish of Central Asia * Piti (footballer) (born 1981), Spanish footballer * Piti, Guam * Pi ...

for the game's only goal at home against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

. Ilori was loaned again on 18 August 2014, now to FC Girondins de Bordeaux from France. He scored in his third Ligue 1 appearance, helping a to a 1–1 draw at AS Saint-Étienne. Fellow

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club Aston Villa signed Ilori on a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

-long loan deal on 1 September 2015. On 7 January 2016, the move was cancelled and he returned to Liverpool, making his first competitive appearance with the first team the following day by starting the FA Cup third round match against

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

, which ended with a 2–2 draw at

St James Park St James Park and variants may refer to: Municipalities * St James Park, New Zealand, a suburb of Hamilton, New Zealand Football stadiums * St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England * St James Park (Exeter), Exeter, England * St James Park, gro ...

Reading

Ilori completed a transfer to EFL Championship side

on 18 January 2017, for a reported £3.75 million. He made his debut three days later, starting in a 3–2 away loss against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

. He totalled eight matches for the season, including the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

loss to

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

in the play-off final on 29 May. On 5 August 2017, Ilori was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in the first game of the new campaign for a foul on

Paweł Wszołek Paweł Marek Wszołek (Polish pronunciation: ; born 30 April 1992) is a Polish professional footballer who plays for Ekstraklasa club Legia Warsaw. Club career Polonia Warsaw Born in Tczew, Poland, Wszołek played at the academies of Wisła T ...

, from which

Conor Washington Conor James Washington (born 18 May 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Derby County and the Northern Ireland national team. Washington began his career in non-league football with St. Ives Town, joining Newport Cou ...

scored a penalty in a 2–0

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

victory. He scored his first goal in

English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...

on 15 September 2018, in a 3–2 win at Preston North End.

Sporting return

On 29 January 2019, Ilori returned to Sporting for an undisclosed fee, with the player signing a four-and-a-half-year contract. During most of his spell, he played second-fiddle to

Sebastián Coates Sebastián Coates Nion (; born 7 October 1990) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a centre back. He captains Portuguese club Sporting CP and plays for the Uruguay national team. Having begun his career at Nacional, where he ...

and

Jérémy Mathieu Jérémy Mathieu (born 29 October 1983) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or a left-back for Régional 2 club Luynes Sports. Mathieu made 172 Ligue 1 appearances across seven seasons, split equally between Sochaux ...

. Ilori joined

FC Lorient Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (; commonly referred to FC Lorient or simply Lorient) is a French association football club based in Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in we ...

on 1 February 2021, on loan until 30 June. In August, in a similar deal, he moved to Boavista FC. In July 2022, still owned by Sporting, Ilori signed a one-year loan deal with

International career

Ilori played for

at four youth levels, representing the nation at the

2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 61st edition of UEFA's European Under-19 Championship (the eleventh since the age competition change to an Under-19 level) and took place in Estonia from 3 to 15 July. Spain are the title hol ...

, the

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

, the

2013 Toulon Tournament The 2013 Toulon Tournament was the 41st edition of the Toulon Tournament. Mexico national under-23 football team, México were the defending champions but failed to secure a spot in the finals. Participants * (hosts) * * * * * * * * * Squads ...

and the

2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

. He remained eligible to play for Portugal,

and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

as a senior.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Sporting CP *

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 sea ...

: 2018–19

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilori, Tiago 1993 births Living people English people of Portuguese descent Portuguese people of English descent Portuguese people of Nigerian descent English sportspeople of Nigerian descent Portuguese sportspeople of African descent Portuguese footballers Footballers from Hampstead Association football defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Imortal D.C. players Sporting CP B players G.D. Estoril Praia players Sporting CP footballers Boavista F.C. players F.C. Paços de Ferreira players English Football League players Liverpool F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Reading F.C. players La Liga players Granada CF footballers Ligue 1 players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players FC Lorient players Portugal youth international footballers Portugal under-21 international footballers Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Portugal Portuguese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in France Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in France English expatriate sportspeople in Spain English expatriate sportspeople in France