Francisco António Machado Mota de Castro Trincão (; born 29 December 1999) is a Portuguese professional

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 lea ...

who plays as a winger for

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

club

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

and the Portugal national team. He started his career with Braga B, making his debut with the first team in 2018 and winning the

2019–20 Taça da Liga The 2019–20 Taça da Liga was the thirteenth edition of the Taça da Liga (also known as Allianz Cup for sponsorship reasons), a football league cup competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional and contested exclusively ...

in his second season with the club. In January 2020, he signed with

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

for a reported €31 million fee, with the deal made effective in July. He then spent two years on loan, at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

and

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

, joining the latter permanently in April 2023. Trincão represented

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

at various youth levels, being part of the under-19 team that won the 2018 European Championship where he was crowned top scorer. He made his senior international debut in 2020.

Club career

Braga

Born in

Viana do Castelo Viana do Castelo () is a concelho, municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo District, Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2021 was 85,778, in an area of . The urbanized are ...

, Trincão began his youth career with hometown club Vianense. He also had a spell at

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

and two at

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

, where he finished his development. Trincão made his senior debut on 2 April 2016 for Braga's reserves in Segunda Liga, as an 81st-minute substitute for Carlos Fortes in a 2–1 away loss against Freamunde. He scored his first senior goal on 7 May 2017, but in a 2–3 home defeat to Porto B. He scored five times in 2017–18, including twice on 1 October in a 5–4 home win over

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

for a first victory of the season, and signed a new five-year contract at the end. On 28 December 2018, Trincão played his first competitive match with the first team in a 4–0 victory at

Vitória de Setúbal Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

of the

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

where he replaced Fransérgio in the 62nd minute. Five days later, manager Abel Ferreira gave him a

debut when he came on for Dyego Sousa for the last four minutes of a home defeat of Marítimo. Trincão scored his first goal for Braga on 12 December 2019 in the last group-phase game of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, also assisting in the 4–2 win at Slovan Bratislava as his team advanced in first place. The following 4 January, given a first league start by new coach

Ruben Amorim Ruben Filipe Marques Amorim (; born 27 January 1985) is a Portuguese Professional association football, professional football Manager (association football), manager, a former player and the current manager of Premier League club Manchester Unit ...

, he scored his first domestic league goal in a 7–1 away demolition of

B-SAD B-SAD was a Portuguese football club currently based in Almada, founded on 30 June 2018 as an independent entity. An offshoot of Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, they played four seasons in the Primeira Liga, being relegated to the Liga Portugal ...

. Three weeks later, he was a 50th-minute replacement for

Galeno Wenderson Rodrigues do Nascimento Galeno (born 21 October 1997), commonly known as Galeno, is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli Saudi ...

as the ''Arsenalistas'' won the league cup final against Porto at the

Estádio Municipal de Braga The Estádio Municipal de Braga (') is an All-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium located in Braga, Portugal, and the current home of S.C. Braga, Sporting Clube de Braga. It has a capacity of 30,286 spectators, maki ...

Barcelona

On 31 January 2020,

announced the transfer of Trincão, initially effective on 1 July. He signed a five-year contract for a €31 million fee, with a

buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

of €500 million. He made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

debut on 27 September, playing 12 minutes of the 4–0 home victory over

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

. He was handed his first start on 20 October in the 5–1 home rout of

Ferencváros Ferencváros (, ) is the 9th district of Budapest (), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The developmen ...

in the

of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, replacing

Antoine Griezmann Antoine Griezmann (; born 21 March 1991) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward or attacking midfielder for club Atlético Madrid. Considered one of the greatest players ...

as the starting right winger and putting up a good performance. Trincão scored his first goal on 7 February 2021, closing the 3–2 away win against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

in the domestic league. He added a brace the following weekend after assists by Ilaix Moriba and

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

, helping the hosts to defeat Alavés 5–1. He contributed five games as the side won the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

, totalling 42 overall. On 4 July 2021, Trincão joined

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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

-long loan, subject to medical and work permit and with an option to make the move permanent in the future; he reunited with Pedro Neto, with whom he had played as a child with Vianense and Braga. He made his

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

debut on 14 August, starting in a 1–0 loss away to

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. His first goal came ten days later, as a second-half substitute in a 4–0 victory at

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

in the

second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

of the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

. Trincão registered his first Premier League goal (also providing his first assist in the competition) in a 3–2 defeat at home to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

on 18 March 2022, having come on as a first-half substitute for injured Rúben Neves. He totalled 30 appearances during his tenure, starting in 16 but being only involved in four team goals.

Sporting CP

On 13 July 2022, Trincão signed a one-year loan deal with

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

for a €3 million fee, with a conditional €7 million obligation to buy 50% of his economic rights, with a reported buy-back clause between €20 and €25 million, depending on the moment it was exercised. He made his league debut on 7 August in a 3–3 draw against his former club Braga. His first goal came exactly one month later, his team's second in the 3–0 away win over

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

in the Champions League group phase, their first ever victory in Germany. Over the following months, Trincão performances declined and he began enduring a difficult

, with a lengthy scoring drought leading to many supporters demanding he be benched. Despite that, manager Amorim kept him in his starting eleven, and on 27 February 2023 he ran from one end of the penalty box to the other to score in the 2–0 home defeat of

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

. On 9 April, he netted a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 4–3 win at

Casa Pia The Casa Pia is a Portuguese institution founded by Maria I, known as ''A Pia'' ("Mary the Pious"), and organized by Police Intendant Pina Manique in 1780, following the social disarray of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. For almost three centurie ...

. Trincão started 2023–24 on the bench. However, after becoming a starter over

Marcus Edwards Marcus Edwards (born 3 December 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for club Burnley. Born in England to an English father and a Greek Cypriot mother, he began his senior career at Totten ...

in January 2024, he scored five goals in four league matches, including a brace in a 8–0 home rout of Casa Pia. Having cemented his role up front alongside Pedro Gonçalves and

Viktor Gyökeres Viktor Einar Gyökeres (; born 4 June 1998) is a Swedish professional association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP and the Sweden men's national football team, Sweden ...

, he added four more until the end of the campaign as Sporting won its 20th league, totalling 1,695 minutes. On 11 January 2025, Trincão was the only player to miss his attempt in the 7–6

penalty shoot-out 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 against Benfica in the League Cup final in

Leiria Leiria () is a city and municipality in the Central Region, Portugal, Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, after Coimbra, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat o ...

. On 10 May, against the same opposition but in the Derby de Lisboa, he opened an eventual 1–1 away draw and, again, finished the season with nine goals to claim a national championship while taking part in all 34 fixtures and providing a league-best 14 assists.

International career

Youth

In July 2018, Trincão was a member of the Portugal team which won the

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

beating

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

4–3 after

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

; he scored once in the match in

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...

, Finland. Along with teammate

Jota Jota may refer to: __NOTOC__ * Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet; * (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet; * The name of the ...

, he finished joint top scorer in the tournament with five goals, his others being braces against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in the first group fixture and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

in a 5–0 semi-final rout. At the

2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

in Poland he played all three games and scored the only goal of the opening win against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, though his side did not advance from the group. Trincão won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

at under-21 level on 5 September 2019, scoring once and being involved in two other goals in the 4–0 win over

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

for the 2021 European Championship qualifiers. He helped the Portuguese to a runners-up finish at the finals in Hungary and Slovenia, scoring a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

in a 2–0 group defeat of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Senior

In August 2020, Trincão had his first

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

call-up for

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

matches against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

the following month. He made his debut on 5 September, replacing Bernardo Silva in the 78th minute of a 4–1 home victory over the former. Trincão was named in a preliminary 55-man squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

in Qatar. He did not make the final cut. In October 2024, courtesy of his Sporting performances, Trincão was called by new manager Roberto Martinez for upcoming 2024–25 Nations League matches. He played 26 minutes in the 3–1 win against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. Trincão scored his first goals for Portugal on 23 March 2025, grabbing a brace in a 5–2 victory over

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in the Nations League quarter-finals (5–3 on aggregate) after coming on for

Diogo Dalot José Diogo Dalot Teixeira (; born 18 March 1999) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, full back for club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the Port ...

late into the second half. He was selected for

the finals ''The Finals'' is a free-to-play first-person shooter, developed and published by Embark Studios. The game focuses on team-based matches on maps with a destructible environment, where players (who are divided into a number of distinct classes) ...

in Germany, starting the 2–1 semi-final defeat of the hosts and being unused in the

win against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Style of play

Trincão is a versatile and technical

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, adept at adapting to various attacking roles. He frequently drifts centrally in possession, creating space for overlapping teammates with tactical intelligence. Known for his ball control, maneuverability in tight spaces and a strong left foot, he excels in one-on-one situations, precise dribbling and incisive passing. Trincão plays a key role in build-up play through quick combinations and penetrating passes. Despite being left-footed, he uses the outside of his foot creatively and delivers accurate crosses, making him a consistent wide-area threat. Defensively, he is active in pressing and transitions, leveraging his dynamic movement, spatial awareness and adaptability to succeed in high-intensity, possession-focused systems.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Braga *

: 2019–20 Barcelona *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Sporting CP *

: 2023–24, 2024–25 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de 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 Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

: 2024–25 Portugal U19 *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Portugal *

: 2024–25 Individual *Primeira Liga Team of The Year: 2024–25 *

SJPF Young Player of the Month The SJPF Young Player of the Month (often called Portuguese League Young Player of the Month) is an association football award that recognizes the best Portuguese League young player each month of the season and is conceived by the SJPF (syndicat ...

: January 2020, February 2020 * UEFA European Under-19 Championship top scorer: 2018

References

External links

*
Portuguese League profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trincao, Francisco 1999 births Living people 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Viana do Castelo Men's association football wingers Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players SC Vianense players S.C. Braga B players S.C. Braga players Sporting CP footballers La Liga players FC Barcelona players Premier League players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's international footballers UEFA Nations League–winning players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England