Gonçalo Manuel Ganchinho Guedes (; born 29 November 1996) 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 or forward for club

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 ...

. Guedes began his career at Benfica, making his professional debut for the reserves in April 2014 and the first team six months later. After 11 goals in 63 matches across all competitions, winning five major trophies, he transferred to

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

for a €30 million transfer fee in January 2017. He played only 13 matches for PSG before being loaned to

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

in September 2017, joining them on a permanent basis for a €40 million transfer fee a year later. He played 178 games and scored 36 goals for the Spanish club, winning 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 ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, and signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers for £27.5 million in 2022. Guedes earned 57 caps for Portugal at youth level, from under-15 to under-23. He made his senior international debut in November 2015, at age 18, and played at the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

. He scored the winning goal for Portugal in the

2019 UEFA Nations League final The 2019 UEFA Nations League final was a football match that determined the winners of the final tournament of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. It was the inaugural final of the international football competition involving the men's national ...

Club career

Benfica

Born in Benavente, Guedes joined

S.L. Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...

's youth system in 2005, where he progressed to the juniors team. On his debut at age eight, he scored all of the goals in a 5–0 win against a team of boys three years older. He was part of Benfica's squad in the inaugural

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the under-19 teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions Le ...

in 2013–14, contributing to their victories over

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

and

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

en route to the final. On 19 April 2014, he made his professional debut with Benfica B in a

2013–14 Segunda Liga The 2013–14 Segunda Liga, also known as the Liga Revolução by Cabovisão for sponsorship reasons, was the 24th season of the second-tier of football in Portugal. A total of 22 teams played in the league in this season. Moreirense and Penafie ...

match against Porto B, playing 21 minutes of an eventual 4–1 away loss before being replaced by

Rudinilson Silva Rudinilson Gomes Brito Silva (born 20 August 1994) is a Bissau-Guinean professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back. Club career On 18 September 2013, Rudinilson made his ...

. On 18 October 2014, Guedes debuted for Benfica's first team at Sporting da Covilhã in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

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 ...

. On 4 January 2015, he debuted in the

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 ...

Penafiel Penafiel ( or ) is a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the Norte Region, Portugal, northern Portugal, Portuguese Porto District, district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion ...

as an added-time substitute for

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

in a 3–0 victory. On 4 July, he won the

2014–15 Segunda Liga The 2014–15 Segunda Liga was the 25th season of the second-tier of football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualifi ...

's Breakthrough Player of the Year award. On 26 September 2015, Guedes scored his first goal with Benfica in a 3–0 victory against

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

in the league. On 30 September, he scored his first goal in 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 ...

in a victory at

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

(2–1), and became the youngest Portuguese player to have scored a goal in the group stage. He was praised by opposing manager

Diego Simeone Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970), nicknamed "El Cholo" (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He has been the manager of club Atlético Madrid since December 2011 mak ...

after the match. While mainly used as a right-winger at Benfica, he played some matches as a

false 9 In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bei ...

center-forward due to injury to striker Jonas.

Paris Saint-Germain

On 25 January 2017, Guedes joined

for a €30 million transfer fee, signing a contract lasting until 2021. Upon signing, he said that he wanted to emulate compatriot and former PSG player

Pauleta Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes (born 28 April 1973), known as Pauleta (), is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a striker. During 18 years as a senior he never played in the Primeira Liga, having spent 12 of those cam ...

. PSG won a bidding war with

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

for his signature. Guedes made his debut for the

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

title holders four days later, replacing fellow newcomer Julian Draxler for the final three minutes of a 1–1 home draw with

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

Valencia

On 1 September 2017, Guedes was loaned to Spanish club

on a season-long deal. The transfer was facilitated by the contacts between his agent Jorge Mendes and the owners of Valencia. Guedes 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 eight days later, replacing

Andreas Pereira Andreas Hugo Hoelgebaum Pereira (born 1 January 1996) is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Fulham F.C., Fulham and the Brazil national football team, Brazil national team. ...

for the final half-hour of a goalless home draw against Atlético Madrid. On 15 October, Guedes scored the first goal of his loan in a 6–3 win at

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 ...

, as his unbeaten team rose to second above Real Madrid. Six days later, he scored twice and assisted Santi Mina in a 4–0 win over

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

, the ''Che'' team's fifth consecutive victory. He received plaudits from the international sporting press for his early-season form. On 30 August 2018, Guedes signed permanently to Valencia on a deal running until 2024, for an initial club-record €40 million fee potentially including a further €17 million; the release clause was €300 million. From December until February 2019, he was sidelined with a pubalgia. He played in the

2019 Copa del Rey Final The 2019 Copa del Rey final was a football match played on 25 May 2019 that decided the winner of the 2018–19 Copa del Rey, the 117th edition of Spain's primary football cup (including two seasons where two rival editions were played). The matc ...

on 25 May, with Valencia defeating

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 ...

2–1 to win the club's first honour in 11 years. From October 2019 until the following February, Guedes was out with a right ankle injury. On 30 December, he was sent off for swearing at the referee in a 2–1 loss at

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

. He had the most prolific season of his career in 2021–22, finishing as his team's joint top scorer alongside Carlos Soler with 11, while also playing the most games with 36 and most minutes with over 2,500; this included two goals in a 4–3 win at Levante in the

Valencia derby The Valencian derby () or most commonly known as "Derby del Turia", is the name given to any association football match contested between Levante UD, Levante and Valencia CF, Valencia, the two main clubs in the city of Valencia, Spain. History Th ...

on 20 December. In March 2022, his long-range strike against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

was the decisive goal that sent his team to another Copa final.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 8 August 2022,

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 ...

side

signed Guedes on a five-year deal for £27.5 million. He made his debut five days later as a 58th-minute substitute for Hwang Hee-chan in a goalless draw with

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, and on 20 August made his first start in a 1–0 away defeat at

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

Return to Benfica on loan

On 20 January 2023, Guedes returned to his old club Benfica on a loan for the remainder of the 2022–23 season. The following day, in a match away at Santa Clara, he came on as a substitute in the 64th minute and scored, sealing a 3–0 win. On 25 February, in a match away at

Vizela Vizela () is a municipality in the Braga District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 23,736, in an area of 24.70 km². The present mayor is Vitor Hugo Salgado, elected as an independent. The municipal holiday is March 19. History In Au ...

, Guedes got injured and had to undergo knee surgery, sidelining him for almost two months. However, on 21 May 2023, in a clash against

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

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,

, Guedes injured the same knee, requiring him to undergo surgery once again. That season, Benfica were crowned Primeira Liga champions, and Guedes received a medal. On 29 August 2023, Benfica announced that Guedes' loan had been extended until the end of the 2023–24 season. On 19 January 2024, Benfica and Wolverhampton Wanderers reached an agreement for the termination of Guedes' loan spell.

Loan to Villarreal

On 19 January 2024, hours after Guedes left Benfica, Wolverhampton Wanderers sent him on another loan, this time to La Liga club

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 ( ...

, until the end of the 2023–24 season. On 20 January 2024, Guedes made his La Liga debut for the team against

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

. On 27 January, Guedes scored his first La Liga goal for Villarreal against Barcelona at

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium formerly known as the Estadi de Montjuïc and Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc and also known in English language, English as the Barcelona Olympic Stadium, is a stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Originally built ...

, winning the game 5–3.

International career

Guedes was first called-up by

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 ...

first-team manager Fernando Santos on 6 November 2015 ahead of international friendlies against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. He made his debut eight days later against the former, starting in a 1–0 loss in

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

, which made him the first 18-year-old to represent the nation since

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

. On 10 November 2017, Guedes scored his first senior international goal in a 3–0 friendly win over

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Viseu Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the Viseu District, district of the same name, with a population of 100,105 inhabitants in the entire municipality, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões Interm ...

, also assisting Manuel Fernandes earlier in the match. Guedes was named in Portugal's 23-man squad for the

in Russia. In the final warm-up match before the tournament, he scored twice in a 3–0 win over

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, Ben ...

. At the

2019 UEFA Nations League Finals The 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, 2018–19 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the inaugural season of the international Association football, football competition involving the me ...

, hosted on home soil, Guedes was a substitute for

João Félix João Félix Sequeira (; born 10 November 1999) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Serie A club AC Milan, on loan from Premier League club Chelsea, and the Portugal national team. F� ...

in the semi-final victory over

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

but started the final at the

Estádio do Dragão The Estádio do Dragão (; ') is an all-seater football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the third-largest football stadium in Portugal. Designed by Portugue ...

against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, during which he scored the match's only goal. In October 2022, he was named in Portugal's preliminary 55-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

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.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Benfica *

: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2022–23 *

: 2016–17 *

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 ...

: 2014–15, 2015–16 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Paris Saint-Germain *

: 2017–18 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

: 2016–17 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Valencia *

: 2018–19 Portugal *

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 ...

: 2018–19 Individual * Segunda Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2014–15 * SJPF Segunda Liga Player of the Month: October and December 2014

Notes

References

External links

Profile
at the Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. website * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guedes, Goncalo 1996 births Living people People from Benavente, Portugal Footballers from Santarém District Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football wingers Men's association football forwards Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Ligue 1 players La Liga players Premier League players S.L. Benfica B players S.L. Benfica footballers Paris Saint-Germain FC players Valencia CF players Villarreal CF players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in France Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England Portugal men's international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's youth international footballers 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players UEFA Nations League–winning players 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen