Hélder Wander Sousa de Azevedo Costa (born 12 January 1994) is an Angolan 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 an

attacking midfielder 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. ...

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. ...

for

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

club

Yunnan Yukun Yunnan Yukun Football Club () is a Chinese professional Association football, football club based in Yuxi, Yunnan, that competes in . Yunnan Yukun plays its home matches at the Yuxi Plateau Sports Center Stadium, located within Hongta District. ...

. Having representing

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 youth and senior level, in 2021, he debuted for the Angola national team. Starting his playing career at Benfica, with which he made a single

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 ...

appearance, Costa spent most of his career abroad, including at

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

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 ...

and

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, ...

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 ...

. He also spent several years in England with

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 Leeds United, winning the

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

with both. Costa represented Portugal from under-16 all the way through to the senior side, for whom he scored on his only appearance in 2018. In 2021, he scored on his debut for

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Club career

Benfica

On 11 August 2012, Costa made his professional debut with Benfica B in a

2012–13 Segunda Liga The 2012–13 Segunda Liga was the 23rd season of the second-tier of football in Portugal. This season marked a series of changes in the league overall. The league's name was changed back to Segunda Liga from the previous Liga de Honra. A total o ...

match against Braga B where he played 72 minutes as a winger. His first professional goal came on 23 August 2013, in a 3–0 home win over Portimonense, one of eight that season including on 23 November in a 4–3 triumph against Oliveirense in which he was also sent off. On 25 January 2014, Costa debuted with Benfica in a

2013–14 Taça da Liga The 2013–14 Taça da Liga was the seventh edition of the Taça da Liga, a Portuguese football knockout competition organized by the Portuguese League for Professional Football (LPFP). It was contested by the 33 clubs competing in the 2013–14 P ...

third round match against

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

, playing the final 13 minutes of the 1–0 win 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 ...

as a substitute for

Miralem Sulejmani Miralem Sulejmani ( sr-Cyrl, Миралем Сулејмани, ; born 5 December 1988) is a Serbian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger. When he signed for AFC Ajax, Ajax in 2008, h ...

. He played no further part in the tournament, which Benfica went on to win. On 5 November 2014, he scored a hat-trick in the Segunda Liga with Benfica B against

Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense (), commonly known as Olhanense, is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Algarve Football Association First Division, the fifth tier of ...

in a 5–1 home win. Costa came through the Benfica academy in the same age group as fellow future Portugal internationals Ivan Cavaleiro and

Bernardo Silva Bernardo Mota Veiga de Carvalho e Silva (; born 10 August 1994) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or right winger for club Manchester City, whom he captains, and the Portugal national team. Silva came throug ...

Deportivo (loan)

On 19 January 2015, Costa was loaned to

until the end of the season. He made six appearances for the

Galicians Galicians ( or ''pobo galego''; ) are an ethnic group primarily residing in Galicia, northwest Iberian Peninsula. Historical emigration resulted in populations in other parts of Spain, Europe, and the Americas. Galicians possess distinct cu ...

, all from the substitutes' bench.

Monaco (loan)

On 10 July 2015, Costa joined

club

on a one-year loan. He was signed alongside Benfica teammates Cavaleiro and Silva. He scored his first goal in a Ligue 1 match on 8 November, opening a 3–1 loss away to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. He also provided the assist for

Kylian Mbappé Kylian Mbappé Lottin (born 20 December 1998) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid and Captain (association football), captains ...

's first-ever league goal for Monaco in a 3–1 victory against

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

on 26 February 2016. Costa played 28 times and scored 5 goals in all competitions for Monaco during the 2015–16 season, facing competition out wide from the likes of Silva,

Thomas Lemar Thomas Benoît Lemar (born 12 November 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Atlético Madrid. He is known for his versatility, being able to play on both wings and through the centre. Lemar began his sen ...

and Mbappé.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 29 July 2016, Costa moved on a season-long loan to

club

, for whom he made his debut on 6 August as a substitute in a 2–2 draw at

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1

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 ...

win against

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

on 23 August, and his first league goal on 17 September in a 2–0 win against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

St James' Park St James' Park is a Association football, football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United. With a seating capacity of 52,305, it is the List of football stadiums in England, 8th la ...

. Costa was also praised for his performance against

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

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, with Wolves causing a shock 2–1 win at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

; Costa assisted on both Wolves goals. On 30 January 2017, Wolves purchased Costa outright for a £13 million transfer fee, at the time the highest-ever transfer fee paid by the club. Following payment, he signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with the club. After scoring 12 goals and eight assists in all competitions in his first season, at the annual end of season awards, he won the 2016–17 Wolves Player of the Season Award, also receiving the Players' Player of the Year Award and winning Goal of the Season for a goal he scored against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. On 22 November 2017, Costa scored his first goal of the 2017–18 season in a 4–1 win against

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 ...

. He received a winner's medal during the

2017–18 EFL Championship The 2017–18 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the second season of the EFL Championship under its current name, and the twenty-sixth season under its current league structure. This season nota ...

, contributing five goals and six assists in the league over the course of the season. Costa made his first Premier League appearance on 11 August 2018 in Wolves' opening match of the league season in a 2–2 draw against Everton. On 29 December, in a 3–1 win against

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 ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, he scored his first Premier League goal. In total during the 2018–19 season, Costa made 30 appearances for Wolves in all competitions as he helped the side to a seventh-place finish, sufficient for qualification to the

2019–20 UEFA Europa League The 2019–20 UEFA Europa League was the 49th season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 11th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. Sevilla FC, Sevill ...

Leeds United

On 3 July 2019, Costa joined Championship club Leeds United on loan for the 2019–20 season. As part of the deal, Costa was to join Leeds outright in July 2020 on a four-year contract for an approximate £15 million transfer fee. He was given the number 17 shirt, making him the first player since 2014 to wear it, after the shirt was brought out of retirement. He made his debut on 4 August in Leeds'

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 sys ...

opening day 3–1 victory against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

, and his first start nine days later in the

against Salford City, contributing two assists. Costa scored his first goal for the club on 27 August in an EFL Cup match against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

, the equaliser that sent the tie to a penalty shootout after a 2–2 draw in normal time, with him also scoring his penalty in the 4–5 defeat. On 30 November, in a 4–0 victory against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, he scored his first league goal. On 7 July 2020, Costa joined Leeds outright on a four-year contract. Days later, Leeds earned promotion to the Premier League as EFL champions. Costa made his

debut for Leeds in the first match of the season against reigning champions

on 12 September 2020, assisting

Mateusz Klich Mateusz Andrzej Klich (; born 13 June 1990) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United. Club career Cracovia Born in Tarnów, Klich debuted in the Ekstraklasa in November 2008. Dur ...

's goal in a 4–3 defeat away from home and scored a brace a week later in Leeds's first home league win of the season, a 4–3 victory over

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 ...

. On 6 October 2023, Costa departed Leeds by mutual consent.

Valencia (loan)

On 31 August 2021, Costa joined La Liga side

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 ...

on loan for the 2021–22 season.

Al-Ittihad (loan)

In August 2022, Costa joined

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

on loan for the duration of the

2022–23 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 ...

season. Costa reunited with former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager

Nuno Espírito Santo Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo (born 25 January 1974), known as Nuno Espírito Santo or simply Nuno, is a Portuguese-São Toméan Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Goalkee ...

. Costa scored his first goal for Al-Ittihad against Al Taawoun on 26 December 2022.

Estoril

On 30 July 2024, Costa successfully completed his medical at Estoril. On August 1, the deal was made official, with Costa on a one year contract.

Yunnan Yukun

On 23 January 2025, Costa joined Chinese Super League side

International career

Portugal

Born in Angola, Costa started his international career in representing Portugal. He played for

at the

2013 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship The 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, since its reclassification from an under-18 tournament in 2002, and the 62nd since the tournament was created in 1948. It was hosted in Li ...

, and although he did not score in the team's run to the semi-finals, he was named in the Team of the Tournament. Costa also represented Portugal at the

2014 Toulon Tournament The 2014 Toulon Tournament was the 42nd edition of the Toulon Tournament. The competition took place between 21 May and 1 June 2014 mostly in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of South Eastern France. Brazil national under-20 football team, B ...

. Costa received his first call-up to the senior Portugal squad ahead of the

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 ...

fixtures in October 2018. He made his senior international debut in a friendly against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

on 14 October, in a 3–1 win in which he scored the opening goal. Portugal won the

2018–19 UEFA Nations League The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The league phase of the competition ...

, but Costa was not called up for the final four tournament.

Angola

On 16 March 2021, Costa was called up to the

squad for matches in

2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches were organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the 33rd edition of the international men's football champions ...

against the

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

and

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

. He was eligible as he had only played a friendly for Portugal. He made his debut in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier at home to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

on 12 November that year, scoring the opening goal of a 2–2 home draw. By doing so, he became the third footballer in history (behind

Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé (; 4 July 1926 – 7 July 2014) was an Argentine professional footballer and coach who played as a forward, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. Nicknamed "Saeta Rubia" ("Blond A ...

and

José Altafini José João Altafini (; born 24 July 1938), also known as "Mazzola" in Brazil, is an Italian-Brazilian former association football, footballer, who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Although, he began his career with Sociedade ...

) to score a goal on his debut for two different nations.

Style of play

Costa can play as a winger on either side of the pitch. He can also play as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He is known for his skill, pace, trickery and creativity.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Benfica *

: 2013–14 Wolverhampton Wanderers *

: 2017–18 Leeds United *EFL Championship: 2019–20 Al-Ittihad *

Individual *

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 ...

Team of the Tournament:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Player of the Year: 2016–17 *Wolverhampton Wanderers Players Player of the Year Award: 2016–17 *Wolverhampton Wanderers Goal of the Season: 2016–17

References

External links

* * *
National team data
{{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Helder 1994 births Living people Footballers from Luanda Angolan men's footballers 21st-century Angolan sportsmen Angola men's international footballers Portuguese men's footballers Portugal men's international footballers Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portuguese sportspeople of Angolan descent Angolan emigrants to Portugal Men's association football midfielders Liga Portugal 2 players La Liga players S.L. Benfica B players S.L. Benfica footballers Deportivo de La Coruña players AS Monaco FC players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Valencia CF players Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) players G.D. Estoril Praia players Yunnan Yukun F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Chinese Super League players Angolan expatriate men's footballers Angolan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Angolan expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Angolan expatriate sportspeople in England Angolan expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Angolan expatriate sportspeople in China Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in China Dual internationalists (men's football) 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen