João Moreira Sanmartin Souza (born 25 May 2004), known as João Moreira or simply Moreira, is a professional footballer who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for Porto B, on loan from

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. Born in Brazil, he has represented both his country of birth and Portugal at youth level.

International career

Grandson of Portuguese parents, João Moreira played in 2021 for the Portugal under-18 team. In August 2022, he was called up to the Brazil under-20 team, but was seriously injured during a training session, which kept him out of action for 9 months. In 2023, he was called up by the Brazil under-23 team to compete in the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

, but ended up injured again and replaced by Miranda on the final list.

Club career

Moreira made his professional debut for

São Paulo FC São Paulo Futebol Clube () is a professional Association football, football club in the Morumbi, São Paulo, Morumbi district of São Paulo, Brazil. It plays in Campeonato Paulista, São Paulo (state), São Paulo's premier State football lea ...

against EC Água Santa, on 28 February 2022. He scored his first goal playing in the

2022 Copa Sudamericana The 2022 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 21st edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the ''Copa Sudamericana''), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. On 14 May 2020, CONMEBOL announced t ...

, against Universidad Católica, on 7 July. He was also highlighted for his performance in the 2024 Supercopa do Brasil, where Moreira replaced an injured

Rafinha Rafinha is the diminutive form of the given name Rafael. It can refer to: Brazilian footballers * Rafinha (footballer, born 1982), Rafael Scapini de Almeida, midfielder and defender * Rafinha (footballer, born 1983), Rafael da Silva Francisco, mi ...

. On 29 January 2025, Moreira agreed a loan with FC Porto for one season, and an option to purchase for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

3.5 million. The player was sent to Porto B, making his debut in a match against Académico, valid for

Liga Portugal 2 The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal Meu Super for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier Pr ...

, on 1 February 2025.

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

Honours

São Paulo *

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Supercopa do Brasil The Supercopa do Brasil (), also known as Supercopa Rei (), is a Brazilian association football trophy organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). It is contested between the champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro and the winners of ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

São Paulo U17 * Copa do Brasil Sub-17: 2020 * Supercopa do Brasil Sub-17: 2020 Portugal U18 *Torneio Internacional do Porto: 2022

References

External links

* 2004 births Living people Footballers from São Paulo Portuguese men's footballers Portugal men's youth international footballers Brazil men's youth international footballers Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Sportspeople of Portuguese descent Naturalised citizens of Portugal São Paulo FC players FC Porto B players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Liga Portugal 2 players Men's association football fullbacks 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen {{Portugal-footy-defender-stub