João Palhinha
João Maria Lobo Alves Palhares Costa Palhinha Gonçalves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒoˈɐ̃w̃ paˈʎiɲɐ]; born 9 July 1995) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Fulham and the Portugal national team.
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Palhinha playing for Braga in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | João Maria Lobo Alves Palhares Costa Palhinha Gonçalves | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 9 July 1995 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lisbon, Portugal | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Fulham | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 26 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Alta de Lisboa | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Sacavenense | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Sporting CP | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Sporting CP B | 21 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | → Moreirense (loan) | 29 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2022 | Sporting CP | 72 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | → Belenenses (loan) | 13 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | → Braga (loan) | 50 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Fulham | 63 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Portugal U18 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013−2014 | Portugal U19 | 14 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Portugal U20 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021− | Portugal | 25 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:40, 14 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:48, 21 March 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
He came through at Sporting CP, first appearing with the first team in 2017 and also having loans at Moreirense, Belenenses and Braga. After returning in 2020, he became a starter, notably winning the 2020–21 Primeira Liga and back-to-back Taças da Liga in 2021 and 2022. In July 2022, he signed with Fulham for £20 million.
A former Portugal youth international, finishing second at the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Palhinha made his full debut in 2021 and was part of the squads at UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.