Gonçalo Guedes


Gonçalo Manuel Ganchinho Guedes is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger, and occasionally as a second striker, for La Liga side Valencia and the Portugal national team.
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 for a €30 million transfer fee in January 2017. He played only 13 matches for PSG before being loaned to Valencia in September 2017. In August 2018, he joined Valencia on a permanent basis for a €40 million transfer fee.
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. He scored the winning goal for Portugal in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Final.

Club career

Benfica

Born in Benavente, Guedes joined S.L. Benfica'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 in 2013–14, contributing to their victories over Paris Saint-Germain, Anderlecht, Manchester City and Real Madrid en route to the final.
On 19 April 2014, he made his professional debut with Benfica B in a 2013–14 Segunda Liga match against Porto B, playing 21 minutes of an eventual 4–1 away loss before being replaced by Rudinilson Silva.
On 18 October 2014, Guedes debuted for Benfica's first team at Sporting da Covilhã in the third round of Taça de Portugal. On 4 January 2015, he debuted in the Primeira Liga at Penafiel as an added-time substitute for Lima in a 3–0 victory. On 4 July, he won the 2014–15 Segunda Liga'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 in the league. On 30 September, he scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League in a victory at Atlético Madrid, and became the youngest Portuguese player to have scored a goal in the group stage. He was praised by opposing manager Diego Simeone after the match.
While mainly used as a right-winger at Benfica, he played some matches as a false 9 center-forward due to injury to striker Jonas.

Paris Saint-Germain

On 25 January 2017, Guedes joined Paris Saint-Germain 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. PSG won a bidding war with Manchester United for his signature.
Guedes made his debut for the Ligue 1 title holders four days later, replacing fellow newcomer Julian Draxler for the final three minutes of a 1–1 home draw with Monaco.

Valencia

On 1 September 2017, Guedes was loaned to Spanish club Valencia 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 debut eight days later, replacing Andreas Pereira 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, 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, the Che team's fifth consecutive victory. He received plaudits from the international sporting press for his early-season form.
After rejecting offers from Premier League teams, on 27 August 2018, Valencia and PSG reached an agreement for the former to sign Guedes for a €40 million transfer fee. He played in the 2019 Copa del Rey Final on 25 May, with Valencia defeating Barcelona 2–1 to win the club's first honour in 11 years.

International career

Guedes was first called-up by Portugal first-team manager Fernando Santos on 6 November 2015 ahead of international friendlies against Russia and Luxembourg. He made his debut eight days later against the former, starting in a 0–1 loss in Krasnodar, which made him the first 18-year-old to represent the nation since Cristiano Ronaldo.
On 10 November 2017, Guedes scored his first senior international goal in a 3–0 friendly win over Saudi Arabia in Viseu, also assisting Manuel Fernandes earlier in the match.
Guedes was named in Portugal's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In the final warm-up match before the tournament, he scored twice in a 3–0 win over Algeria at the Estádio da Luz.
At the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, hosted on home soil, Guedes was a substitute for João Félix in the semi-final victory over Switzerland but started the final at the Estádio do Dragão against the Netherlands, during which he scored the match's only goal.

Personal life

In May 2019, Guedes was involved in a collision between his car and a motorcycle in Valencia. Both parties suffered only slight injuries.

Career statistics

Club

Notes

International

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.10 November 2017Estádio do Fontelo, Viseu, Portugal2–03–0Friendly
2.7 June 2018Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal1–03–0Friendly
3.7 June 2018Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal3–03–0Friendly
4.9 June 2019Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal1–01–02019 UEFA Nations League Final
5.7 September 2019Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia2–04–2UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
6.11 October 2019Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal3–03–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Club

Benfica
Paris Saint-Germain
Valencia
Portugal