Matheus Nunes

Matheus Luiz Nunes (; born 27 August 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the Portugal national team.

Nunes started his career with Ericeirense, before moving to LigaPro side Estoril. During his time with the club, Nunes played mostly in the reserve team, before moving to Primeira Liga side Sporting CP in January 2019. With Sporting, Nunes won a Primeira Liga title and back-to-back Taças da Liga in 2021 and 2022, while being part of the squad that won a double in 2021, leading to him being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year in 2022. In August, Nunes signed with Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers for a club-record transfer worth €45 million (£38 million), before moving to fellow Premier League side Manchester City the following season.

Born and raised in Brazil until 12 years old, Nunes opted to play for the Portugal national team, and made his senior international debut in 2021, representing the side at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Born in Rio de Janeiro, his father left his family, Nunes moved to Ericeira, Lisbon District at the age of 12 with his mother and his English stepfather. He started playing football with local side Ericeirense in the 6th division, and to help his family he also worked at his godfather's bakery for a short period while playing.

Nunes made his senior debut for Ericeirense during the 2015–16 season, in the Lisbon Football Association. He started the 2017 pre-season on trial at Oriental, but was not signed due to a thigh injury, and subsequently returned to his first club.

Estoril

Nunes signed with Estoril in the summer of 2018. He made his debut in the LigaPro on 14 October in a 2–2 draw against Varzim, starting but leaving injured shortly before the end of the first half. During most of his spell, he was associated to the reserve team.

Sporting CP

On 29 January 2019, Nunes joined Sporting CP of the Primeira Liga on a five-and-a-half-year contract for a €500,000 fee for half of his economic rights, and a €45 million buyout clause. His performances against Sporting for Estoril in the Taça da Liga group stage in the 2018–19 season was noted by Sporting scouting team, who decided to sign him.

After playing for the club's under-23 team, Nunes received his first call-up to the first team by manager Rúben Amorim on 4 June 2020, coming on as a second-half substitute in the 2–2 draw at Vitória de Guimarães in the Primeira Liga. On 23 October, he agreed to a contract extension by a further year, increasing his buyout clause from €45 million to €60 million, with the club deciding to pay Estoril €450,000 for the other half of his economic rights.

Nunes scored his first goal in the Portuguese top division on 2 January 2021, closing the 2–0 home victory over Braga. His second came the following 1 February, in injury time to help the hosts defeat Benfica 1–0 in the Derby de Lisboa, being named man of the match. Following the departure of João Mário, he earned a permanent place in the starting eleven, and on 15 September, on in his UEFA Champions League debut, he provided an assist for Paulinho in a 5–1 away defeat to Ajax. After helping Sporting on a run of six consecutive league wins, including the Derby de Lisboa against Benfica, where provided an assist and scored a goal in a 3–1 away victory, Nunes was named the league's Midfielder of the Month for the months of October and November. On 15 February 2022, in the first leg of the round of 16 tie of the Champions League, despite his team 5–0 home loss to Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, who was impressed by the calibre of Nunes' performances, praised him as "one of the best players in the world".

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 17 August 2022, Nunes signed a five-year contract with English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers for a club-record transfer worth €45 million (£38 million), surpassing the former record signing compatriot Fábio Silva.

Nunes made his Wolves debut three days later, as a starter in a 1–0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on 20 August 2022. Nunes made his home Premier League debut in a 1–1 draw with Newcastle United at Molineux on 28 August 2022. Nunes scored his first goal for Wolves in their 1–0 home win against Chelsea on 8 April 2023.

During the early stages of the 2023–24 season, Nunes began a dispute with Wolves over his desire to leave the club after they had rejected a transfer bid for Nunes worth £47 million from Manchester City. Nunes failed to turn up for training with the club, without the permission of manager Gary O'Neil, for two consecutive days in a bid to secure a move away from the club and was to be subsequently fined.

Manchester City

On 30 August 2023, it was reported that a £53 million bid from Manchester City with no additional add-ons had been agreed. The transfer was confirmed on 1 September 2023. The Portuguese international signed a five-year deal with the reigning European and English champions.

Nunes made his Manchester City debut on 16 September, coming off the bench to replace Phil Foden on the 67th minute of a 3–1 league victory away at West Ham United. Three days later, he made his first start for the ''Citizens'', playing the full 90 minuted in a 3–1 home win over Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League. Four days later, Nunes made his first Premier League start for City, playing the full match in a 2–0 home victory over Nottingham Forest, where he assisted Erling Haaland for the second goal.

International career

On 8 August 2021, after living in the country for ten years, Nunes received his Portuguese passport. Late in that month, on his 23rd birthday, he was called up by Brazil national team manager Tite as one of nine replacements for the players based in the United Kingdom, for three 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Chile, Argentina and Peru; He refused the call, as he would have had to quarantine on return due not having the complete COVID-19 vaccination. Ultimately, Nunes decided not to represent his country of birth, after he was contacted by Portugal's national team manager Fernando Santos, who convinced him to represent Portugal.

Nunes was called by Santos on 30 September 2021 for World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and a friendly with Qatar. He won his first cap on 9 October, starting the 3–0 friendly win over Qatar in the Algarve. He scored his first international goal the following 22 March in a 3–1 home win over Turkey in the semi-finals of the qualification play-offs.

In October, he was named in Portugal's preliminary 55-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, being included in the final 26-man squad for the tournament.

Style of play

Nunes is usually deployed in double pivot in 3–4–3 formation, operating as a number 8 looking to get forward and contribute to the attack and also has a good passing range, as he can make different types of passes whether he is looking to switch the play or try and break lines with penetrative passes, or passes that split the opposition backline, which he is highly effective at. He also has the ability to carry the ball and make progressive runs, using a combination of speed and strength to make these runs, while also displaying good technique on the ball. Nunes also possesses good anticipation and reading of the game, which allows him to make effective interceptions and challenges.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Sporting CP
*Primeira Liga: 2020–21
*Taça da Liga: 2020–21, 2021–22
*Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2021

Individual
*Primeira Liga Midfielder of the Month: October/November 2021
*Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2021–22
* Premier League Goal of the Month: April 2023

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunes, Matheus
1998 births
Living people
2022 FIFA World Cup players
Brazilian emigrants to Portugal
Brazilian expatriate men's footballers
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Brazilian men's footballers
Brazilian people of Portuguese descent
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city)
G.D. Estoril Praia players
Liga Portugal 2 players
Manchester City F.C. players
Men's association football midfielders
Naturalised citizens of Portugal
People from Mafra, Portugal
Portuguese expatriate men's footballers
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England
Portuguese men's footballers
Portugal men's international footballers
Portuguese people of Brazilian descent
Premier League players
Primeira Liga players
Sporting CP footballers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players