Yannick dos Santos Djaló (born 5 May 1986) is a Portuguese former 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 played 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 ...

or winger. He spent most of his professional career with

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

after reaching the club's youth system at the age of 15, going on to play 156 competitive games and win four major titles. He moved to Benfica in 2012 and won the

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 ...

that year, but totalled only five appearances in 4 years, spending most of his time out on loan. Djaló earned 22

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for Portugal at youth level, and made his only

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

appearance in 2010.

Club career

Sporting CP

Born in

Bissau Bissau () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. it had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, its administr ...

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

, Djaló was brought up through

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

's prolific youth system, and made his

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

debut on 16 September 2006, playing the second half of a 0–1 home loss against F.C. Paços de Ferreira. He proved himself a quality player, often coming off the bench, and also appeared in the club's campaign in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, renewing his contract during the season until 2013. On 6 April 2008, after a four-month absence due to injury, Djaló scored both goals in a 2–0 home win over

S.C. Braga Sporting Clube de Braga (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. Best known for the men's professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese foo ...

, having also found the net the previous week as a substitute in a 4–1 away defeat of

Associação Naval 1º de Maio Associação Naval 1º de Maio or Associação Naval 1893, commonly known as Naval, was a Portuguese Association football, football club based in Figueira da Foz, Coimbra District. Founded on 1 May 1893, it last played in the Division of Honour i ...

. He finished the campaign in good form, netting the only goal in a win at Paços de Ferreira which proved crucial in helping the side to retain their second place in the league. In the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

, he scored twice in a thrilling 5–3 semi-final victory against city-rivals

S.L. Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...

. On 16 August 2008, Djaló scored both goals in Sporting's win against defending league champions

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

claim Claim may refer to: * Claim (legal) * Claim of Right Act 1689 * Claims-based identity * Claim (philosophy) * Land claim * A ''main contention'', see conclusion of law * Patent claim * The assertion of a proposition; see Douglas N. Walton * A ri ...

the

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

for the second year in a row. During 2009–10 he was an everpresent attacking figure, up front or in the wings and, on 2 April 2010, he scored his first career

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

, at home against

Rio Ave FC Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlant ...

(5–0). On 26 August 2010, Djaló scored in the 90th minute to help the ''Lions'' defeat

Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a Danish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Brøndbyvester. Brøndby IF denotes the professional football section of Brøndbyernes ...

3–0 after losing 2–0 at home, thus

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

group stage.

Cancelled transfer to Nice

On 31 August 2011, the last day of the summer

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, Djaló left Sporting, signing for

OGC Nice Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice (), commonly referred to as OGC Nice or simply Nice, is a French professional association football, football club based in Nice. The club was founded in 1904 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of Footb ...

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 ...

for €6 million. On 7 September,

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

ruled that his transfer would be voided due to the move being completed following the closure of the transfer deadline, and the French club's officials announced that they would appeal the ruling. After FIFA failed to take any action regarding the appeal, on 28 September, Nice executive Julien Fournier announced that the club would take the case to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

(CAS). Two weeks later the appeal was rejected, which meant Djaló would not be eligible to represent a new team until January 2012; on the following day after the CAS ruling, Fournier confirmed to Portuguese radio station

Rádio Renascença Rádio Renascença, also known as RR or just 'Renascença' (), is a private, commercial radio station in Portugal, owned by various organizations within the Portuguese Catholic Church: among others, the Patriarchate of Lisbon. Founded in 1934, it ...

that the player would be returning to Sporting. Quakes_djalo_running

Benfica

On 31 January 2012, the

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Djaló signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Benfica. Exactly seven months later, he moved to another team in France's top flight,

Toulouse FC Toulouse Football Club () is a French professional association football, football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division of Football in France, French football. Toulouse plays it ...

, joining on loan with an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season. Djaló was loaned to

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

on 10 March 2014, until the end of the campaign. He subsequently returned to Benfica, being assigned to the

B team B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It represent ...

in the Segunda Liga. On 26 January 2015, Djaló was loaned to

FC Mordovia Saransk FC Mordovia Saransk () was a Russian association football club from Saransk, Republic of Mordovia. In its current state it was formed in 2005, through the merge of Biokhimik-Mordovia and Lisma-Mordovia. History The club was founded in 1961. In ...

in the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

until the end of the season. The move was extended for another year on 7 August.

Later career

In February 2016, Djaló terminated his contract with Benfica, signing for one year with

Ratchaburi F.C. Ratchaburi Football Club (Thai alphabet, Thai: สโมสรฟุตบอลจังหวัดราชบุรี) (also known as Ratchaburi Mitr Phol due to sponsorship reasons), is a Thai professional association football, football clu ...

from the

Thai League 1 The Thai League (, pronounced as ') or Thai League 1 (, pronounced as '), often referred to as T1, is the highest level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai L ...

immediately after. On 24 August 2017, the 31-year-old returned to his country of adoption after agreeing to a one-year deal at

Vitória de Setúbal Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

; having made only two substitute appearances, he returned to Ratchaburi the following June.

International career

Djaló chose to represent

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 ...

internationally, appearing for the country in various youth levels. Twelve days after his 2008 Supercup exploits, he was called up to the senior team by manager

Carlos Queiroz Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football manager. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Iran, Colombia, Egypt and Qatar, leading ...

, but did not make his debut. In late August 2010, Djaló was selected for two

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

qualifiers after Porto's

Silvestre Varela Silvestre Manuel Gonçalves Varela (born 2 February 1985) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger. He represented mainly Porto during his career, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 268 matches and 47 goals over 12 ...

– his former Sporting teammate – suffered an injury. He finally made his debut on 3 September, playing the last six minutes of the 4–4 home draw against minnows

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

after replacing

Hugo Almeida Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida (born 23 May 1984) is a Portuguese former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre-forward. After failing to establish himself at FC Porto, Porto, being loaned several times during his ...

Personal life

Born in Guinea-Bissau, Djaló lived most of his life in the Portuguese capital,

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. His cousin José Embaló was also a footballer. In May 2010, Djaló married singer and TV personality

Luciana Abreu Luciana Abreu Sodré Costa Real (born 25 May 1985) is a Portuguese singer, actress and television host. Luciana Abreu is known for her participation in ''Idolos'', for representing Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 as part of the pop- ...

, subsequently taking his wife's surname and signing as "Yannick Abreu Djaló". The couple welcomed their first child, Lyonce Viktórya, early in the following year, the player having already fathered Christian Martim (born 2008) in a previous relationship.

Career statistics

Honours

Sporting CP *

: 2006–07, 2007–08 *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

runner-up: 2007–08, 2008–09 Benfica *Taça da Liga: 2011–12 Individual *

Young Player of the Month: March 2007

References

External links