Marcos Paulo Mesquita "Rony" Lopes (born 28 December 1995) is a Portuguese 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 plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club

Alanyaspor Alanyaspor Kulübü, known as Corendon Alanyaspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Alanya in Antalya Province. Formed in 1948, the club colours are orange and green. Home matches are play ...

Early life

Born in

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

, Brazil to a Brazilian father and a Portuguese mother, Lopes moved to Portugal at the age of four.

Club career

Manchester City

Lopes played youth football for Benfica from ages 10 to 15, signing for

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in 2011. He was a surprise addition to the first team's pre-season the following year, but had to wait until 7 January 2013 to make his competitive debut, when he came as an 88th-minute substitute for

David Silva David Josué Jiménez Silva (born 8 January 1986) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a Midfielder#Central midfielder, central or an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder and o ...

in a

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

third-round tie against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

and scored the final goal in the 3–0 win, which made him the youngest ever scorer for the club at the age of 17 years and 9 days. Lopes was a regular for City's Elite Development Squad in the 2012–13 season, and went on to claim the inaugural Academy Player of the Year award after winning a public vote. He was included in the team that featured in the first match of the

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the under-19 teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions Le ...

, netting twice in a 4–1 victory at

Viktoria Plzeň Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to: Places * FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov * Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin * Viktoriastadt, now known as Victor ...

. He added a

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 ...

in the 6–0 home rout of

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

. On 21 January 2014, Lopes started against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

in the second leg of the semi-finals of the

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

. In the game, he assisted

Sergio Agüero Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo (born 2 June 1988), also known as Kun Agüero, is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He is regarded as one of th ...

and

Álvaro Negredo Álvaro Negredo Sánchez (; born 20 August 1985) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''La fiera de Vallecas'' (The beast of Vallecas), he amassed totals of 361 matches and 128 goals over 12 La Liga s ...

to a goal each, in a 3–0 away win (9–0 on aggregate). On 7 July 2014, Lopes was loaned to

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

until the end of the campaign. His maiden appearance in

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 ...

occurred on 9 August, in a goalless home draw against

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

. He scored his first goal on 14 September, in a 2–0 victory over

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

also at the

Stade Pierre-Mauroy The Stade Pierre-Mauroy (), also known as the Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre-Mauroy for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-use retractable roof stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq (Métropole Européenne de Lille) in Northern France, that opened in Augus ...

. Lopes was included in City's squad for their pre-season tour in Australia. On 5 August, he was promoted to the first team alongside Jason Denayer and

Kelechi Iheanacho Kelechi Promise Iheanacho () (Igbo language, Igbo: ''Ịheanachọ'', born 3 October 1996) is a Nigerian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesb ...

Monaco

On 28 August 2015, Lopes joined

side

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

for £9 million, sharing teams with a host of compatriots including manager Leonardo Jardim. In early January 2016, he was loaned again to Lille until June. In July 2016, still owned by Monaco, Lopes re-signed at Lille for one season. He scored a brace in the league opener, but in a 3–2 away loss against Metz. Lopes scored his first competitive goal for the club on 16 September 2017, when he opened a 3–0 league home defeat of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. He started for the first time 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 ...

on 1 November, and scored in the 1–1 group stage away draw with

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

Sevilla

On 14 August 2019, Lopes signed a five-year contract at

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

of the Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

in part exchange for

Wissam Ben Yedder Wissam Ben Yedder (born 12 August 1990) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Persian Gulf Pro League club Sepahan S.C., Sepahan. Having begun his career at amateurs ...

. In his first season, he appeared in only 14 official matches. On 29 July 2020, Lopes joined

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

-long loan deal with option to buy. On 16 August 2021, in a similar move, he signed with

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

. He scored his first goal for the latter club on 4 December, in a 3–1 away win against OFI. Lopes served another loan in the 2022–23 campaign, at

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

in the French top division.

Braga

On 2 August 2023, Lopes signed for

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 ...

club

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

on a three-year contract and a free transfer, potentially rising to €500,000 depending on clauses being met. He scored his first goal in the competition on 9 September, opening the 3–2 away victory over Moreirense.

International career

Lopes 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, winning

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 ...

at every youth level. He appeared with the under-20 side at the

2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the twentieth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The competition took place for the first time in New Zealand, the third time on Oceanian soil after ...

, playing all matches in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and helping his country reach the quarter-finals. On 5 January 2014, still aged 18, Lopes made his debut with the under-21s, playing roughly 20 minutes in a 2–0 win over

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

for the 2015 UEFA European Championship qualifiers. He first appeared with the full side on 14 November 2017, replacing

Gonçalo Guedes Gonçalo Manuel Ganchinho Guedes (; born 29 November 1996) is a Portuguese professional association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger or Forward (association football), forward for club Wolverhampton Wa ...

late in the second half of a 1–1 friendly draw against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Lopes was named in a preliminary 35-man squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

, but did not make the final cut.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Manchester City *

: 2013–14 *

runner-up: 2012–13 Lille *

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

runner-up: 2015–16 Monaco *Coupe de la Ligue runner-up: 2017–18 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

runner-up:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Sevilla *

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 ...

: 2019–20 Olympiacos *

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

: 2021–22 Braga *

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 ...

: 2023–24 Portugal U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

runner-up:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopes, Rony 1995 births Living people Brazilian people of Angolan descent Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Brazilian emigrants to Portugal Sportspeople of Portuguese descent Portuguese sportspeople of Angolan descent 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Belém Men's association football midfielders Men's association football wingers Primeira Liga players S.L. Benfica footballers S.C. Braga players S.C. Farense players Manchester City F.C. players Ligue 1 players Championnat National 2 players Championnat National 3 players Lille OSC players AS Monaco FC players OGC Nice players ES Troyes AC players La Liga players Sevilla FC players Super League Greece players Olympiacos F.C. players Süper Lig players Alanyaspor footballers UEFA Europa League–winning players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in France Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Greece Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey