João Ferreira (footballer)

João Ferreira
	Ferreira in 2020
Personal information
Full name	João Diogo Fonseca Ferreira
Date of birth	22 March 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth	Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	SC Braga; (on loan from Watford)
Number	13
Youth career
2011–2014	Rio Ave
2014–2019	Benfica
Senior career*
Years	Team
2019–2023	Benfica B
2019–2023	Benfica
2021–2022	→ Vitória de Guimarães (loan)
2022–2023	→ Rio Ave (loan)
2023–	Watford
2023–2024	→ Udinese (loan)
2024–	→ SC Braga (loan)
International career‡
2016	Portugal U15
2017	Portugal U16
2016–2018	Portugal U17
2018	Portugal U18
2019	Portugal U19
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 January 2025; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2019

João Diogo Fonseca Ferreira (born 22 March 2001) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right-back or centre-back for Primeira Liga club SC Braga, on loan from EFL Championship club Watford.

Football career

Born in Póvoa de Varzim, Ferreira made his professional debut with Benfica B in a 2–1 win over Estoril Praia in LigaPro on 11 August 2019.^[1] On 25 January 2021, he made his debut with the first team in a Primeira Liga 1–1 draw against Nacional.^[2]

On 31 August 2021, he joined Vitória de Guimarães on a season-long loan with an option to purchase for €5 million.^[3]

Watford

On 9 January 2023, Ferriera joined EFL Championship club Watford for an undisclosed fee.^[4] He made his league debut on 14 January 2023 as a half time substitute in a 2–0 win against Blackpool and scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw against Rotherham a week later in what was his first start for the club.^[5]

On 1 August 2023, Ferreira signed for Serie A club Udinese on a season-long loan deal.^[6]

Career statistics

As of match played 30 January 2025^[7]


Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Benfica B	2019–20	Liga Portugal 2	18	1	—		—		—		—		18	1
	2020–21	Liga Portugal 2	18	0	—		—		—		—		18	0
	2021–22	Liga Portugal 2	2	1	—		—		—		—		2	1
	Total		38	2	—		—		—		—		38	2
Benfica	2019–20	Primeira Liga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2020–21	Primeira Liga	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
Vitória de Guimarães (loan)	2021–22	Primeira Liga	14	0	1	0	1	0	—		—		16	0
Rio Ave (loan)	2022–23	Primeira Liga	8	0	1	0	3	0	—		—		12	0
Watford	2022–23	Championship	5	1	—		—		—		—		5	1
Udinese (loan)	2023-24	Serie A	27	0	2	0	—		—		—		29	0
Braga	2024–25	Primeira Liga	13	0	2	0	2	0	7^[a]	0	—		24	0
Career total			106	3	6	0	7	0	8	0	0	0	128	3

^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Benfica

UEFA Youth League runner-up: 2019–20^[8]

References

^ "Benfica II vs. Estoril 2-1". Soccerway. 11 August 2019.
^ "Benfica vs. Nacional 1-1". Soccerway. 25 January 2021.
^ "João Ferreira assina pelo Vitória SC" (in Portuguese). Vitória de Guimarães. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
^ "Watford sign Benfica defender Ferreira". BBC Sport. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
^ "Watford 1-1 Rotherham". BBC. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
^ "Official: Loan Switch For Ferreira". www.watfordfc.com. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
^ João Ferreira at Soccerway
^ "Benfica-Real Madrid". Uefa.com. Retrieved 26 August 2020.

External links

João Ferreira at ForaDeJogo (archived)
João Ferreira at Soccerway
João Ferreira national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)

This biographical article related to a Portuguese association football defender is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[UEL-8] Appearances in UEFA Europa League

[1] "Benfica II vs. Estoril 2-1". Soccerway. 11 August 2019.

[2] "Benfica vs. Nacional 1-1". Soccerway. 25 January 2021.

[3] "João Ferreira assina pelo Vitória SC" (in Portuguese). Vitória de Guimarães. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.

[4] "Watford sign Benfica defender Ferreira". BBC Sport. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.

[5] "Watford 1-1 Rotherham". BBC. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.

[6] "Official: Loan Switch For Ferreira". www.watfordfc.com. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.

[7] João Ferreira at Soccerway

[9] "Benfica-Real Madrid". Uefa.com. Retrieved 26 August 2020.

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