Pinto signed for C.D. Nacional in the summer of 2008, appearing in only seven league matches in his first year (12 overall) with the Madeira side. He was more regularly played the following campaigns, and scored his first top-division goal on 6 December 2010 to conclude a 2–1 home comeback win over Associação Naval 1º de Maio.[6]
Pinto returned to Portugal on 3 July 2015, signing a two-year contract with Vitória de Setúbal,[11] subsequently extended until 2020.[12] He scored his only competitive goal for the club on 25 August 2017, netting from a free kick in a 1–1 away draw against C.F. Os Belenenses.[13]
Pinto was handed a three-match ban in August 2018, for allegedly threatening the officials with bodily harm at the end of a league fixture against Nacional.[14] On 16 December of the same year, the 32-year-old announced he was going to interrupt his career to undergo treatment for a lymphoma in his inguinal region.[15][16] He returned for the final game of the season on 19 May 2019 at home to Rio Ave FC; with the team's top-flight survival already guaranteed, Sandro Mendes let him play for the first minutes.[17][18]
In October 2020, with Vitória having just been relegated to the third division due to irregularities, Pinto agreed to a new deal at the Estádio do Bonfim.[19]
Coaching career
Pinto started working as a manager in July 2022, being appointed at amateurs Clube Olímpico do Montijo.[20] Four months later, in spite of collecting 11 wins in 15 games and standing second in the table, he was dismissed; he was recalled by the board of directors in March 2023.[21]
On 24 May 2023, Pinto signed with fourth-tier club FC Serpa.[22] On 11 September, having suffered three losses in the league and achieved a win in the Taça de Portugal, he left by mutual agreement.[23]
^Lopes Pereira, Ricardo (24 May 2023). "Nuno Pinto vai treinar Serpa em 2023/24" [Nuno Pinto will manage Serpa in 2023/24]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 June 2024.
