Tiago Carvalho Santos (born 23 July 2002) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ligue 1 club Lille.

Tiago Santos
Santos with Lille in 2023
Personal information
Full name Tiago Carvalho Santos
Date of birth (2002-07-23) 23 July 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Lisbon, Portugal
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
Lille
Number 22
Youth career
2009–2017 Sporting CP
2017–2018 Oeiras
2018–2019 Sacavenense
2019–2021 Sporting CP
2021–2022 Estoril
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Estoril 30 (0)
2023– Lille 35 (1)
International career
2023– Portugal U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:02, 5 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 September 2023

Club career

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Estoril

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Santos spent the majority of his youth career in the academy of Sporting CP, with stints at the academies of Oeiras, Sacavenense, and moving to the U23 side of Estoril in 2021. On 9 July 2022, he was promoted to Estoril's senior side for the 2022–23 season.[1]

Santos made his professional and Primeira Liga debut as a starter in a 2–2 draw with Rio Ave on 19 August 2022, in which he assisted the opening goal of the match.[2] He received the Young Player of the Month award in Primeira Liga for April 2023.[3] Santos finished the 2022–23 season with 5 assists in 30 league appearances for Estoril.

During the summer 2023 transfer window, Santos attracted interest from Benfica, who had an offer in the region of €5 million accepted by Estoril for the right-back. However, Sporting CP invoked an "anti-rival" clause inserted into Santos' contract when he joined Estoril, which stated that the Lions were owed €20 million if the player was sold to Benfica or Porto; for that reason, the move collapsed.[4]

Lille

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On 5 July 2023, Santos signed a five-year contract with Ligue 1 club Lille, who paid €6.5 million for the right-back.[5]

He made his debut for Les Dogues on 11 August, starting in a 1–1 draw away at Nice in the 2023–24 Ligue 1's opening match.[6] Thirteen days later, Santos made his debut in European competitions, starting in a 2–1 home victory over HNK Rijeka in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.[7] On 26 November 2023, Santos scored his first professional goal, from outside the penalty box, in a 2–0 league victory away at Olympique Lyonnais.[8]

International career

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Born in Portugal, Santos is of Angolan descent through his father.[9] He made his international debut for the Portugal U21s on 8 September 2023, starting in a 3–0 home victory over Andorra in a qualifying match for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[10]

He was called up to the senior Portugal national team for the first time for the Nations League games against Croatia and Scotland in September 2024.[11]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 5 October 2024[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Estoril 2022–23 Primeira Liga 30 0 2 0 2 0 34 0
Lille 2023–24 Ligue 1 28 1 3 1 11[a] 1 41 3
2024–25 Ligue 1 7 0 0 0 5[b] 0 12 0
Total 35 1 3 1 16 1 54 3
Career total 65 1 4 1 2 0 16 1 89 3
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

References

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  1. ^ "Tiago Santos fica na vaga de Soria". www.record.pt.
  2. ^ "Jornada Three kicks off with action-packed Estoril 2-2 Rio Ave draw". portugoal.net.
  3. ^ "Tiago Santos não quer falar do futuro: "O foco é agora acabar esta época e depois logo penso"". www.record.pt.
  4. ^ "Cláusulas anti-rival: Tiago Santos é seguido pelo Benfica e "custa" 20 milhões". www.ojogo.pt.
  5. ^ "Estoril vende Tiago Santos ao Lille". Maisfutebol.
  6. ^ "Com Tiago Santos titular, Lille de Paulo Fonseca arrecada empate nos instantes finais" [With Tiago Santos starting, Paulo Fonseca's Lille draws in the final instants]. OneFootball (in European Portuguese). 11 August 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Play-off da Liga Conferência: Lille de Fonseca ganha, APOEL de Sá Pinto perde" [Conference League play-off: Fonseca's Lille wins, Sá Pinto's APOEL loses] (in European Portuguese). O Jogo. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Tiago Santos marca e o Lille vence o Lyon" [Tiago Santos scores and Lille beats Lyon]. A Bola (in European Portuguese). 26 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Tiago Santos, le feu dans les jambes | LOSC". www.losc.fr.
  10. ^ "SUB-21 A crónica do Portugal-Andorra" [SUB-21 Portugal-Andorra chronicle] (in European Portuguese). A Bola. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  11. ^ "Convocatória para Croácia e Escócia" (in Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  12. ^ Tiago Santos at Soccerway
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