Galeno Explained

Galeno
Full Name:Wenderson Rodrigues do Nascimento Galeno
Birth Date:21 October 1997
Birth Place:Barra do Corda, Maranhão, Brazil
Height:1.79 m
Position:Winger
Currentclub:Porto
Clubnumber:13
Youthyears1:2014–2016
Youthclubs1:Trindade
Years1:2015–2016
Clubs1:Trindade
Caps1:10
Goals1:5
Years2:2016–2017
Clubs2:Grêmio Anápolis
Caps2:0
Goals2:0
Years3:2016–2017
Clubs3:Porto B (loan)
Caps3:37
Goals3:10
Years4:2017–2018
Clubs4:Porto B
Caps4:17
Goals4:5
Years5:2017–2019
Clubs5:Porto
Caps5:2
Goals5:0
Years6:2018
Clubs6:Portimonense (loan)
Caps6:7
Goals6:0
Years7:2018–2019
Clubs7:Rio Ave (loan)
Caps7:27
Goals7:5
Years8:2019–2022
Clubs8:Braga
Caps8:74
Goals8:12
Years9:2022–
Clubs9:Porto
Caps9:74
Goals9:18
Nationalyears1:2024–
Nationalteam1:Brazil
Nationalcaps1:1
Nationalgoals1:0
Club-Update:23:32, 18 May 2024 (UTC)
Ntupdate:19:45, 26 March 2024

Wenderson Rodrigues do Nascimento Galeno (born 21 October 1997), commonly known as Galeno, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Primeira Liga club Porto and the Brazil national team.

He has spent most of his career in Portugal, playing over 100 Primeira Liga games in two spells at Porto and for Braga, as well as loans at Portimonense and Rio Ave.

Club career

Early career

Born in Barra do Corda, Maranhão, Galeno joined Trindade's youth setup in 2014.[1] He made his senior debut for the club on 10 February 2016, playing the last 29 minutes and scoring a brace in a 3–0 away defeat of Atlética Anapolina for the Campeonato Goiano championship.[2]

Galeno finished the 2016 Campeonato Goiano with five goals in ten appearances, being named the Best Newcomer of the competition. In April 2016, he signed a contract with Grêmio Anápolis.[3]

Porto

On 28 June 2016, Galeno moved abroad and joined Porto on a one-year loan deal, being initially assigned to the B-team in Segunda Liga.[4] He made his professional debut on 7 August, starting in 2–1 away loss against Desportivo das Aves.[5]

Galeno scored his first goal abroad on 20 August 2016, netting the winner in a 2–1 away success over neighbours Leixões. The following 16 May, after scoring 11 goals for the B's, he was bought outright by the Dragons, signing a five-year deal with a 40 million release clause.[6]

Galeno made his first team – and Primeira Liga – debut for Porto on 21 October 2017, coming on as a late substitute for Moussa Marega in a 6–1 home routing of Paços de Ferreira.[7] Three days later he made his first start in the group stage of the Taça da Liga, a goalless draw with Leixões also at the Estádio do Dragão.[8]

On 23 January 2018, Galeno was presented at fellow top tier side Portimonense, on loan until June.[9] He returned to Porto in July, after contributing with seven appearances, only one start.

Galeno was loaned to another club in the main category on 11 July 2018, Rio Ave, for the entire upcoming season.[10] He made his European debut 15 days later away to Jagiellonia Białystok in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round, and on 2 August scored twice in the first half of the second leg, a 4–4 home draw that saw his team eliminated.[11]

Galeno was a regular starter for the Vila do Conde side during the year, scoring eight goals in 35 appearances overall. His first goal in the top flight came on 26 August, opening a 1–1 draw at Tondela on the third matchday.[12]

Braga

On 6 August 2019, Galeno joined Braga on a five-year deal. The transfer fee was €3.5 million to be paid in instalments, plus value-added tax to take the fee to €4.3 million; the buyout clause of €15 million meant that Porto retained 50% of his economic rights.[13]

Galeno scored his first goal in the third game of the league season, opening the score after six minutes in a 1–1 draw at Gil Vicente on 25 August 2019.[14] On 3 November, he scored twice in as many minutes in a home game against neighbours Famalicão in a 2–2 draw.[15] He played four games without scoring in the 2019–20 Taça da Liga, including the 1–0 final win over Sporting CP on 25 January.[16] On 25 June 2020, he settled a 3–2 derby win over Vitória de Guimarães at the Estádio Municipal de Braga.[17]

On 23 May 2021, Galeno was named the man of the match after Braga defeated Benfica 2–0 in the 2021 Taça de Portugal Final, to claim the cup competition for the third time in club history.[18] [19]

Galeno scored six goals in as many Europa League group games for Braga in 2021–22;[20] this included two on 30 September in a 3–1 home win over Denmark's Midtjylland.[21] In his final game on 22 January 2022, he scored a penalty to equalise in a 2–1 win at reigning champions Sporting.[22]

Return to Porto

On 31 January 2022, Porto reached an agreement to purchase Galeno for €9 million from Braga, on a contract until the summer of 2026. The buyout clause was €50 million.[23] His first goal for the club came on 13 March in a 4–0 home win over Tondela, three minutes after coming on for Vitinha.[24] Later that year, on 4 October, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 2–0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.[25] On 13 December 2023, he scored a brace in a 5–3 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk which qualified his club to the Champions League knockout phase.[26]

On 15 January 2024, Galeno extended his contract with Porto until 2028, with a new release clause being set at €60 million.[27] A month later, on 21 February, he scored a late goal to secure a 1–0 win over Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.[28] Though, in the second leg on 12 March, he missed the final penalty in the shoot-out as Porto were eliminated from the tournament.[29]

International career

On 11 March 2024, Galeno received his first call up to the Brazil national football team, ahead of friendlies against England and Spain. His debut came a fornight later, as he came off the bench for Rodrygo on the 82nd minute of the latter match, while the game was tied 2-2.[30] In stoppage time, and after Spain had scored and put the scoreline at 3-2, Galeno suffered a foul inside the box, which Lucas Paquetá converted to fix the final scoreline at 3-3. [31]

Personal life

In March 2022, Galeno was naturalised as a Portuguese citizen after five years of residence in the country.[32]

Career statistics

Club

Club!rowspan="2"
SeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Trindade2016Campeonato Goiano105105
Grémio Anápolis2016Campeonato Goiano Second Division0000
Porto B (loan)2016–17LigaPro37103710
Porto B2017–18LigaPro175175
Total54155415
Porto2017–18Primeira Liga2011100041
Portimonense (loan)2017–18Primeira Liga70000070
Rio Ave (loan)2018–19Primeira Liga275314122369
Braga2019–20Primeira Liga276104091417
2020–21333723072507
2021–22143211066102410
Total7412103802291011524
Porto2021–22Primeira Liga121200040181
2022–23318636282105215
2023–24319722075104816
2024–25000000001212
Total7418155821973211934
Career total24855291021343184234588

International

Honours

Braga

2020–21

2019–20[16]

Porto

2017–18,[33] 2021–22[34]

2022–23

2022,[36] 2024[37]

Individual

Man of the Match

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Como atacante foi de 'desidratado' e 'quase passando fome' a promessa de R$ 148 milhões em dois anos. How forward went from 'dehydrated' and 'nearly starving' to R$ 148 million prospect in two years. ESPN Brasil. pt-BR. 17 August 2017. 20 September 2019.
  2. Web site: Anapolina 0x3 Trindade: 1ª vitória foi fora de casa. Anapolina 0–3 Trindade: 1st win was away from home. Federação Goiana de Futebol. pt-BR. 20 September 2019.
  3. Web site: Grêmio Anápolis começa preparação para Segundona 2016. Grêmio Anápolis start preparing for the 2016 Segundona. Rio Verde Agora. pt-BR. 5 April 2016. 20 September 2019.
  4. Web site: FC Porto B: António Xavier, Danilo e Galeno são as novidades. FC Porto B: António Xavier, Danilo and Galeano are the new faces. TVI 24. pt. 28 June 2016. 20 September 2019.
  5. Web site: Soccerway. Game Report by Soccerway. 7 August 2016.
  6. Web site: Porto contrata atacante brasileiro de 19 anos em definitivo e estipula cláusula de rescisão de R$ 137,3 milhões. Porto buy Brazilian 19-year-old forward permanently and set release clause of R$ 137.3 million. ESPN Brasil. pt-BR. 16 May 2017. 20 September 2019.
  7. News: Ramos . Steve . Galeno fez os primeiros 10 minutos na Liga NOS: "É um sonho jogar aqui" . Galeno plays his first 10 minutes in Liga NOS: "It's a dream to play here". 21 March 2022 . Be Soccer . 21 October 2017 . Portuguese.
  8. News: Surpresa no Dragão. "Houve coisas que não gostei". Surprise in the Dragão. "There were things that I didn't like". 21 March 2022 . . 24 October 2017 . Portuguese.
  9. Web site: Fede Varela, Galeno e Rui Costa apresentados como reforços no Portimonense. Fede Varela, Galeno and Rui Costa presented as additions at Portimonense. SAPO. pt. 23 January 2018. 20 September 2019.
  10. Web site: Galeno é reforço do Rio Ave. Galeno is an addition of Rio Ave. TSF. pt. 11 July 2018. 20 September 2019.
  11. News: Magalhães . Diogo . Rio Ave marca quatro golos mas está fora da Liga Europa. Rio Ave score four goals but are out of the Europa League . 21 March 2022 . . 2 August 2018 . Portuguese.
  12. News: Tondela e Rio Ave empatam na terceira jornada. Tondela and Rio Ave draw on the third matchday . 21 March 2022 . . 26 August 2018 . Portuguese.
  13. News: Braga paga 3,5 milhões ao FC Porto por Galeno. Braga pay 3.5 million to FC Porto for Galeno. 21 March 2022 . . 7 August 2019 . Portuguese.
  14. News: Gomes . Mariana . Braga empata com o Gil Vicente em Barcelos . Braga draw with Gil Vicente in Barcelos . 21 March 2022 . Semanário V . 25 August 2019 . Portuguese . 24 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201124125618/https://semanariov.pt/2019/08/25/braga-empata-com-o-gil-vicente-em-barcelos/ . dead .
  15. News: Sousa . Nuno . Galeno foi insuficiente para a reviravolta do Sp. Braga. Galeno wasn't enough for Sp. Braga comeback. 21 March 2022 . Público . 3 November 2019 . Portuguese.
  16. News: Cole . Richard . Late Ricardo Horta strike wins the Taça da Liga for Braga . 21 March 2022 . PortuGOAL . 25 January 2020.
  17. News: Vaza . Marco . Sp. Braga derrota V. Guimarães em derby espectacular. Sp. Braga defeat V. Guimarães in spectacular derby . 21 March 2022 . Público . 25 June 2020 . Portuguese.
  18. Web site: Galeno eleito 'Homem do Jogo' em Coimbra. Galeno voted 'Man of the Match' in Coimbra. pt. Portuguese Football Federation. 23 May 2021. 23 May 2021.
  19. Web site: SC Braga conquista a Taça de Portugal Placard 2020/2021. SC Braga wins the 2020/2021 Placard Portugal Cup. pt. Portuguese Football Federation. 23 May 2021. 24 May 2021.
  20. News: Marques . Pedro Miguel . Galeno lidera lista de melhores marcadores da Liga Europa. Galeno leads Europa League top scorers list. 21 March 2022 . SAPO . 10 December 2021 . Portuguese.
  21. News: SC Braga soma primeiros pontos na Liga Europa com vitória frente ao Midtjylland. SC Braga win first Europa League points with victory against Midtjylland . 21 March 2022 . TSF . 30 September 2021 . Portuguese.
  22. News: Sporting perde com Sporting de Braga e falha aproximação à liderança. Sporting lose to Sporting de Braga and miss out on getting closer to the lead. 21 March 2022 . . 22 January 2022 . Portuguese.
  23. News: Galeno reforça FC Porto: o número, o contrato e a cláusula de rescisão. Galeno bolsters FC Porto: the number, the contract and the buyout clause . 21 March 2022 . . 31 January 2022 . Portuguese.
  24. News: Ribeiro . Patrick . Sporting and Porto leave faltering Benfica chasing shadows . 21 March 2022 . PortuGOAL . 14 March 2022.
  25. Web site: Porto beat Leverkusen 2-0 to earn first Champions League win . ESPN . 4 October 2022 . 17 May 2023 .
  26. Web site: Galeno's 2 goals power Porto past Shakhtar 5-3 and into the Champions League round of 16 . AP News . 13 December 2023 .
  27. Web site: 15 January 2024 . Galeno renova até 2028 . Galeno renews until 2028 . 15 January 2024 . FC Porto . pt-pt.
  28. Web site: 21 February 2024 . Porto 1–0 Arsenal . 21 February 2024 . BBC Sport .
  29. Web site: 12 March 2024 . How Arsenal beat Porto in penalty shootout to advance to Champions League quarter-finals . 22 March 2024 . The Athletic .
  30. Web site: ESPN. Spain v Brazil game report. 26 March 2024.
  31. Web site: MaisFutebol. VÍDEO: Galeno arranca penálti na estreia e Brasil empata com Espanha. 26 March 2024.
  32. News: Vieira . Sílvio . Galeno já é português e pode jogar pela seleção nacional . Galeno is now Portuguese and can play for the national team. 4 April 2022 . Rádio Renascença . 25 March 2022 . Portuguese.
  33. Web site: FC Porto é o novo campeão nacional . FC Porto is the new national champion . O Jogo . pt . 5 May 2018 . 21 April 2020 . 17 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221017020456/https://www.ojogo.pt/futebol/1a-liga/porto/noticias/fc-porto-e-o-novo-campeao-nacional-9312364.html . dead .
  34. Web site: Zaidu winner takes Porto to the title away to bitter rivals Benfica. PortuGOAL. Patrick. Ribeiro. 7 May 2022. 7 May 2022.
  35. Web site: Taça de Portugal Final: Porto take down Tondela to seal domestic double. Jamie. Farr. PortuGOAL. 22 May 2022. 22 May 2022.
  36. News: Porto beat Tondela 3–0 in the Portuguese Super Cup. PortuGOAL. Matthew. Marshall. 30 July 2022. 31 July 2022.
  37. News: Porto pull off stunning comeback to beat Sporting in seven-goal Super Taça thriller. 4 August 2024. 4 August 2024. PortuGOAL.
  38. Web site: Festa premia os melhores do Goianão 2016; veja como ficou a seleção. Party awards the best of the 2016 Goianão; see how the XI ended up. Sagres Online. pt-BR. 11 May 2016. 20 September 2019. 20 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190920173016/https://sagresonline.com.br/esportes/futebol-goiano/60748-festa-premia-os-melhores-do-goianao-2016-veja-como-ficou-a-selecao. dead.
  39. Web site: 2020-08-24 . UEFA Champions League - Statistics – UEFA.com . 2023-09-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200824193643/https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2020/statistics/round=2001140/players/kind=goals/index.html . 24 August 2020 .
  40. Web site: UEFA Europa League – Top Assists. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 May 2021.