Tiago Santos Explained

Tiago Santos
Full Name:Tiago Carvalho Santos
Birth Date:23 July 2002
Birth Place:Lisbon, Portugal
Height:1.75m
Position:Right-back
Currentclub:Lille
Clubnumber:22
Youthyears1:2009–2017
Youthclubs1:Sporting CP
Youthyears2:2017–2018
Youthclubs2:Oeiras
Youthyears3:2018–2019
Youthclubs3:Sacavenense
Youthyears4:2019–2021
Youthclubs4:Sporting CP
Youthyears5:2021–2022
Youthclubs5:Estoril
Years1:2022–2023
Clubs1:Estoril
Caps1:30
Goals1:0
Years2:2023–
Clubs2:Lille
Caps2:29
Goals2:1
Nationalyears1:2023–
Nationalteam1:Portugal U21
Nationalcaps1:2
Nationalgoals1:0
Club-Update:21:16, 17 August 2024 (UTC)
Nationalteam-Update:12 September 2023

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

Club career

Estoril

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

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

Santos 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.[9]

Career statistics

Club

Club! rowspan="2"
SeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Estoril2022–23Primeira Liga3002020340
Lille2023–24Ligue 128131111413
2024–25Ligue 110003040
Total29131141453
Career total5914120141813

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tiago Santos fica na vaga de Soria. www.record.pt.
  2. Web site: Jornada Three kicks off with action-packed Estoril 2-2 Rio Ave draw. portugoal.net.
  3. Web site: Tiago Santos não quer falar do futuro: "O foco é agora acabar esta época e depois logo penso". www.record.pt.
  4. Web site: Cláusulas anti-rival: Tiago Santos é seguido pelo Benfica e "custa" 20 milhões . www.ojogo.pt .
  5. Web site: Estoril vende Tiago Santos ao Lille . Maisfutebol .
  6. Web site: 11 August 2023 . 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 . 2023-09-27 . OneFootball . pt-pt.
  7. Web site: 2023-08-24 . 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 . 2023-09-27 . O Jogo . pt-PT.
  8. News: 26 November 2023 . Tiago Santos marca e o Lille vence o Lyon . pt-pt . Tiago Santos scores and Lille beats Lyon . . 27 November 2023.
  9. Web site: 2023-09-08 . SUB-21 A crónica do Portugal-Andorra . SUB-21 Portugal-Andorra chronicle . 2023-09-27 . A Bola . pt-pt.