Rui Miguel Guerra Pires (born 22 March 1998) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors.
 Pires in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rui Miguel Guerra Pires | ||
| Date of birth | 22 March 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Mirandela, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Lion City Sailors | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2008 | Mirandela | ||
| 2009–2015 | Porto | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Porto B | 69 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | Troyes | 32 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → Paços de Ferreira (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 2022– 2023 | Paços de Ferreira | 31 | (0) |
| 2023– | Lion City Sailors | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015–2016 | Portugal U18 | 7 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Portugal U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Portugal U20 | 6 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 May 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 March 2018 | |||
Club career edit
Porto B edit
Rui began his journey in the acclaimed youth system of FC Porto, where he progressed through the ranks, featuring prominently in its Under-15, U17, and U19 sides. He was subsequently promoted to Porto's B side.
On 7 August 2016, Pires made his professional debut with FC Porto B in a 2016–17 LigaPro match against Aves.[1]
Troyes AC edit
On 9 July 2019, Pires moved on a free transfer to Ligue 2 side Troyes AC. In December 2019, he suffered anterior cruciate ligament injury ending his season prematurely. He ended up making 13 appearances.[2]
He won the French second-tier Ligue 2 with Troyes in 2020/21.
Paços de Ferreira edit
On 26 July 2021, he returned to Portugal and joined Paços de Ferreira on loan.[3] His loan was made permanent after a successful loan.
During his time with Paços Ferreira, Rui showed his capabilities on the European stage, making two appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League Qualifiers.
Lion City Sailors edit
On 29 June 2023, it was reported by the Portuguese press that Pires had moved to Singapore to play for Lion City Sailors. [4]
He was officially announced as the new signing for the team on 14 July 2023 signing a two-year contract. [5] On 26 July 2023, Pires make his debut for the club in a friendly match against Tottenham Hotspurs at the Singapore National Stadium. On 20 September 2023, Pires play his first official game for the club in the 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage fixture against Thailand club, Bangkok United.
Career statistics edit
Club edit
- As of match played 21 May 23[6]
| Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Porto B | 2016–17 | LigaPro | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 2017–18 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||
| Total | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 0 | ||
| Troyes | 2019–20 | Ligue 2 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
| Total | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | ||
| Paços de Ferreira | 2021–22 | Primeira Liga | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| 2022–23 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| Total | 52 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 0 | ||
| Lion City Sailors | 2023 | Singapore Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2024–25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Career Total | 153 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 171 | 0 | ||
International edit
U20 International caps edit
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 August 2017 | Estádio Municipal de Abrantes, Portugal |  Czech Republic |
0-3 (lost) | 2017–18 Under 20 Elite League |
| 2 | 4 September 2017 | Sportpark Middelmors, Netherlands |  Netherlands |
0-1 (lost) | 2017–18 Under 20 Elite League |
| 3 | 5 October 2017 | Stade des Arbères, Switzerland |  Switzerland |
1-1 (draw) | 2017–18 Under 20 Elite League |
| 4 | 9 November 2017 | Stadion Miejsk, Poland |  Poland |
2-1 (won) | 2017–18 Under 20 Elite League |
| 5 | 22 March 2018 | Estádio Municipal Sérgio Conceição, Portugal |  Germany |
0-1 (lost) | 2017–18 Under 20 Elite League |
| 6 | 27 March 2018 | Academy Stadium, England |  England |
0-3 (lost) | 2017–18 Under 20 Elite League |
U19 International caps edit
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 October 2016 | Estádio Municipal de Fátima, Portugal |  Italy |
1-2 (lost) | Friendly |
| 2 | 9 October 2016 | Municipal da Marinha Grande, Portugal | Italy |
2-1 (won) | Friendly |
| 3 | 15 November 2016 | Stadion Beroe, Bulgaria |  Denmark |
2-1 (won) | 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification |
| 4 | 23 March 2017 | Estádio da Mata Real, Portugal |  Croatia |
2-1 (won) | 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification |
| 5 | 28 March 2017 | Estádio da Mata Real, Portugal | Poland |
3-1 (won) | 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification |
| 6 | 2 July 2017 | Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium, Georgia |  Georgia |
1-0 (won) | 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship |
| 7 | 5 July 2017 | David Petriashvili Stadium, Georgia | Czech Republic |
2-1 (won) | 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship |
| 8 | 12 July 2017 | David Petriashvili Stadium, Georgia | Netherlands |
1-0 (won) | 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship |
| 9 | 15 July 2017 | Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium, Georgia | England |
1-2 (lost) | 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship |
Honours edit
Club edit
Lion City Sailors edit
Individual edit
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2017[7]
References edit
- ^ "Aves 2-1 Porto B". ForaDeJogo. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "Rui Pires (Ex-FC Porto) operado ao joelho direito".
- ^ "RUI PIRES CHEGA AO FC PAÇOS DE FERREIRA" (in Portuguese). Paços de Ferreira. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ "Piers leaves Paco for LCS".
- ^ "Rui Pires signs to power Sailors' second foray into AFC Champions League".
- ^ "Rui Pires". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
- ^ "Technical Report". UEFA.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
External links edit
- Rui Pires at ForaDeJogo (archived)
- Rui Pires at Soccerway
- Stats and profile at LPFP (in Portuguese)
- National team data (in Portuguese)
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