Rafael Barbosa (footballer, born 1996)

Rafael Barbosa

Personal information
Full name	Rafael Avelino Pereira Pinto Barbosa
Date of birth	(1996-03-29) 29 March 1996 (age 28) [1]
Place of birth	Amarante, Portugal [1]
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) [1]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Farense
Number	8
Youth career
2004–2005	ACD Madalena
2005–2006	Académico Amarante
2006–2008	Boavista
2007–2008	→ Pasteleira (loan)
2008–2015	Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2020	Sporting CP B	72	(12)
2016–2017	→ União Madeira (loan)	9	(0)
2018	→ Portimonense (loan)	4	(0)
2019	→ Paços Ferreira (loan)	16	(1)
2019–2020	→ Estoril (loan)	22	(4)
2020–2023	Tondela	92	(10)
2023–	Farense	27	(1)
International career
2011	Portugal U15	2	(0)
2011–2012	Portugal U16	9	(0)
2012–2013	Portugal U17	5	(0)
2017	Portugal U21	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:37, 19 July 2024 (UTC)

Rafael Avelino Pereira Pinto Barbosa (born 29 March 1996) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Primeira Liga club Farense.

Club career

Sporting CP

Born in Amarante, Porto District, Barbosa joined Sporting CP's youth academy at the age of 12. On 12 September 2015, he made his professional debut with the reserve team, playing 50 minutes in a 4–0 away win against Clube Oriental de Lisboa in the Segunda Liga. ^[2] He scored his first goal in the competition a month later, helping the visitors defeat C.D. Santa Clara 3–2. ^[3]

After half a season on loan at fellow second-tier club C.F. União, ^{[4] [5]} Barbosa returned to Sporting B and netted eight times in 2017–18 from 34 appearances, in a final relegation to the third division. ^[6] In the ensuing summer, he was loaned to Portimonense S.C. of the Primeira Liga. ^[7]

Barbosa played his first match in the Portuguese top flight on 13 August 2018, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute for Felipe Macedo in a 0–2 home loss to Boavista FC. ^[8] On 30 September, during a game in the newly created under-23 league against S.L. Benfica, he was assaulted by the chairman of Portimonense's PLSC Rodiney Sampaio, ^[9] initially pressing charges for the incident ^[10] but sorting the situation out shortly after. ^[11]

Tondela

On 18 August 2020, Barbosa signed a three-year contract with C.D. Tondela. ^[12] On 23 October, he scored in a 1–0 home victory over Portimonense for his first ever goal in the top tier. ^[13]

Farense

On 26 June 2023, the free agent Barbosa joined recently-promoted S.C. Farense on a two-year deal. ^[14] He scored his first goal for the club on 12 November, netting from outside the penalty area in a 3–1 league win at Boavista; ^[15] the strike was later considered the Primeira Liga Goal of the Month for October/November. ^[16]

International career

Barbosa won his only cap for the Portugal under-21 team on 5 September 2017, replacing Benfica's João Carvalho early into the second half of a 2–0 home defeat of Wales in the 2019 UEFA European Championship qualifiers. ^[17]

Career statistics

As of match played 12 November 2023 ^[18]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sporting CP B	2015–16	LigaPro	23	1	—		—		—		23	1
	2016–17	LigaPro	15	3	—		—		—		15	3
	2017–18	LigaPro	34	8	—		—		—		34	8
	Total		72	12	—		—		—		72	12
União Madeira (loan)	2016–17	LigaPro	9	0	2	0	2	0	—		13	0
Portimonense (loan)	2018–19	Primeira Liga	4	0	0	0	0	0	—		4	0
Paços Ferreira (loan)	2018–19	LigaPro	16	1	0	0	0	0	—		16	1
Estoril (loan)	2019–20	LigaPro	22	4	1	0	1	0	—		24	4
Tondela	2020–21	Primeira Liga	30	3	2	0	—		—		32	3
	2021–22	Primeira Liga	29	2	6	0	1	0	—		36	2
	2022–23	Liga Portugal 2	33	5	2	1	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	36	6
	Total		92	10	10	1	1	0	1	0	104	11
Farense	2023–24	Primeira Liga	8	1	0	0	4	0	—		12	1
Career total			223	28	13	1	8	0	1	0	245	29

1. Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

Honours

Paços de Ferreira

• Segunda Liga: 2018–19 ^[18]

Individual

• Primeira Liga Goal of the Month: October/November 2023 ^[19]

References

1. "Rafael Barbosa" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
2. "Oriental-Sporting B, 0–4: Goleada com "reforço" de Jesus" [Oriental-Sporting B, 0–4: Rout with "addition" of Jesus]. Record (in Portuguese). 12 September 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
3. "Santa Clara-Sporting B, 2–3: Leão volta aos triunfos" [Santa Clara-Sporting B, 0–4: Lion returns to wins]. Record (in Portuguese). 25 October 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
4. "União confirma regresso de Rafael Barbosa ao Sporting" [União confirm return of Rafael Barbosa to Sporting]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 11 January 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
5. "Spalvis e Rafael Barbosa inscritos pelo Sporting" [Spalvis and Rafael Barbosa registered by Sporting] (in Portuguese). SIC Notícias. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
6. Henriques, Miguel (9 July 2018). "Sporting empresta Rafael Barbosa ao Portimonense" [Sporting loan Rafael Barbosa to Portimonense]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 December 2018.
7. "Rafael Barbosa cedido pelo Sporting ao Portimonense" [Rafael Barbosa loaned by Sporting to Portimonense]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 9 July 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
8. Anjinho, Jorge (13 August 2018). "Portimonense-Boavista, 0–2 (crónica)" [Portimonense-Boavista, 0–2 (match report)] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
9. Granada, Ricardo (30 September 2018). "Rafael Barbosa agredido pelo presidente da SAD do Portimonense" [Rafael Barbosa assaulted by president of Portimonense PLSC]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 December 2018.
10. "Rafael Barbosa apresenta queixa na PSP contra líder da SAD do Portimonense; Sporting apoia jogador" [Rafael Barbosa presses charges at PSP against leader of Portimonense's PLSC; Sporting support player]. Record (in Portuguese). 30 September 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
11. Alves, Armando (30 September 2018). "SAD garante que "altercação" entre Rodiney Sampaio e Rafael Barbosa foi sanada e resolvida" [PLSC confirms that "scuffle" between Rodiney Sampaio and Rafael Barbosa has been dealt with and sorted out]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 December 2018.
12. "OFICIAL: Tondela contrata Rafael Barbosa ao Sporting" [OFFICIAL: Tondela sign Rafael Barbosa from Sporting] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
13. "Tondela consegue primeiro triunfo da época" [Tondela get first victory of the season]. Público (in Portuguese). 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
14. "OFICIAL: Rafael Barbosa é reforço do Farense" [OFFICIAL: Rafael Barbosa is addition to Farense] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
15. Castro, Ricardo Jorge (12 November 2023). "Boavista-Farense, 1–3 (crónica)" [Boavista-Farense, 1–3 (report)] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
16. "Golo de fora de área de Rafael Barbosa eleito o melhor da Liga Betclic em outubro/novembro" [Goal from outside the penalty area by Rafael Barbosa chosen as Liga Betclic's best in October/November]. Record (in Portuguese). 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
17. "EuroSub-21: Portugal –– País de Gales (ficha)" [Under-21Euro: Portugal –– Wales (report)]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 5 September 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
18. Rafael Barbosa at Soccerway
19. "Genialidade de Rafael Barbosa é o Golo do Mês na Liga Portugal Betclic" [Rafael Barbosa genius move is Liga Portugal Betclic's Goal of the Month] (in Portuguese). Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.

External links

• Rafael Barbosa at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Portuguese League profile (in Portuguese)
• Rafael Barbosa national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)