Rui Pires

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Guerraand the second or paternal family name is Pires.

Rui Pires

Pires in a press conference with Troyes in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Rui Miguel Guerra Pires
Date of birth	(1998-03-22) 22 March 1998 (age 27)
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)
2021–2023	Paços de Ferreira	52	(0)
2023–	Lion City Sailors	17	(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 as of 14 September 2024

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.

Club career

Porto B

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 Porto B in a 2016–17 LigaPro match against Aves. ^[1]

Troyes

On 9 July 2019, Pires moved on a free transfer to Ligue 2 side Troyes. He make his debut for the club on 26 July in 2–0 win over Chamois Niort. On 26 October, Pires assisted Lenny Pintor who then went on to scored the winner in the 85th minute in a 1–0 win over Lorient. In December, he suffered anterior cruciate ligament injury ending his season prematurely. He ended up making 13 appearances in his first season. ^[2]

Pires make his returned on 28 September 2020 coming on as a substitution in a 1–0 win over Clermont Foot. He won the French second-tier Ligue 2 with Troyes in the 2020–21 season where he make 19 appearances.

Paços de Ferreira

On 26 July 2021, Pires 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 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers against Tottenham Hotspurs.

Lion City Sailors

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 however, as the foreign quota for the league slot is full, Pires will be registered in the club 2023–24 AFC Champions League matches instead. ^[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 played his first official game for the club in the 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage fixture against Thai club Bangkok United in a 2–1 lost.

On 18 July 2024, Pires make his league debut in a 5–0 lost to Tampines Rovers. During the 2024–25 ASEAN Club Championship against Indonesian club Borneo Samarinda, he picked up his second yellow card 35 seconds after receiving the first yellow where he sees red for the first time of his career.

Despite Maxime Lestienne's equaliser in the 91st minute of the 2025 AFC Champions League Two final against Sharjah, the Sailors finished as a runner-up after conceding in the 97th minute to finish the game in a 1–2 defeat. ^[6]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 Mar 2025 ^[7]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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		10	0	1	0	0	0	10 [a]	0	21	0
	2025–26		1	0	0	0	1 [b]	0	1 [c]	0	3	0
	Total		11	0	1	0	1	0	17	0	30	0
Career Total			164	0	7	0	5	0	19	0	195	0

1. 2 in ASEAN Club Championship and 8 in AFC Champions League Two
2. 1 appearance in Community Shield
3. 1 in ASEAN Club Championship and 0 in AFC Champions League Two

International

U20 International caps

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

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

Club

Troyes

• Ligue 2: 2020–21

Lion City Sailors

• AFC Champions League Two runner-up: 2024–25
• Singapore Premier League: 2024–25
• Singapore Cup: 2023, 2024–25
• Singapore Community Shield: 2024; runner-up: 2025

Individual

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2017 ^[8]

References

1. "Aves 2-1 Porto B". ForaDeJogo. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
2. "Rui Pires (Ex-FC Porto) operado ao joelho direito".
3. "RUI PIRES CHEGA AO FC PAÇOS DE FERREIRA" (in Portuguese). Paços de Ferreira. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
4. "Piers leaves Paco for LCS".
5. "Rui Pires signs to power Sailors' second foray into AFC Champions League".
6. "Sharjah edge Sailors to savour glory". AFC.com. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
7. "Rui Pires". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
8. "Technical Report". UEFA. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.

External links

• Rui Pires at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Rui Pires at Soccerway
• Stats and profile at LPFP (in Portuguese)
• National team data (in Portuguese)