Edgar Ié

Barcelona

Born in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Ié joined Sporting CP's youth system in 2008, aged 14. In summer 2012, after concluding his development, he moved to Barcelona in Spain alongside his teammate and compatriot Agostinho Cá. In Catalonia, Ié started playing with the B team in the Segunda División. He made his official debut on 8 December 2012, playing ten minutes in a 1–1 home draw against Elche. Ié made his only competitive appearance for Barcelona's main squad on 3 December 2014, coming on for Jérémy Mathieu for the last 27 minutes of a 4–0 win at Huesca in the last 32 of the Copa del Rey. On 27 August 2015, he signed a three-year deal at Villarreal, being assigned to the reserves in the Segunda División B. He appeared moderately often in a season which ended with a play-off berth, being sent off alongside Anton Shvets on 3 April in a 1–0 away victory over Valencia Mestalla.

Belenenses

On 26 December 2016, Ié returned to Lisbon, signing for Belenenses. He made his Primeira Liga debut the following 27 January, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 away defeat of Boavista.

Lille

On 5 July 2017, Ié transferred to French club Lille for €3 million, the highest transfer fee Belenenses ever received for a player. He scored his only goal in Ligue 1 on 28 January 2018, helping the hosts beat Strasbourg 2–1 by heading home a corner kick from Anwar El Ghazi in injury time. Ié was loaned to Nantes also of the French top division in late January…

Ié was initially selected by Portugal for the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, but missed the tournament in Estonia due to injury; eventually, he won 37 caps at youth level, including 12 for the under-21 team. Coach Rui Jorge named him in the under-23 team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2016 Olympic tournament in Brazil. Ié first appeared with the full side on 10 November 2017, replacing Pepe for the last 34 minutes of the 3–0 friendly win over Saudi Arabia in Viseu. In September 2021, however, he switched his allegiance to Guinea-Bissau, being selected on 5 November for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Guinea and Sudan. He missed the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations through injury. Ié made his debut for Guinea-Bissau on 14 June 2023, in a 1–0 away defeat of São Tomé and Príncipe for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying phase.

Club

As of 1 April 2024

International

Ié's twin brother, Edelino, was also a footballer. A midfielder, he too came through the youth teams at Sporting.