Pedro António Pereira Gonçalves

Early career

Following his performances in Vidago, Gonçalves caught the attention of his hometown club G.D. Chaves, joining the club's youth system at the age of 11. Two years later, he was taken to S.C. Braga by Jorge Pires, whose father was a friend of Pedro's father, usually travelling one hour for each training session. After passing his trial aged 13, Gonçalves moved to the city of Braga, living in the house of a lady with two other teammates. He stayed in the youth system for five years, but left the club following the departure of his manager Agostinho Oliveira, whose contract was not renewed. Upon learning of the situation, Valencia's coach Nuno Espírito Santo offered him a professional contract, integrating him into the club's youth teams, with Pedro easily adapting to his new life in Spain and becoming club captain.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

In July 2017, Gonçalves signed a two-year contract with English club Wolverhampton Wanderers. He made his only competitive appearance for the first team on 28 August 2018, in a 2–0 away win against Sheffield Wednesday in the second round of the EFL Cup, coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute for Elliot Watt.

Famalicão

Gonçalves returned to Portugal on 2 July 2019, joining newly promoted Famalicão on a five-year deal, citing homesickness during his time in England, as one of the reasons for his transfer. He made his Primeira Liga debut on 10 August, playing the entire 2–0 victory at Santa Clara. His…

Youth

Gonçalves began his international career with under-18 level in 2016. In March 2018, he was called up to the under-20 level to play two friendlies, against Germany and England. He earned his first cap for Portugal at under-21 level on 4 September 2020, in a 4–0 win in Cyprus for the 2021 UEFA European Championship qualifiers. On 13 October, in another away fixture for the same competition, he scored twice against Gibraltar in a 3–0 away victory. On 15 March 2021, Gonçalves was selected by Rui Jorge for his 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squad.

Senior

Having already participated in the first stage of the under-21 finals, in May 2021 Gonçalves was selected by Fernando Santos for his UEFA Euro 2020 squad due to the delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He made his full debut the following 4 June, playing the second half of the 0–0 friendly draw with Spain in Madrid. Gonçalves ended up not playing for Portugal in the Euro 2020 in an eventual round-of-16 exit. In October 2022, he was named in Portugal's preliminary 55-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but did not make the final cut.

During his time with Famalicão, Gonçalves played predominantly as a central midfielder at a deeper position. Under manager Ruben Amorim at Sporting CP, Gonçalves was deployed as an attacking midfielder or a right winger in the team's 3–4–2–1 or 3–4–3 formations, during which, he is allowed the freedom to fluidly move, coming infield to get close to the central striker or pulling off to the edge of the box. Gonçalves also has good ball control and balance, which allows him to roam around the attacking areas of the pitch. While playing as a false 9, Gonçalves contributes to the possession of his team dropping deep to pick up possession and when receiving the ball in these half-spaces, his spatial awareness allows him to reliably transfer the ball to a dangerous area of the pitch.

Born in the village of Vidago, a spa town in Chaves, Vila Real District, Gonçalves' father died a month after his birth. He started his career at Vidago at the age of 8, where his mother worked as the kit provider. He was integrated into the club's youth team by vice president José Sousa, after being a regular presence around the premises. Due to being chubby and short during his childhood, he earned the nickname "Potinho" and later "Pote".