Matheus Nunes

Early career

Nunes was born in Rio de Janeiro. After his father left his family, Nunes moved to Ericeira, Lisbon District at the age of 12 with his mother and his English stepfather. He started playing football with local side Ericeirense in the 6th division, and to help his family he also worked at his godfather's bakery for a short period while playing. Nunes made his senior debut for Ericeirense during the 2015–16 season, in the Lisbon Football Association. He started the 2017 pre-season on trial at Oriental, but was not signed due to a thigh injury, and subsequently returned to his first club.

Estoril

Nunes signed with Estoril in the summer of 2018. He made his debut in the LigaPro on 14 October in a 2–2 draw against Varzim, starting but leaving injured shortly before the end of the first half. During most of his spell, he was associated to the reserve team.

Sporting CP

On 29 January 2019, Nunes joined Sporting CP of the Primeira Liga on a five-and-a-half-year contract for a €500,000 fee for half of his economic rights, and a €45 million buyout clause. His performances against Sporting for Estoril in the Taça da Liga group stage in the 2018–19 season was noted by Sporting scouting team, who decided to sign him. After playing for the club's under-23 team, Nunes received his first call-up to the first team by manager Ruben Amorim on 4 June 2020, coming on as a second-half substitute in the 2–2 draw at Vitória de Guimarães in the Primeira Liga.…

On 8 August 2021, after living in the country for ten years, Nunes received his Portuguese passport. Later that month, on his 23rd birthday, he was called up by Brazil national team manager Tite as one of nine replacements for the players based in the United Kingdom, for three 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Chile, Argentina and Peru; He refused the call, as he would have had to quarantine on return due not having the complete COVID-19 vaccination. Ultimately, Nunes decided not to represent his country of birth, after he was contacted by Portugal's national team manager Fernando Santos, who convinced him to represent Portugal. Nunes was called by Santos on 30 September 2021 for World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and a friendly with Qatar. He won his first cap on 9 October, starting the 3–0 friendly win over Qatar in the Algarve. He scored his first international goal the following 22 March in a 3–1 home win over Turkey in the semi-finals of the qualification play-offs. In October, he was named in Portugal's preliminary 55-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, being included in the final 26-man squad for the tournament. On 3 June 2024, he was named in the squad for the UEFA Euro 2024, as a replacement to the injured Otávio, where Portugal was eliminated from the tournament by France in the quarter-finals, after losing 5–3 in a penalty shootout. On 19 May 2026, Nunes was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Nunes is usually deployed in double pivot in 3–4–3 formation, operating as a number 8 looking to get forward and contribute to the attack and also has a good passing range, as he can make different types of passes whether he is looking to switch the play or try and break lines with penetrative passes, or passes that split the opposition backline, which he is highly effective at. He also has the ability to carry the ball and make progressive runs, using a combination of speed and strength to make these runs, while also displaying good technique on the ball. Nunes also possesses good anticipation and reading of the game, which allows him to make effective interceptions and challenges.

Club

As of match played 23 August 2026

International

As of match played 27 June 2026

As of match played 10 June 2026 Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nunes goal