Francisco ‘Chico’ Geraldes profile: Classy playmaker from Portugal

When people talk about Sporting CP’s youth academy, the name that often springs to mind is Cristiano Ronaldo. It was in Lisbon that the global superstar learned his trade. However, the Green and Whites have produced many more top players during their history, as is shown by the fact they’re the only club in the world whose youth system has produced more than one Ballon d’Or winner - Ronaldo and Luis Figo. Other big names such as Nani, João Moutinho and Ricardo Quaresma also started their careers with the Portuguese giants. Francisco Geraldes – or Chico for short – hopes to be mentioned in the same breath as those players one day, having spent the majority of his career so far at Sporting.

League Cup winner

Francisco Oliveira Geraldes was born on 18 April 1995 in Lisbon. He progressed all the way through the youth ranks at Sporting CP, where he also picked up his current nickname. At the age of just 17, he made his debut for the club’s reserve team. He spent the first half of the 2016/17 season on loan at Moreirense, helping them to League Cup glory shortly before his return to Lisbon by setting up the winning goal in the final against SC Braga.

Teammate of Paciência for Under-21s

After making his first-team debut for his parent club in March 2017, Geraldes was sent out on loan for a second time to a smaller Primeira Liga side in 2017/18, namely Rio Ave. Geraldes contributed to the best season in the club’s history as the north Portuguese outfit finished fifth in the league and qualified for the UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds. The 23-year-old made 30 appearances for Rio Ave in the league, scoring three goals and assisting seven, while he also registered one goal and three assists in four cup outings.

At youth international level, Chico has made a total of seven appearances in Portugal colours, two of them for the Under-21s. Interestingly, this saw him play with fellow Eintracht new boy Gonçalo Paciência. In his first game for the U21 side, Geraldes demonstrated his qualities with two assists in a 3-3 draw with Hungary. The Eagles’ strikers will now be hoping for more fine passes from the Portuguese midfielder this season.