Matheus Nunes is one of the 26 players that Portugal will take to the 2026 World Cup. Born in Rio de Janeiro, the player rejected a call-up to the Brazilian national team and was naturalized Portuguese in 2021 to defend the European country in the 2022 World Cup. ## Career in Portugal Natural of São Gonçalo, Matheus Nunes made his entire career in Europe, so he is not very well known by Brazilians. When he was a child in Rio, he attended a school of Flamengo, but he never attended the youth categories of a club in Brazil. This only happened in Portugal, after he moved with his mother, his Portuguese stepfather and his two younger sisters to Ericeira, a small tourist town near the capital Lisbon. By invitation of a friend, he entered the Ericeirense, the city's team. At 18 years old, he made a test at the Oriental, in Lisbon, but he suffered an injury and was dismissed after recovering. He thought about giving up his career and was convinced by his mother to persist. Matheus returned then to the Ericeirense, where he played for a few more years and started to attract the attention of several European scouts. ## Matheus Nunes exploded for European football in Sporting — Photo: Getty Images The Brazilian was invited to tests at Leicester, in England, at Lille, in France, and at Braga and Benfica, both in Portugal. His career took off when his coach in Ericeira was called to work at Estoril and took the midfielder with him to the sub-23 team. There, another coach fell in love with his football: Alexandre Santos, who later transferred to Sporting and asked for Matheus' signing. ## Guardiola: from 'best in the world' to 'not so intelligent' It was in Sporting that Matheus Nunes exploded. In less than two seasons, there were 101 games, eight goals and nine assists. In the Portuguese team, he caught the attention of Pep Guardiola, even after a 5-0 defeat to Manchester City in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. — The Sporting is a fantastic team, it is the champion of Portugal, which has a very strong league, with fast and intelligent players... Matheus Nunes is one of the best players in the world today — said Guardiola in February 2022. The performance in Sporting made Matheus be bought by Wolverhampton (England) for 45 million euros (R$ 236 million at the time), in 2022, becoming the most expensive signing in the club's history. Matheus Nunes with Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola in Arsenal x Manchester City — Photo: Lee Smith / Reuters In the following season, he entered again in the path of Guardiola, who asked for his signing. Manchester City paid, in August 2023, about 60 million pounds (R$ 372 million) for the Brazilian player. The Spanish coach then reevaluated Matheus, and the statement did not have a good impact: — He can become a good right-back because of his physicality. I don't think he's a player to play in the middle, because he's not intelligent enough and doesn't have the necessary composure — said Guardiola in April 2025. Matheus Nunes played in the midfield or as a winger and changed position because of Guardiola, who made him untouchable in Manchester City. The player revealed that he sought psychological help to recover his confidence and rebuild his career as a right-back. In the last two seasons, he scored five goals and gave 18 assists in 92 games.