Fransérgio Barbosa


Fransérgio Rodrigues Barbosa, known as Fransérgio, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Portuguese club Braga.
After starting his career with Atlético Paranaense and Internacional, he spent several years in Portugal, where he made over 150 Primeira Liga appearances for Marítimo and Braga.

Career

Early career / Atlético-PR

Born in Rondonópolis, Mato Grosso, Fransérgio played as a youth for Luverdense Esporte Clube and Sorriso Esporte Clube in his state before joining Paraná Clube and eventually their rivals Clube Atlético Paranaense. He represented the club for four seasons in Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and scored the opening goal on 13 August 2011 in a 2–2 draw at São Paulo FC. In September 2010, he was loaned back to Paraná in Série B for the rest of the year.

Internacional

On 5 February 2012, Fransérgio made his debut for Sport Club Internacional in the Campeonato Gaúcho, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute for Jesús Dátolo in a 2–2 draw at rivals Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense; he was not officially presented by the club until after the game.
Fransérgio was loaned out in May 2012 to Série B club Criciúma Esporte Clube, and in December to Ceará Sporting Club. He arrived at second-tier club Guaratinguetá Futebol on loan in May 2013, and played 15 games, scoring in a 3–0 home win over Associação Desportiva Recreativa e Cultural Icasa on 13 July.

Marítimo

In January 2014, Fransérgio moved abroad for the first time, signing a 2-year deal with C.S. Marítimo of Portugal's Primeira Liga; his agent Marcelo Lipatín had played for the same club. He played seven matches in his first season in Madeira, and scored to conclude their 3–1 home win over Académica de Coimbra on 19 April.
Fransérgio scored twice on 28 September 2014 in a 4–0 win over Vitória S.C. at the Estádio dos Barreiros in which all the goals came in the first half. A week later, he was sent off in a 3–2 loss at F.C. Paços de Ferreira.
Fransérgio played two consecutive Taça da Liga finals for the club from Funchal, both lost to S.L. Benfica, and scored a penalty in the latter on 20 May 2016 in a 6–2 loss at the Estadio Cidade de Coimbra. Twelve days before that match, he was sent off in a 2–0 home loss to the same team. He scored a career-best five league goals over that season, including another brace against Vitória in a 3–0 home win on 17 April.

Braga

In January 2017, fellow top-flight team S.C. Braga announced the signings of Fransérgio and teammate Dyego Sousa for the new season, taking him on a five-year contract and giving Marítimo a share of any subsequent transfer. He made his debut on 27 July in a 1–1 draw away to AIK Fotboll in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg, his first game in European competition. He played nine games and scored four times in that continental campaign, including two in a 3–1 home win over TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the last group game on 23 November.
On 13 September 2019, Fransérgio received a straight red card at the end of a 1–0 loss at Vitória F.C. for attempting to strike José Semedo; the offence was caught by a video assistant referee. He played four matches of their victorious Taça da Liga campaign, scoring in a 4–1 final group game win over F.C. Paços de Ferreira on 22 December, and on 12 February 2020 he extended his contract until 2024 with a buyout clause of €20 million.