Pelé (footballer, born 1991)


Judilson Mamadu Tuncará Gomes, known as Pelé, is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Monaco, and the Guinea-Bissau national team.

Club career

Belenenses

Born in Agualva-Cacém to Bissau-Guinean parents, Pelé started his career with local C.F. Os Belenenses. He made his first-team – and Primeira Liga – debut on 11 January 2009, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 away win against Rio Ave FC.
Much more used in his first full season, Pelé's team would nonetheless suffer relegation, ranking second from bottom.

Italy

On 4 January 2011, after having been linked to the club in September 2010, Pelé was signed by Serie A side Genoa CFC, with the deal being made effective in the summer. However, he only appeared for the under-20 reserves during his spell.
On 30 August 2011, Pelé was exchanged with A.C. Milan's Mario Sampirisi, both in a co-ownership deal. He played as an overage player for the B-team in his first year.

Loans

On 31 July 2012, Pelé was loaned out to FC Arsenal Kyiv in the Ukrainian Premier League. He spent the following campaign in the same situation, with S.C. Olhanense back in his homeland.
After a successful loan spell at Belenenses, where he scored seven competitive goals to help his team finish in sixth position and qualify for the UEFA Europa League, Pelé attracted the interest of S.L. Benfica, who signed him for 2015–16. He was immediately loaned to F.C. Paços de Ferreira, and on 31 January 2017, still owned by the former, joined C.D. Feirense also in the Portuguese top flight.

Rio Ave

On 29 June 2017, Pelé signed a five-year contract with Rio Ave. He scored seven league goals in 38 official matches in his first and only season, helping to qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round after a sixth-place finish.

Monaco

Pelé moved to the French Ligue 1 in July 2018, agreeing to a five-year deal at AS Monaco FC – Benfica and Rio Ave shared the €10 million transfer fee in equal parts. He made his debut in the competition on 28 September, starting in a 0–2 away loss to AS Saint-Étienne and being replaced by Benjamin Henrichs late into the second half.
On 31 January 2019, Pelé joined English club Nottingham Forest on loan for the remainder of the season. On 6 August, in the same situation, he moved to Reading also of the Championship. He scored his first goal for the latter on 7 March 2020, in a 3–1 away victory over Birmingham City.

International career

Pelé played twice for Portugal in the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification, in both games as a substitute, but was not selected for either the final tournament or the elite qualifying phase. He was then picked for a warm-up friendly before the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, a 3–3 draw to France, and appeared in all the matches in the finals in Colombia as the nation finished in second position.
Pelé made his debut for Guinea-Bissau on 10 June 2017, starting in a 1–0 win over Namibia for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Career statistics

Club