João Ferreira (footballer)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Fonseca and the second or paternal family name is Ferreira.

João Diogo Fonseca Ferreira (born 22 March 2001) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right-back or centre-back for Ligue 2 club Saint-Étienne.

João Ferreira

Ferreira in 2020
Personal information
Full name	João Diogo Fonseca Ferreira
Date of birth	(2001-03-22) 22 March 2001 (age 24)
Place of birth	Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Saint-Étienne
Number	13
Youth career
2011–2014	Rio Ave
2014–2019	Benfica
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2023	Benfica B	38	(2)
2019–2023	Benfica	1	(0)
2021–2022	→ Vitória de Guimarães (loan)	14	(0)
2022–2023	→ Rio Ave (loan)	8	(0)
2023–2025	Watford	5	(1)
2023–2024	→ Udinese (loan)	35	(0)
2024–2025	→ SC Braga (loan)	21	(0)
2025–	Saint-Étienne	0	(0)
International career‡
2016	Portugal U15	2	(0)
2017	Portugal U16	2	(0)
2016–2018	Portugal U17	13	(0)
2018	Portugal U18	4	(0)
2019	Portugal U19	7	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2019

Football career

João Ferreira playing for Benfica B in 2016.

Born in Póvoa de Varzim, Ferreira made his professional debut with Benfica B in a 2–1 win over Estoril Praia in LigaPro on 11 August 2019.^[1] On 25 January 2021, he made his debut with the first team in a Primeira Liga 1–1 draw against Nacional.^[2]

On 31 August 2021, he joined Vitória de Guimarães on a season-long loan with an option to purchase for €5 million.^[3]

Watford

On 9 January 2023, Ferriera joined EFL Championship club Watford for an undisclosed fee.^[4] He made his league debut on 14 January 2023 as a half time substitute in a 2–0 win against Blackpool and scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw against Rotherham a week later in what was his first start for the club.^[5]

On 1 August 2023, Ferreira signed for Serie A club Udinese on a season-long loan deal.^[6]

Saint-Étienne

On 6 August 2025, Ferreira signed for Ligue 2 club Saint-Étienne on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.^[7][8]

Career statistics

As of match played 17 May 2025^[9]

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Benfica B	2019–20	Liga Portugal 2	18	1	—		—		—		—		18	1
	2020–21	Liga Portugal 2	18	0	—		—		—		—		18	0
	2021–22	Liga Portugal 2	2	1	—		—		—		—		2	1
	Total		38	2	—		—		—		—		38	2
Benfica	2019–20	Primeira Liga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2020–21	Primeira Liga	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
Vitória de Guimarães (loan)	2021–22	Primeira Liga	14	0	1	0	1	0	—		—		16	0
Rio Ave (loan)	2022–23	Primeira Liga	8	0	1	0	3	0	—		—		12	0
Watford	2022–23	Championship	5	1	—		—		—		—		5	1
Udinese (loan)	2023-24	Serie A	27	0	2	0	—		—		—		29	0
Braga (loan)	2024–25	Primeira Liga	21	0	2	0	2	0	7[c]	0	—		32	0
Career total			114	3	6	0	7	0	8	0	0	0	136	3

1. Includes Taca de Portugal, Copa Italia
2. Includes Taca da Liga
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Benfica

• UEFA Youth League runner-up: 2019–20^[10]