José Gomes (footballer, born 1999)

José Gomes (born 8 April 1999), known as Zé Gomes, is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for AF Elbasani.^[1] Born in Guinea-Bissau, he represented Portugal at youth level.

José Gomes

Personal information
Full name	José Gomes
Date of birth	(1999-04-08) 8 April 1999 (age 26)
Place of birth	Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Elbasani
Number	90
Youth career
2012–2018	Benfica
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2021	Benfica B	78	(13)
2016–2021	Benfica	3	(0)
2019–2020	→ Portimonense (loan)	1	(0)
2020	→ Lechia Gdańsk (loan)	12	(1)
2021	Cherno More	31	(4)
2022	Seregno	11	(3)
2022–2023	CFR Cluj	0	(0)
2023	→ Universitatea Cluj (loan)	16	(1)
2023–2024	Ethnikos Achna	14	(1)
2024	Chornomorets Odesa	9	(0)
2024–	Elbasani	3	(2)
International career
2013	Portugal U15	3	(3)
2013–2014	Portugal U16	3	(1)
2014–2016	Portugal U17	28	(19)
2016–2018	Portugal U19	18	(7)
2017–2019	Portugal U20	13	(2)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Portugal UEFA European Under-19 Championship Winner 2018 Finland UEFA European Under-17 Championship Winner 2016 Azerbaijan
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 June 2024

Club career

Born in Bissau, Gomes, after participating in a 2011 youth tournament in Portugal, returned to the country a year later to join Benfica's youth academy at the age of 13.^[2][3][4]

Gomes made his professional debut with Benfica B in a 2016–17 LigaPro match against Cova da Piedade on 6 August 2016.^[5] 22 days later, he scored his first goal for the reserve team in a 2–1 away win at Vizela.^[6] He debuted for the first-team, playing only 128 seconds, in a 2–1 win at Arouca in Primeira Liga on 9 September, becoming Benfica's third youngest player to debut for the main team.^[7]

Gomes was loaned to fellow top-flight team Portimonense for 2019–20.^[8] Having made only one substitute appearance against Gil Vicente, he headed to Lechia Gdańsk of the Polish Ekstraklasa in February 2020, for the rest of the season.^[9] He managed only one goal during his time on the Baltic Sea coast, in a 3–2 loss away to Lech Poznań on 12 July.^[10]

On 15 February, Gomes moved to Bulgaria, signing with Cherno More.^[11]

On 4 February 2022, Gomes signed with Italian Serie C club Seregno^[12]

In January 2023, Gomes joined rivals Universitate Cluj on loan until the end of the season with the option to purchase.^[13]

On 22 June 2023, Gomes signed a one-year contract with recently-promoted to Cypriot First Division club Ethnikos Achna.^[14]

International career

At the 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, Gomes was crowned both Golden Player and top scorer.^[15][16]

Club statistics

As of 19 August 2023^[1]

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Benfica B	2016–17	LigaPro	23	7	—		—		—		—		23	7
	2017–18		24	3	—		—		—		—		24	3
	2018–19		23	3	—		—		—		—		23	3
	2019–20		0	0	—		—		—		—		0	0
	2020–21		8	0	—		—		—		—		8	0
	Total		78	13	—		—		—		—		78	13
Benfica	2016–17	Primeira Liga	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
Portimonense (loan)	2019–20	Primeira Liga	1	0	—		1	0	—		—		2	0
Lechia Gdańsk (loan)	2019–20	Ekstraklasa	12	1	2	1	—		—		—		14	2
Cherno More	2020–21	First Professional Football League	15	3	1	0	—		—		—		16	3
	2021–22		16	1	2	1	—		—		—		18	2
	Total		31	4	3	1	—		—		—		34	5
Seregno	2021–22	Serie C	11	3	—		—		—		2[a]	0	13	3
CFR Cluj	2022–23	Liga I	0	0	2	0	—		0	0	—		2	0
Universitatea Cluj (loan)	2022–23	Liga I	16	1	2	0	—		—		—		18	1
Ethnikos Achna	2023–24	Cypriot First Division	1	0	0	0	—		—		—		1	0
Career total			153	22	9	2	1	0	1	0	2	0	166	24

1. Appearances in Serie C-Relegation play-outs

Honours

Benfica^[1]

• Primeira Liga: 2016–17
• Taça de Portugal: 2016–17

Lechia Gdańsk^[1]

• Polish Cup runner-up: 2019–20

Universitatea Cluj^[1]

• Cupa României runner-up: 2022–23

Portugal U17^[1]

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2016

Portugal U19^[1]

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2018

Individual

• 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Top goalscorer (7 goals)^[15]
• 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament^[15]
• 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship - Golden Player Award^[16]