Cédric Soares


Cédric Ricardo Alves Soares , known simply as Cédric, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right back for Premier League club Arsenal and the Portugal national team.
His career started with Sporting CP, going on to appear in 93 competitive games over the course of four Primeira Liga seasons and scoring two goals. He signed for Southampton in 2015.
Having earned 72 caps across all youth levels, Cédric made his senior debut for Portugal in 2014. He appeared for the country at the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2016, winning the latter tournament.

Club career

Sporting

Born in Singen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany to Portuguese immigrants, Cédric returned to Portugal at the age of two. He joined Sporting CP's youth system in 1998, aged seven.
Cédric made his Primeira Liga debut with the first team on 8 May 2011, starting in a 0–1 home loss against Vitória de Setúbal. For 2011–12 he, alongside teammate Adrien Silva, was loaned to fellow top division club Académica, where he played regularly and won that season's Taça de Portugal, playing the full 90 minutes in the 1–0 triumph against Sporting.
Subsequently, Cédric returned to the Lisbon side, being first-choice in the following years under several managers. He scored his first goal in the Portuguese top division on 15 December 2012, netting with his left foot from 30 metres in a 1–1 draw away to Nacional.
In the domestic cup final on 31 May 2015, against Braga, Cédric was sent off in the 14th minute after conceding a penalty with a foul on Djavan, but Sporting eventually won in a shootout.

Southampton

On 18 June 2015, Cédric was announced as the second summer signing for Southampton on a four-year contract, with the English club paying up to €6.5 million for his services. He made his debut on 30 July, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 home win over Vitesse for the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. Ten days later he first appeared in the Premier League, assisting the opening goal for Graziano Pellè in a 2–2 draw away to Newcastle United before being substituted for Cuco Martina at half time.
Cédric scored his first goal for Southampton on 18 March 2018, in a 2–0 victory away to Wigan Athletic in the sixth round of the FA Cup, the first match under new manager Mark Hughes.

Inter Milan (loan)

On 26 January 2019, Cédric moved to Inter Milan on loan for the rest of the season, with an option to purchase for £9.5m in the summer. He made his first appearance five days later, playing 15 minutes and converting his attempt in the 4–3 shootout loss against Lazio in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia.

Arsenal (loan)

Cédric joined fellow Premier League team Arsenal on a six-month loan on 31 January 2020.

Arsenal

On 24 June 2020, it was announced that Cédric had sealed a permanent move to Arsenal on a long term deal, as a free transfer upon the expiry of his contract with Southampton, despite making no appearances during his loan spell.
Cédric made his Arsenal debut on 1 July 2020 coming on as a 77th-minute substitute and scoring a 20-yard strike with his left foot, four minutes after coming on, in a 4–0 victory over Norwich City.

International career

Cédric played ten times with the Portuguese under-21s, his debut occurring on 1 September 2011 in a 2–0 win in Moldova for the 2013 UEFA European Championship qualifiers. His maiden appearance with the senior team was on 11 October 2014, as he started in a 1–2 friendly defeat to France in Paris.
Cédric was selected by manager Fernando Santos for his UEFA Euro 2016 squad. His first game in the tournament took place on 25 June, when he started alongside Southampton teammate José Fonte in the round-of-16 clash against Croatia. He went on to retain his position until the final, won at the expense of hosts France.
Cédric scored his first goal for his country on 17 June 2017, netting in the 86th minute of an eventual 2–2 group stage draw to Mexico at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup at the Kazan Arena in Russia. In May 2018, he was named in Portugal's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
118 June 2017Kazan Arena, Kazan, Russia202–12–22017 FIFA Confederations Cup

Honours

Académica
Sporting
Southampton
Portugal U20
Portugal
Orders