Daniel Candeias


Daniel João Santos Candeias is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Turkish club Gençlerbirliği.

Club career

Porto

Born in Fornos de Algodres, Guarda District, Candeias started his professional career with FC Porto in the 2008–09 season, after emerging through the club's youth ranks and having served a loan at Varzim S.C. in the second division. He made his official debut for the former in late August, in the 0–2 defeat to Sporting Clube de Portugal for the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.
After having appeared scarcely throughout his first year, Candeias was loaned in late January to league strugglers Rio Ave FC, until the end of the campaign. For 2009–10 another loan ensued, as he moved to Recreativo de Huelva in the Spanish second level.
However, after a few months during which he appeared infrequently, Candeias returned to Portugal in late January 2010 to join F.C. Paços de Ferreira, again on loan. His first match for his new club was a 1–2 home loss against G.D. Chaves in the quarter-finals of the Taça de Portugal; his maiden appearance in the Primeira Liga for them occurred on 7 February, as he featured 12 minutes in a 2–1 win at Vitória de Guimarães.

Nacional

In October 2010, Candeias moved to fellow league side C.D. Nacional on a co-ownership deal. He was immediately loaned to Portimonense SC, appearing regularly as a starter but suffering top flight relegation.

Benfica

On 3 July 2014, Candeias signed for Portuguese champions S.L. Benfica, promising to "give everything" for the club. He failed to appear in any competitive games, however, being successively loaned to 1. FC Nürnberg in Germany, Granada CF in Spain, FC Metz in France and Alanyaspor in Turkey.

Rangers

On 11 June 2017, Candeias joined Scottish club Rangers on a two-year deal, for a reported transfer fee of £700,000. He made his debut 18 days later, playing 31 minutes in a 1–0 home win over FC Progrès Niederkorn in the UEFA Europa League.
Candeias scored his first goal for his new team on 9 August 2017, in a 6–0 routing of Dunfermline Athletic for the Scottish League Cup. On 14 March 2018, he extended his contract until the summer of 2020.

Gençlerbirliği

On 22 July 2019, Candeias signed a two-year contract at Gençlerbirliği S.K. of the Turkish Süper Lig.

International career

After having made his Porto debut in 2008, Candeias was soon called up to the Portugal under-21 team. He won his first cap on 5 September of that year, coming on as a 58th-minute substitute for Vieirinha in a 0–2 away loss to England for the 2009 UEFA European Championship qualifiers.

Career statistics


Honours

Club

Porto