Danilo Pereira (Portuguese footballer)


Danilo Luís Hélio Pereira is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for FC Porto and the Portugal national team as a defensive midfielder.
He spent most of his career at Porto, making over 150 total appearances and winning the Primeira Liga twice, while also representing Marítimo in the competition.
Danilo earned 44 caps for Portugal at youth level. He made his senior international debut in 2015, and was part of the squads that won UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals.

Club career

Born in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau as the oldest child of Quinta Djata, a nurse, Pereira and his family moved to Portugal when he was five. He played his youth football with three clubs in the Lisbon area, finishing his development with S.L. Benfica.
Benfica subsequently decided against signing Pereira to a professional contract, and Italian side Parma F.C. acquired him on a free transfer. He spent the second half of the 2010–11 season on loan to Aris Thessaloniki F.C. in Greece and, upon his return to the Stadio Ennio Tardini, made his first appearance in Serie A on 21 December 2011, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–3 home draw against Catania Calcio.
Pereira was loaned again for 2012–13, spending the campaign with Roda JC Kerkrade in the Eredivisie and being first-choice to help his team narrowly avoid relegation. On 1 August 2013 he broke all ties with Parma and returned to Portugal, joining C.S. Marítimo.
On 2 July 2015, after two seasons in Madeira as first-choice, Pereira signed a four-year contract with FC Porto also from the Primeira Liga, with a release clause of €40 million. He scored a career-best six goals – from 33 appearances – in his first season, in a runner-up finish.
Pereira suffered a calf injury during a Taça da Liga match against Sporting CP on 24 January 2018, going on to be sidelined for several months. After the departure of Héctor Herrera for Atlético Madrid in the 2019 off-season, he became club captain; his team won the league title that campaign, and he opened the scoring in the 2–0 home win over Sporting that sealed the crown on 15 July 2020.

International career

Pereira chose to represent Portugal internationally. He was part of the under-20 side that finished second at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia, playing all seven games and scoring in the 2–0 semi-final win over France.
Pereira made his senior international debut on 31 March 2015, replacing fellow debutant Bernardo Silva after 62 minutes of an eventual 0–2 friendly defeat to Cape Verde in Estoril. He was also selected for the UEFA Euro 2016 squad by manager Fernando Santos, scoring his first goal in the last warm-up game, a 7–0 win over Estonia in Lisbon on 8 June.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueCap.OpponentScoreResultCompetition
18 June 2016Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal124–07–0Friendly
225 March 2019Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal321–11–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying

Honours

Club

Porto
Portugal
Portugal U20