Francisco Trincão


Francisco António Machado Mota Castro Trincão is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona.
He started his career with Braga B, making his debut with the first team in 2018 and going on to win the 2019–20 Taça da Liga. In January 2020, he signed with Barcelona for a €31 million fee.
Trincão was a youth international for Portugal, winning the 2018 European Under-19 Championship where he was crowned top scorer.

Club career

Braga

Born in Viana do Castelo, Trincão began his youth career with hometown club SC Vianense. He also had a spell at FC Porto and two at S.C. Braga, where he finished his development.
Trincão made his senior debut on 2 April 2016 for Braga's reserves in Segunda Liga, as an 81st-minute substitute for Carlos Fortes in a 2–1 away loss against S.C. Freamunde. He scored his first senior goal on 7 May 2017, but in a 2–3 home defeat to FC Porto B. He scored five times in 2017–18, including twice on 1 October in a 5–4 home win over C.D. Nacional for a first victory of the season, and signed a new five-year contract at the end.
On 28 December 2018, Trincão played his first competitive match with the first team in a 4–0 victory at Vitória F.C. in the group stage of the Taça da Liga where he replaced Fransérgio in the 62nd minute. Five days later, manager Abel Ferreira gave him a Primeira Liga debut when he came on for Dyego Sousa for the last four minutes of a home defeat of C.S. Marítimo.
Trincão scored his first goal for Braga on 12 December 2019 in the last group phase game of the UEFA Europa League, also assisting in the 4–2 win at SK Slovan Bratislava as his team advanced in first place. The following 4 January, given a first league start by new manager Rúben Amorim, he scored his first domestic league goal in a 7–1 away demolition of Belenenses SAD; three weeks later, he was a 50th-minute replacement for Galeno as the Arsenalistas won the league cup final against FC Porto at the Estadio Municipal de Braga.

Barcelona

On 31 January 2020, FC Barcelona announced the transfer of Trincão, initially effective on 1 July. He signed a five-year contract for a €31 million fee, with a buyout clause of €500 million.

International career

In July 2018, Trincão was a member of the Portugal team which won the UEFA European Under-19 Championship beating Italy 4–3 after extra time; he scored once in the match in Seinäjoki, Finland. Along with teammate Jota, he finished joint top scorer in the tournament with five goals, his others being braces against Norway in the first group fixture and Ukraine in a 5–0 semi-final rout.
At the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland, Trincão played all three games for Portugal and scored the only goal of the opening win against South Korea, though his side did not advance from the group. He won his first cap at under-21 level on 5 September of that year, scoring once and being involved in two other goals in the 4–0 win over Gibraltar for the 2021 European Championship qualifiers.

Honours

Braga
Portugal
Individual