João Teixeira (footballer, born 1994)


João Rafael de Brito Teixeira is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for G.D. Chaves as a midfielder.

Club career

Benfica

On 13 January 2013, Teixeira made his professional debut with Benfica B in a 2012–13 game against Sporting Braga B and played 84 minutes. He scored his first professional goal in a 2013–14 Segunda Liga game against Portimonense on 18 January 2014. He acted mainly as a back-up to Carlos Martins, amassing 28 games in total. He debuted for Benfica in a UEFA Champions League against Bayern Leverkusen on 9 December 2014. On 13 July 2015, he renewed his contract with Benfica until 2021.

Loans

In February 2016, Teixeira joined Vitória de Guimarães on loan for the rest of the season. He made his Primeira Liga debut on 6 March in a 2–0 loss at Académica de Coimbra as a 74th-minute substitute for Licá, and scored his first goal on 8 May in a 4–1 home win over neighbours Moreirense again from the bench. On 13 March, he was sent off before the end of the first half as his team lost by a goal to Paços de Ferreira.
On 2 August 2016, Teixeira joined Wolverhampton Wanderers of the Football League Championship on a season-long loan, making debut four days later as a substitute in a 2–2 draw at Rotherham United. He scored his first two goals for the club on 24 September, in a 3–1 win against Brentford.
After falling out of favour with newly appointed Wolves manager Paul Lambert, Teixeira's loan with Wolves was cancelled and Benfica then loaned him out to Nottingham Forest until the end of the season. He made 20 appearances and scored 2 goals in all competitions for Wolves.
For the 2017–18 season, Teixeira was loaned to Vitória F.C. in Portugal's top flight.

Chaves

In July 2018, Teixeira signed a permanent four-year contract with G.D. Chaves. He was sent off in the opening game of the season only six minutes after coming off the bench, for a high foot on Porto's Sérgio Oliveira in a 5–0 loss on the road; his penalty was upgraded from a yellow to red card by the video assistant referee.
The team from Trás-os-Montes were relegated in Teixeira's first season. He scored his first goal for them in the second division on 21 September 2019, to open a 3–2 home loss to S.C. Covilhã. In December, he suffered a muscular injury in training, and missed some weeks of the season.

International career

Teixeira represented Portugal at the 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
He represented Portugal at the 2014 Toulon Tournament.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual