# Tiago Djaló

Tiago Emanuel Embaló Djaló (Portuguese pronunciation:; 9 April 2000) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Primeira Liga club Porto, on loan from Serie A club Juventus, and the Portugal national team.

## Club career
### Sporting CP

Djaló was born in Amadora, Lisbon metropolitan area to Bissau-Guinean parents, and he joined Sporting CP's academy in 2013 from Sport Futebol Damaiense. On 24 February 2018, still a junior, he made his professional debut in the LigaPro with their reserves, playing 74 minutes in a 2–2 home draw against Académica de Coimbra.
On 11 April 2018, Djaló scored his first goal in the second division, closing the 1–1 home draw with Famalicão.

### AC Milan

In January 2019, Djaló was signed by AC Milan as his contract with Sporting was about to expire. In July, alongside several other youth team players, he was invited to train with the first team by the newly appointed coach Marco Giampaolo. He appeared in his only match for the club in a friendly with Novara, coming on as a second-half substitute.

### Lille

Djaló joined Lille on 1 August 2019 on a five-year deal, for an undisclosed fee reported to be within the area of €5 million. He made his debut in the French Ligue 1 ten days later, starting in central defence alongside his compatriot José Fonte in the 2–1 home victory over Nantes. He first appeared in the UEFA Champions League on 23 October, featuring 87 minutes in a 1–1 draw against Valencia in the group stage also at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
In the 2020–21 season, Djaló contributed 17 games to help his team win the national championship for the first time since 2011. On 1 August, he started as Lille won the Trophée des Champions 1–0 against Paris Saint-Germain at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel. He scored his first league goal on 6 November that year, opening an eventual 1–1 home draw with Angers.
On 4 March 2023, early in a league fixture away to Lens, Djaló suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, being sidelined for several months. During his spell, he made 102 appearances in all competitions.

### Juventus

On 22 January 2024, Djaló returned to the Italian Serie A, signing a contract until June 2026 with Juventus; the club paid a reported €3.6 million transfer fee, which could rise to €5.1 million with add-ons. He remained on the bench in the final of the Coppa Italia on 15 May, a 1–0 win over Atalanta in Rome. His league debut took place ten days later, when he played 16 minutes of the 2–0 victory against Monza.
Djaló moved to Porto on 2 September 2024, on a season-long loan. He scored on his debut on 20 October, closing the 3–0 win at amateurs Sintrense in the third round of the Taça de Portugal. He repeated the feat the next game, opening a 2–0 home defeat of TSG Hoffenheim in the league phase of the UEFA Europa League to become the club's first-ever defender to achieve this.

## International career

Djaló won 26 caps for Portugal at youth level. His first for the under-21 side occurred on 14 November 2019, in a 0–0 friendly draw against Slovenia held in Estoril.
On 21 March 2022, Djaló received his first call-up to the senior squad, after Pepe tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification play-offs against Turkey. In October, he was named in a preliminary 55-man squad for the finals in Qatar.
Djaló finally made his full debut on 18 November 2024, playing 27 minutes of the 1–1 draw in Croatia for the UEFA Nations League in place of fellow debutant Tomás Araújo; Portugal had already secured first place in their group with one fixture remaining.

## Personal life

Djaló is multilingual, being fluent in English, French, Cape Verdean Creole and Guinea-Bissau Creole apart from his native Portuguese. He also speaks some Spanish.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 24 February 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Sporting CP B | 2017–18 | LigaPro | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 1 |
| Sporting CP B | Total | Total | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 1 |
| AC Milan | 2018–19 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Lille | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 |
| Lille | 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 |
| Lille | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 1 |
| Lille | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 26 | 2 |
| Lille | 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Lille | Total | Total | 78 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 102 | 3 |
| Juventus | 2023–24 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Porto (loan) | 2024–25 | Primeira Liga | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 99 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 132 | 6 |
* ↑ Includes Coupe de France and Coppa Italia
* ↑ Includes Coupe de la Ligue
* 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

### International

    As of match played 18 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Portugal | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 1 | 0 |

## Honours

Lille
* Ligue 1: 2020–21
* Trophée des Champions: 2021
Juventus
* Coppa Italia: 2023–24