Diego Moreira

Diego Moreira
Diego Manuel Jadon da Silva Moreira (born 6 August 2004), also known as Moreira Jr. is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ligue 1 club Lyon, on loan from Premier League club Chelsea. Born in Belgium, he is a Portuguese youth international.
Early life
Moreira was born in Liège, where his father, former Guinea-Bissau international Almami Moreira, was then playing professional football at Standard de Liege. From his mother's side, Diego is the grandson of Helmut Graf, a German-born footballer who also played for the Belgian club from 1976 to 1982.
Club career
Early career
Coming through the youth ranks at Standard—where his father played until 2006— Moreira first tried to leave the club in 2019 for personal reasons, training with Lierse Kempenzonen, but with the Belgian federation eventually not approving his move. He ended up leaving Les Rouches for Benfica in August 2020, signing his first professional contract with the club from Lisbon, where his father lived.
Benfica
Moreira started to play with Benfica's under-23 in the Liga Revelação midway through the 2020–21 season. During the following season, he became a regular starter with the U23 team—scoring his first goal with the team during a 3–0 derby win against Sporting. He made his professional debut for Benfica B on the 10 January 2022, replacing Tiago Gouveia for the last 15 minutes of a 1–2 home Segunda Liga loss to rivals Porto B.
He played a major role in the UEFA Youth League, where Benfica U19 topped their group against Dynamo Kyiv, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Moreira most notably scoring a goal against the latter during a 4–0 home win in October 2021. In the final phases, he scored a brace and provided two assists in a 4–0 derby win against Sporting in the quarter-finals; and provided another two assists in the final in a 6–0 win over Red Bull Salzburg to help Benfica win their first Youth League title, and their first title in European football since the 1961–62 European Cup.
Under interim manager Nélson Veríssimo, Moreira was promoted to Benfica's first team alongside seven other Benfica youth team players, making his debut on 13 May 2022, in a 2–0 away win to Paços de Ferreira in the Primeira Liga. However, after refusing to sign a new contract during the pre-season, he was demoted to the B team, and sporadically appeared for the latter, with the team's manager Luís Castro deeming his situation "difficult", before returning to the under-23's for the rest of the season.
Chelsea
On 1 July 2023, Moreira joined Premier League club Chelsea, following the expiration of his contract with Benfica. On 30 August 2023, he made his debut for the club starting in their EFL Cup second round tie against AFC Wimbledon, featuring for 45 minutes in the eventual 2–1 victory.
Loan to Lyon
On 1 September 2023, Moreira joined Ligue 1 club Lyon on a season-long loan. He made his debut for the club on 17 September, coming off the bench to replace Ernest Nuamah on the 77th minute of a 0–0 league draw at home to Le Havre. Six days later, he made his first start for Les Gones, playing 52 minutes in a 1–0 league loss away at Brest.
International career
A dual citizen of Belgium and Portugal—while also eligible to play for both Guinea-Bissau and Germany—Moreira first played with the Belgium under-15 as he was a starter during their 3–1 win against England at St George's Park in February 2019.
But even before leaving to play his club football in Portugal, the youngster chose to switch for the Lusitanian selection in 2019, becoming a regular with the under-16 and—after a covid-interrupted 2020–21 season—with the under-18.
Style of play
A left-footed winger able to play on both sides of the attack, Moreira is described as a fast, explosive and technically gifted footballer, most notably excelling in dribbling past his opponent. He is compared to the likes of Portuguese international Nani.
Career statistics
Club
Honours
Benfica U19
Campeonato Nacional de Juniores: 2021–22
UEFA Youth League: 2021–22
Under-20 Intercontinental Cup: 2022
References
External links
Profile at the Chelsea F.C. website
Diego Moreira at playmakerstats.com
2004 births
Living people
Footballers from Liège
Portuguese men's footballers
Belgian men's footballers
German men's footballers
Bissau-Guinean men's footballers
Belgium men's youth international footballers
Portugal men's youth international footballers
Portugal men's under-21 international footballers
Belgian people of Bissau-Guinean descent
Belgian people of German descent
Belgian people of Portuguese descent
Portuguese sportspeople of Bissau-Guinean descent
Portuguese people of German descent
Men's association football wingers
S.L. Benfica B players
S.L. Benfica footballers
Chelsea F.C. players
Olympique Lyonnais players
Liga Portugal 2 players
Primeira Liga players
Premier League players
Portuguese expatriate men's footballers
Belgian expatriate men's footballers
Bissau-Guinean expatriate men's footballers
German expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Expatriate men's footballers in France
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England
Bissau-Guinean expatriate sportspeople in England
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in France
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in France
Bissau-Guinean expatriate sportspeople in France
German expatriate sportspeople in England
German expatriate sportspeople in France