Sporting CP has helped produce more than their fair share of talented youngsters, and the latest gem outside the production line looks to be 22-year-old midfielder Matheus Nunes.
Matheus had a breakthrough year 2020/21 and looks to have already earned an expensive transfer, with Everton on the verge of merging the midfielder for a cool £ 15 million.
If you do not already know about Matheus, here is your cheat sheet.
Matheus built up a lot of fans at Sporting because of his ability to make all-midfielders.
Matheus is comfortable to drop deep and uses his 6’0 frame to bully opponents on the ground or in the air and loves to pick up the ball and run towards defenders and turn the defense into attack in an instant.
His dribbling ability makes Matheus’ long runs really entertaining to watch, and his determination to make things happen on the field makes him a popular teammate.
To say that he is this physical animal would not be fair to Matheus, whose footwork and vision make him a surprisingly impressive gamer as well.
The young midfielder likes to scan the pitch for space and his teammates, so he is always ready with an impressive first touch or an exciting pass to break the lines.
Matheus is by no means an elite passer, but he is good enough to hold on. He can make things happen.
? 15 years ago? OH MY GOD ? @ 10Ronaldinho? Sevilla pic.twitter.com/8T47EVKuTa
– FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 3, 2018
He may be a high midfielder, but Matheus actually bases his game on Ronaldinho, and you can see that in his dribbling and movement.
“Ronaldinho is my idol,” he told the Sindicato dos Jugadores. “I’ve always tried to imitate him since I was little, and I’ve always liked the way he played.
“When he was in Barcelona I liked Barcelona, when he was in AC Milan I liked AC Milan, and it was unbelievable when he went to Flamengo because I’m a Flamengo fan. He’s my idol because I’ve always had him as the image of what I wanted to be as a player. “
Matheus was born in Rio de Janeiro and grew up in Brazil but took his talents to Portugal when he was 13 and left him with a decision to make regarding his international fidelity.
“I feel both Brazilian and Portuguese,” he told UOL. “It’s half and half. Although my roots are in Brazil, I came here at a good age when I was no longer a child. I really like both countries, but I prefer to live here in Portugal.
“I would like to play for both national teams! No matter who calls me, I will be very happy. It would be a dream come true.”
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? @ Sporting_CP’s Matheus Nunes led a winning time in yesterday’s ?? ??? ?? ??????!
Sporty sit top of Liga Nos with a 4-point lead? pic.twitter.com/UZEasKEJDZ
– Premier Sports? (@PremierSportsTV) February 2, 2021
Matheus does not score too many goals, but he seems to save them for the biggest occasions.
In 2020/21, he scored perhaps the two most important goals of the campaign and beat the winning strikes in summits with Benfica and Braga, and he was not far from doing the same against Porto either.
Despite his relative inexperience, Matheus seems to love the pressure that comes with the big games, and fans already see him as a coupling artist.
Because of his love of saving the day, Matheus earned the nickname ‘Saint Matheus’.
It only appeared after Matheus’ winning strike against Benfica in February, when the national media praised him as a saint for his services to the club, and fans were over it shortly after.
When he once replicated his heroism towards Braga, the nickname stuck like glue.
A central midfielder in the trade, Matheus has a habit of showing up where he is needed on the pitch.
His future is as a midfielder, but he has been used as a winger on several occasions and has even filled in as an emergency fullback, where his love of bombing actually made him surprisingly dangerous.
Matheus is at his best in a central role, but he does not avoid trying in other positions.
By today’s standards, Matheus was a rather late flowering. When he was 19, he was not even a full-time football player, instead dividing his time between the pitches and making bread in a local bakery.
“I thought practically everything was lost when I was 20 years old,” he recalls. “I already told my mother that it was no longer possible to become a football player.”
Things changed incredibly fast for Matheus, who was signed by Estoril that year and only needed eight games to convince Sporting to let him fulfill his dream.
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