João Moutinho

João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒwɐ̃w fɨˈlip iˈɾi.ɐ ˈsɐ̃tuʒ mo(w)ˈtĩɲu]; born 8 September 1986) is a Portuguese footballer who plays for AS Monaco FC and the Portugal national team. Mainly a central midfielder he can also operate as a defensive or attacking midfielder, and on either flank.
He started his professional career with Sporting, moving in 2010 to Porto and winning 12 major titles between the two clubs combined. Three years later, he transferred to Monaco for €25 million.
Moutinho represented the Portuguese national team at three European Championships and the 2014 World Cup, winning the 2016 edition of the former tournament.

Sporting

Moutinho was born in Portimão, Algarve. After showing great promise as a boy playing for hometown club Portimonense SC, he signed with Sporting Clube de Portugal when he turned 13 to continue his football education.

During the 2004–05 pre-season, at only 17 years old, Moutinho was called by manager José Peseiro to the main squad, where he played some games and displayed some talent early on. After that, however, he returned to the junior team coached by Paulo Bento and featuring players such as Miguel Veloso and Nani, helping it win the national title that season although he was also regularly training with the first side setup.

In the beginning of 2005, Moutinho was called up for a game in the Portuguese Cup, eventually playing 20 minutes against F.C. Pampilhosa, and made his Primeira Liga debut on 23 January, staying in the entire 3–0 win at Gil Vicente FC and donning the #28 jersey previously worn by Cristiano Ronaldo. Based on extremely consistent displays, he wasted no time in establishing himself as a regular while being able to play in any position across a flat midfield or in a diamond formation; his box-to-box dynamism and determination quickly made him a firm fan favourite, as he rarely missed a game since becoming a first-choice player.

Moutinho's performances in the closing stages of the campaign, especially in the UEFA Cup with Man of the Match displays against Feyenoord and Newcastle United that helped the Lions reach the final of the competition, made him an automatic starter for Sporting despite his young age; he contributed with 15 league games as Sporting finished second and, during the summer, he penned a one-year extension with the club.

Moutinho (right) battling João Pereira in 2009

In his first full season, Moutinho's further progress and exceptional consistency (he was the only player to play every minute of every match in the domestic league) was one of the brightest spots in Sporting's runner-up final place. Incidentally, he scored his team's final goal of the campaign, a 1–0 win over S.C. Braga to ensure a return to UEFA Champions League football for the Lisbon club.

In 2006–07, following the departure of veteran Ricardo Sá Pinto, Moutinho was made vice-captain at just 19 years of age. The following season, after Custódio and Ricardo also left, he would be named captain, the second youngest in the history of the club's professional football, behind Sporting's first captain and associate founder, Francisco Stromp.

That season, with Leandro Romagnoli (an attacking midfielder) also in the starting eleven, Moutinho, more often than not, moved from his natural "behind-the-forwards" midfield role to the right flank, where he still managed to deliver impressive performances. During this season, he further established himself as somewhat of a club symbol, earning plaudits as one of the league's top players.

In 2008–09, after an aborted deal with Premier League's Everton, Moutinho was again ever present, only missing three league matches (almost 50 presences overall) as Sporting finished once again runner-up; he also had the dubious distinction of netting his side's only goal in the Champions League round-of-16 clash against FC Bayern Munich, a 1–12 aggregate loss.

Porto

Moutinho playing for Porto in 2011

On 3 July 2010, Moutinho signed a five-year contract with Sporting rivals FC Porto, with the transfer price reaching €11 million (€1M being paid for 50% of the rights to central defender Nuno André Coelho); additionally, Sporting would receive 25% of any added value (Portuguese: mais valia) occurring during that time frame, provided it surpassed the previous value. Sporting Chairman José Eduardo Bettencourt described Moutinho's conduct as deplorable and called him a "rotten apple", adding: "The deal was done because Sporting wanted it, because it did not want a rotten apple in its orchard, and it did not want someone who was not an example, nor dignified the flag of the club." Soon after, Porto sold 37.5% of the player's economic rights to a third party, Mamers BV, for €4,125,000.

Moutinho was an ever-present figure for Porto in his first season. He appeared in 50 official games as the northerners won the league and, even though he did not score in league competition, he netted twice in the campaign's Portuguese Cup, most notably in a 3–1 away win against S.L. Benfica, with his team overcoming the 0–2 home loss in the first leg to reach the final, in which the player also appeared, against Vitória de Guimarães (6–2); he added another 90 minutes in the Europa League final, as the club won the treble.

On 3 August 2011, Porto partnered with Soccer Invest Fund to buy back 37.5% of Moutinho's economic rights. The private investment fund acquired 15% after the overall transactions, while Porto recouped 22.5% for €4 million; the residual 15% was acquired by Porto in 2013, for €3.3 million.

Moutinho scored a rare goal on 19 February 2013, helping his team to a 1–0 home win over Málaga CF for the season's Champions League round-of-16, netting from close range after an Alex Sandro cross (eventual 1–2 aggregate loss). He played 43 contests during the campaign all competitions comprised (five goals, 3,515 minutes of action), as both team and player won their third consecutive league championship.

Monaco

On 24 May 2013, it was announced that Moutinho had joined French side AS Monaco FC alongside teammate James Rodríguez for a combined fee believed to be around €70 million (€25 million for Moutinho). He made his official debut for his new club on 1 September, starting and setting up both goals in a 2–1 win at Olympique de Marseille which put Monaco to the top of Ligue 1.

Moutinho was first-choice in his debut campaign, as the principality team finished runners-up straight out of Ligue 2. His only goal was an equaliser in a 1–1 away draw to Stade de Reims, on 29 September.

On 16 September 2014, in Monaco's first Champions League match since 2005, Moutinho scored the only goal in a home defeat of Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Croatia's Luka Modrić (front) battles Moutinho for the ball in a friendly match in June 2013

A full Portugal international at the age of 18, Moutinho made his debut on 17 August 2005 in a 2–0 home friendly win against Egypt in Ponta Delgada. Ever since the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he became a regular call-up.

Moutinho in action for Portugal in 2013

On 31 May 2008, Moutinho registered his first goal for the national team in a 2–0 friendly victory over Georgia at Estádio do Fontelo in Viseu. He was picked for the squad-of-23 for UEFA Euro 2008 and, in the opening game, assisted on a goal by Raul Meireles in a 2–0 victory against Turkey.

He also played in two UEFA European Under-21 Championships, scoring against Germany in the 2006 edition, played on home soil, as the Portuguese exited in the group stage on both occasions; additionally, although not part of the provisional 24-player list for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he was named in a backup list of six players.

Moutinho played all the games and minutes at the Euro 2012 tournament. In the semifinals against Spain, he missed his penalty shootout attempt, in an eventual 2–4 loss (0–0 after 120 minutes).

Moutinho was selected by former Sporting boss Bento for the 2014 World Cup, making his debut in the tournament on 16 June in a 0–4 group stage defeat to Germany. On 8 October 2015, he scored the only goal as Portugal defeated Denmark at the Estádio Municipal de Braga to seal qualification for Euro 2016, and three days later was also on the scoresheet in a 2–1 win away to Serbia which confirmed his team's position as group winners.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	31 May 2008	Estádio do Fontelo, Viseu, Portugal	Georgia	1–0	2–0	Friendly
2	7 October 2011	Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal	Iceland	4–2	5–3	Euro 2012 qualifying
3	8 October 2015	Estádio Municipal, Braga, Portugal	Denmark	1–0	1–0	Euro 2016 qualifying
4	11 October 2015	Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia	Serbia	2–1	2–1	Euro 2016 qualifying
5	10 October 2016	Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	5–0	6–0	2018 World Cup qualification

Moutinho's father, Nélson, was also a footballer. A forward, he played for several clubs during a 15-year senior career.

Club

As of 30 April 2016

International

As of 10 October 2016

Club

Sporting

• Taça de Portugal: 2006–07, 2007–08
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2007, 2008
• UEFA Cup: Runner-up 2004–05
• Taça da Liga: Runner-up 2007–08, 2008–09

Porto

• Primeira Liga: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13
• Taça de Portugal: 2010–11
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2010, 2011, 2012
• UEFA Europa League: 2010–11
• UEFA Super Cup: Runner-up 2011
• Taça da Liga: Runner-up 2012–13

Country

Portugal

• UEFA European Championship: 2016
• UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2003

Individual

• SJPF Player of the Month: April 2005
• SJPF Young Player of the Month: October 2006, November 2006, October 2007, November 2007, February 2008, March 2008
• Porto Player of the Year: 2012–13

• "Kelvin eleito atleta jovem do ano" [Kelvin voted young athlete of the year] (in Portuguese). A Bola. 29 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2013.