Quick Facts
GeminiBiography
Stephen Oyebolaji Payne (born June 16, 1997) is an American soccer player who currently plays as a midfielder for Portuguese side Portimonense.
Career
Born in the Birmingham, Alabama, United States, Payne is of Nigerian descent. His father had a scholarship for college soccer at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, while his mother ran track at Alabama A&M University; he is the middle of three children with two sisters also playing soccer.
Payne played for four years at Lake Forest Academy and one year at UCLA Bruins in 2015 before traveling to Europe for trials. Passed over by several professional clubs in France and Italy, he was taken on by a fourth-division Portuguese club and eventually earned his way into the under-23 team of G.D. Estoril Praia.
After a season with their reserve team, Payne made his first team debut for Varzim S.C. during the 2018–19 LigaPro season. He played 19 total games, and scored the only goal of the match in the 88th minute at FC Porto B on 23 April 2019.
Payne signed for Portimonense S.C. prior to the 2019–20 Primeira Liga season, alongside teammate Jeferson.
Career statistics
- As of 9 January 2019.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Varzim B | 2017–18 | Elite Série 1 AF Porto | 27 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 7 |
| Varzim | 2018–19 | LigaPro | 14 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Portimonense | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | 41 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 7 | ||
- Notes