Quick Facts
Biography
Marcos Paulo Mesquita "Rony" Lopes (born 28 December 1995) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for French club Lille OSC on loan from AS Monaco FC as an attacking midfielder.
Early life
Born in Belém, Pará, Brazil, Lopes moved to Portugal at the age of four.
Club career
Manchester City
Lopes played youth football for S.L. Benfica from ages 10–15, signing for Manchester City in 2011. He was a surprise addition to the first team's pre-season the following year, but had to wait until 7 January 2013 to make his competitive debut, when he came as an 88th-minute substitute for David Silva in a FA Cup third-round tie against Watford and scored the final goal in the 3–0 win, which made him the youngest ever goalscorer for the club at the age of 17 years and 9 days.
Lopes was a regular for City's Elite Development Squad in the 2012–13 season, and went on to claim the inaugural Academy Player of the Year award after winning a public vote. He was included in the team that featured in the first match of the UEFA Youth League, netting twice in a 4–1 success at FC Viktoria Plzeň and adding a hat-trick in the 6–0 home victory over FC Bayern Munich.
On 21 January 2014, Lopes started against West Ham United in the second leg of the semi-finals of the Football League Cup. In the game, he assisted Sergio Agüero and Álvaro Negredo to a goal each, in a 3–0 away win (9–0 on aggregate).
On 7 July 2014, Lopes was loaned to Lille OSC until the end of the campaign. His maiden appearance in Ligue 1 occurred on 9 August, in a goalless home draw against FC Metz, and he scored his first goal on 14 September in a 2–0 win over FC Nantes also at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Lopes was included in City's squad for their pre-season tour in Australia. On 5 August, he was promoted to the first team alongside Jason Denayer and Kelechi Iheanacho.
Monaco
On 28 August 2015, Lopes joined Ligue 1 side AS Monaco FC for £9 million, sharing teams with a host of compatriots including manager Leonardo Jardim. In early January 2016, he was loaned again to Lille until June.
In July 2016, still owned by Monaco, Lopes re-signed at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy for one season. He scored a brace in the league opener, but in a 2–3 away loss against FC Metz.
International career
Lopes chose to represent Portugal internationally, gaining caps at every youth level. He appeared with the under-20 side at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, playing all matches in New Zealand and helping his country reach the quarter-finals.
On 5 January 2014, still aged 18, he made his debut with the under-21s, playing roughly 20 minutes in a 2–0 win against Macedonia for the 2015 UEFA European Championship qualifiers.
Club statistics
- As of 12 August 2016
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester City | 2012–13 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | |||
| 2013–14 | — | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Lille (loan) | 2014–15 | 23 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 3 | |
| Monaco | 2015–16 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Lille (loan) | 2015–16 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 16 | 3 | |
| Lille (loan) | 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Career total | 37 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 52 | 7 | |
Honours
Club
- Manchester City
- Football League Cup: 2013–14
Country
- Portugal
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship: Runner-up 2014
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