Matheus Luiz Nunes (born 27 August 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the Portugal national team.
Nunes started his career with Ericeirense, before moving to LigaPro side Estoril. During his time with the club, Nunes played mostly in the reserve team, before moving to Primeira Liga side Sporting CP in January 2019. With Sporting, Nunes won a Primeira Liga title and back-to-back Tacas da Liga in 2021 and 2022, while being part of the squad that won a double in 2021, leading to him being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year in 2022. In August, Nunes signed with Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers for a club-record transfer worth €45 million (£38 million), before moving to fellow Premier League side Manchester City the following season.
Born and raised in Brazil until 12 years old, Nunes opted to play for the Portugal national team, and made his senior international debut in 2021, representing the side at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
On 8 August 2021, after living in the country for ten years, Nunes received his Portuguese passport. Late in that month, on his 23rd birthday, he was called up by Brazil national team manager Tite as one of nine replacements for the players based in the United Kingdom, for three 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Chile, Argentina and Peru; He refused the call, as he would have had to quarantine on return due not having the complete COVID-19 vaccination. Ultimately, Nunes decided not to represent his country of birth, after he was contacted by Portugal's national team manager Fernando Santos, who convinced him to represent Portugal.
Nunes was called by Santos on 30 September 2021 for World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and a friendly with Qatar. He won his first cap on 9 October, starting the 3–0 friendly win over Qatar in the Algarve. He scored his first international goal the following 22 March in a 3–1 home win over Turkey in the semi-finals of the qualification play-offs.
In October, he was named in Portugal's preliminary 55-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, being included in the final 26-man squad for the tournament.
On 3 June 2024, he was named in the squad for the UEFA Euro 2024, as a replacement to the injured Otavio.
Nunes is usually deployed in double pivot in 3–4–3 formation, operating as a number 8 looking to get forward and contribute to the attack and also has a good passing range, as he can make different types of passes whether he is looking to switch the play or try and break lines with penetrative passes, or passes that split the opposition backline, which he is highly effective at. He also has the ability to carry the ball and make progressive runs, using a combination of speed and strength to make these runs, while also displaying good technique on the ball. Nunes also possesses good anticipation and reading of the game, which allows him to make effective interceptions and challenges. |
