Pedro Delgado (footballer, born 1997)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Gomes and the second or paternal family name is Delgado.

Pedro Delgado

Delgado in August 2024
Personal information
Full name	Pedro Miguel Gomes Delgado
Date of birth	(1997-04-07) 7 April 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Portimão, Portugal
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Shandong Taishan
Number	8
Youth career
2010–2012	Sporting
2012–2013	Portimonense
2013–2016	Inter Milan
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2018	Sporting B	57	(10)
2018–	Shandong Taishan	39	(8)
2020	→ Aves (loan)	4	(0)
2022	→ Kunshan FC (loan)	18	(7)
2023	→ Suzhou Dongwu (loan)	11	(0)
International career^‡
2013	Portugal U16	9	(2)
2013–2014	Portugal U17	6	(1)
2014–2015	Portugal U18	3	(1)
2015–2016	Portugal U19	11	(3)
2016–2017	Portugal U20	10	(0)
2017–2018	Portugal U21	5	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:19, 23 July 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:43, 23 November 2023 (UTC)

Pedro Miguel Gomes Delgado (born 7 April 1997) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan. Delgado represented Portugal at youth level.

Club career

On 28 August 2016, Delgado joined Primeira Liga side Sporting from Inter Milan as part of João Mário's transfer deal.[1] On 11 September 2016, Delgado made his professional debut with Sporting B in a 2016–17 LigaPro match against Varzim.[2] After two seasons Delgado joined Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng on 1 August 2018 for €800,000.[3] He would fail to register for official matches in the 2018 season due to the foreign player limit.[4] He would eventually gain clearance to play the following season and on 30 June 2019 he made his debut in a league game against Beijing Guoan in a 2-0 victory.[5]

On 1 February 2020, Delgado joined Primeira Liga club Aves on loan until the end of 2019–20 season.[6] On his return to Shandong he would be part of the squad that won the 2021 Chinese Super League title.[7] While he would gain Chinese citizenship, he would not meet the requirements as a domestic player by the Chinese Football Association and was loaned out to second tier club Kunshan on 26 August 2022.[8] He would go on to establish himself as regular within the team and was part of the squad that won the division and promotion to the top tier at the end of the 2022 China League One campaign.[9]

On 20 July 2023, Delgado signed with China League One club Suzhou Dongwu on loan.[10]

Personal life

Born and raised in Portimão, Portugal, Delgado's father Amilcar Delgado was a Cape Verdean former footballer.[11] Delgado gained Chinese citizenship in 2019. He has no Chinese ancestry.[12][13][14]

Career statistics

As of 25 December 2022.[15]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sporting B	2016–17	LigaPro	28	5	—		—		—		28	5
	2017–18		29	6	—		—		—		29	6
	Total		57	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	57	11
Shandong Luneng	2019	Chinese Super League	7	0	1	0	—		0	0	8	0
	2021		14	5	4	4	—		—		18	9
	Total		21	5	5	4	0	0	0	0	26	9
Aves (loan)	2019–20	Primeira Liga	4	0	0	0	—		—		4	0
Kunshan (loan)	2022	China League One	18	7	0	0	—		—		18	7
Career total			100	23	5	4	0	0	0	0	105	27

Honours

Shandong Taishan

• Chinese Super League: 2021[7]
• Chinese FA Cup: 2021[16]

Kunshan

• China League One: 2022[9]

See also

• List of Chinese naturalized footballers

References

1. "OFICIAL: Pedro Delgado no Sporting". maisfutebol. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
2. "Varzim 3-0 Sporting B". ForaDeJogo. 11 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
3. "China: Ex-sportinguista Pedro Delgado no Shandong Luneng". Record. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
4. "曝鲁能已签21岁外援未报名 不排除未来给他报名". Sina. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
5. "SHANDONG TAISHAN VS. BEIJING GUOAN 2 - 0". Soccerway.com. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
6. Sportinforma / Lusa (1 February 2020). "Pedro Delgado cedido pelo Shandong Luneng ao Desportivo das Aves". desporto.sapo.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
7. "时隔11年，山东泰山再夺中超冠军". Sohu.com. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
8. "山东泰山官方：归化球员德尔加多租借加盟中甲昆山队". Sohu.com. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
9. "2022中甲联赛圆满落幕 昆山强势打破两项记录". sports.sina.com.cn (in Chinese). 8 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
10. "经与山东泰山足球俱乐部及球员本人友好协商达成一致..." (in Chinese). dongqiudi. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
11. "Criolos no Estrangeiro: "Talvez se não conseguir chegar à seleção nacional AA, quem sabe, poderei jogar por Cabo Verde. Agora não penso nisso." – Pedro Delgado". criolosports.com.
12. The source (in Chinese) contains a three-generation family tree of Delgado that shows he has no Chinese ancestry: "实锤德尔加多随山东鲁能登泰山祈福，曝下赛季以归化身份加盟". Sina. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
13. Zuo, Mandy (9 July 2019). "Can China win the World Cup with a handful of naturalized players?". Inkstone. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
14. "Is Delgado first 'non-Chinese' player to naturalise?". South China Morning Post. 23 June 2019.
15. "Pedro Delgado". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
16. "SHANDONG TAISHAN VS. SHANGHAI PORT 1 – 0". Soccerway.com. 9 January 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.

External links

• Pedro Delgado at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Pedro Delgado at Soccerway
• Stats and profile at LPFP (in Portuguese)
• National team data (in Portuguese)