Cláudia Lima retires after making FC Porto Women history | OneFootball

On July 25, 2024, Cláudia Isabel Espinheira Lima made FC Porto history by being introduced as the Club’s first female footballer. Almost two years later, she brings her career to a close, having helped the women’s team win two trophies and secure promotion to the First Division in consecutive seasons.

Born in Porto, the midfielder took her first touches at Folgosa da Maia, in a spell that lasted only a few seasons, until handball began to take over and, at the age of 11, she swapped the pitch for the indoor court in a “failed attempt” to avoid the path of football.

In the end, her passion spoke louder and, two seasons later, she returned to the beautiful game. It was while playing for Leixões SC that she felt the “click” and began mapping out a professional career, during a period in which she earned promotion to the top flight – already foreshadowing the challenge she would later take on.

Before moving to the Club she loved, she also represented Boavista FC and Valadares Gaia, having played in the Portuguese Cup final for the Gaia-based side, which she later also captained. In the summer of 2024, she became the first female footballer to sign for FC Porto and wore the blue-and-white armband as the most experienced player in the squad – with seven caps for the Portuguese national team.

Her journey in the Invicta did not go unnoticed and, despite an injury at the start of her debut season, number 27 established herself as a key figure in the National Third Division title win.

At the final stage of a season in which FC Porto won the national Second Division title, secured promotion to Liga BPI and reached the finals of the Portuguese Cup and the AF Porto Cup, Cláudia Lima hangs up her boots with a sense of mission accomplished and brings a 21-year career to an end.

“I would have loved to be out on the pitch, but unfortunately that’s not possible, and I’m very happy to end my career at the Club I love and in a season in which we took FC Porto to Liga BPI,” she said on the Dragão pitch itself, at the end of “one of the happiest seasons of my career.”

Driven by her passion for the beautiful game and for FC Porto, the club’s first captain is currently taking the Level II Coaching Course and will join the women’s team coaching staff.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.