André Pereira, ex-FC Porto and Rio Ave, retires at 30 | OneFootball

André Pereira announced the end of his professional football career at the age of 30, after a journey marked by serious injuries. As reported by the national press and confirmed by Maisfutebol, the former FC Porto striker tried to return last season after a second knee injury, without success.

It should be recalled that he suffered a torn cruciate ligament in January 2021, when he was playing for Rio Ave, and was sidelined until the end of that year. The aftereffects worsened in 2023/24.

“A few months before the end of my contract with Rio Ave, I had the second serious knee injury and, from that training session on, I was never able to run again. I underwent two surgeries and consulted several specialists. It was a stage when, under normal circumstances, I would have been at the peak of my career,” André Pereira revealed in an interview with zerozero, pointing to a new path as a coach or sports director.

Trained at Inter Milheirós, he wore FC Porto’s colors in 2005, staying until 2009, when he moved to Leixões’ youth setup. After spells at Varzim, Sp. Espinho and Sanjoanense, he returned to Invicta in 2017 to join FC Porto’s B team.

The contract was extended until 2020, and he was loaned to Vitória de Setúbal, Vitória de Guimarães and Real Zaragoza. With the Dragons, he totaled 24 games, three goals and three assists for the first team, with whom he won the League and the Super Cup.

At Rio Ave, in the 2021/22 season, he was part of the squad coached by Luís Freire that secured promotion to the top tier by winning the II Liga.

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