‘I learned a lot in those two years in Belgium’: Bristol City’s Neto Borges talks to Get Belgian & Dutch Football News | OneFootball

From Kevin De Bruyne to Wilfred Ndidi, from Christian Benteke to Leon Bailey, we’ve seen quite a few players go from plying their trade at Genk to showcasing their skills in England. The latest to do so is none other than Vivaldo ‘Neto’ Borges dos Santos..

Born on September 13, 1996, in the relatively isolated northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, Neto Borges grew up in the 12,000-inhabitant town of Saubara and patiently bided his time at lower-tier sides like Vitória, Boca Júnior, Itabaiana, and Clube Atlético Tubarão. After leading the latter to their first-ever Copa Santa Catarina title, Borges earned an offer from Swedish outfit Hammarby IF, who signed him in January 2018. Borges thrived during his time in Stockholm, registering 4 assists in 29 appearances, before eventually heading to Belgium after just one year in Scandinavia. But whilst Hammarby were able to take home a club-record fee of €2 million, Borges was never quite able to establish his presence at Genk. He made just eight appearances – during which time he won a league title – before making the move to Rio de Janeiro and joining Vasco da Gama in August 2020 on loan.

“I think I learned a lot of things during my passage in Belgium,” stated Neto Borges in an exclusive Get Belgian & Dutch Football News interview. “After I arrived at Hammarby, I played all the games right away in the first year, and at the time, I was the revelation of the championship, and I won some individual awards. It was all very much a dream: I arrived directly from Brazil and immediately started playing and fulfilling dreams, and then, in Belgium, things started to go a little differently than I expected, didn’t they? I started having fewer minutes, the competition was already a bit tougher, and high-level players who are now playing for other big clubs across Europe were there. The team was very strong, and we even won the national championship at the time, so I started to understand that in order to play at that level, I would have to make sacrifices and do things I hadn’t yet learned to do, which was to work out a little harder and start going to the gym. Until then, I didn’t like going to the gym: I wasn’t used to it”.

Neto Borges went on to say “My nutrition wasn’t the best either, because I didn’t have a lot of information about it: for me, it was just a matter of starting to play soccer, and that was it. Belgium taught me a lot: because of my poor nutrition at the time, I got injured, I was out for a long time, and I lost a lot of playing time when I returned. I then entered the first team and gained some playing time, but the competition was very high. Genk signs new players in every transfer window, so you have to be at your best to be able to perform well, and at the time, I wasn’t at my best. It taught me a lot, but I think it helped me a lot to understand the real world of football. I’m very grateful for my time there; my only national title comes from there, so I just have gratitude and good memories.”

Neto Borges played regularly but nevertheless struggled to make his mark as Vasco were relegated to the second tier, before deciding to return to Europe and join Tondela on loan. Entering the final year of his Genk contract, Borges knew that it was a make-or-break season for his career. As he brought a son (Tomás) into the world, Borges was able to handle the pressure and establish himself as an instrumental figure in defence for Tondela, leading them to the Taça de Portugal Final. Whilst he failed to keep them in the top division, he nevertheless did enough to attract the interest of Ligue 1 side Clermont Foot, who signed him on a free transfer. Despite losing 5-0 to PSG in his debut, Neto Borges would establish himself as an indispensable figure in defense for Les Lanciers, scoring three goals and six assists in 64 appearances. He established himself as one of the best left backs in France, helping Clermont achieve their greatest-ever season with an eighth-place finish, before suffering relegation in 2023/24.

Neto Borges was able to land on his feet, joining EFL Championship side Middlesbrough for €1.5 million and signing him to a contract through 2027. Neto Borges quickly asserted himself as a key figure under Michael Carrick, scoring 1 goal and 3 assists in 35 appearances as Middlesbrough finished 10th in the table. He was expected to stay put at Boro after coming off the bench in their first three matches of the 2025/26 season, only to be dropped for the following match and promptly loaned out to Bristol City for the remainder of the season. Borges hasn’t taken long to make his presence felt at Ashton Gate, racking up 5 assists in 29 appearances and earning praise from the likes of Gabriele Marcotti. Bristol currently find themselves chomping at the bit at the playoff spots, and if they are to return to the top tier for the first time since 1979/80, they’ll need Neto Borges to continue delivering the goods.

Having already enjoyed success in Brazil, Portugal, Sweden, France, and England, it remains to be seen just how many more leagues Neto Borges will compete in before he decides to hang up his boots. But one thing’s for sure: even if he didn’t play a great deal, he will always remember his time at the Cegeka Arena as a vital learning experience in his career.

“I arrived at Genk with all of the expectations in the world. They were first in the table, and I joined with the mission of helping them achieve promotion. The expectations were very high for me to start playing and do things the correct way and help the club, but I ended up not having a lot of minutes. I didn’t play that many games in the first season, I lost my place, and I got injured. It was all very different from what I expected, and then after that, the period in Brazil was also very difficult for me. There were times when I played, but I didn’t perform as well as I wanted. I spent lot of time without playing, too, learning a lot about how football is, even at an advanced age of 24 years old. I still had to learn, because I didn’t have a foundation, you know? My foundation was in Vitória, when I was very young, so I didn’t have much learning about the tricks of the trade in football”.

What did Neto Borges take from his time with Genk? “I think that I learned a lot in those two years in Belgium, and then returning to a big club in Brazil, with high expectations, things didn’t go as expected. I think those two phases, Belgium and Brazil, were significant. It was a bucket of cold water, a moment when that injection of spirit so that I could pursue my career in a different way.”

GBeNeFN | Zach Lowy