Official! Ajax tried to sign striker who ended up joining Sporting | OneFootball

Considered one of the great prospects of Sporting’s academy, Martim Ribeiro signed a professional contract with the green and whites this Sunday. Speaking to the Club’s official media, the 16-year-old forward, brother of Rodrigo Ribeiro, sounded confident about the future.

“I’m happy with the trust Sporting has placed in me, and now I have to keep working and dreaming bigger and bigger. I started playing football with my brother (Rodrigo Ribeiro) in our garden at home, and then I moved to a club in Viana do Castelo,” he began.

“I came to Sporting when I was 12, started at the SCP Lisbon Hub, and then continued my journey at the Academy until now,” explained the young player, who learned from the path of his older brother Rodrigo, who made his first-team debut in the Champions League against Man City.

In that sense, Martim Ribeiro, who recorded 10 goals and three assists in 24 matches for the under-17s in 2025/26, reaffirmed his dream of playing in this competition. “I look a lot at my brother because of the path he took here at Sporting. I hope to follow in his footsteps and be even better. My biggest dream is to win the Champions League with Sporting,” he assured.

In recent months, the 16-year-old attracted interest from Ajax - where the demands made the transfer impossible - but ultimately decided to continue his development wearing the lion on his chest. In closing, the young Sporting player addressed a message to the fans. "I’m going to give everything, every single day, to bring the greatest happiness to the fans", he said.

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