João Moutinho was born in Portugal on 8 September 1986. Now at the sprightly age of 38, he is impressively still a commanding force on the football pitch as a midfield maestro for SC Braga. He carries a comfortable weight of 61kg (9st 8lb) and measures in at 1.7m (5ft 6in) tall, a stature best described as diminutive in the world of football. Moutinho, who dons the number 8 jersey, is characteristic of a central defensive midfielder, both in his positioning and gameplay.
A seasoned player with market value that sits around the €600k (approximately £508k) according to Transfermarkt, Moutinho's career has seen him participate in various leagues and clubs.
His journey commenced at Sporting CP in the Liga Portugal in July 2003, where he spent a commendable seven seasons making substantial contributions from his debut in 2004 through to 2010. His last season at Sporting saw him making 28 appearances for the first team and netting six goals.
In 2010, Moutinho made the intra-country transfer from Sporting CP to Porto for around £9m and continued his form by making 27 appearances in his first season. He stayed with Porto through three seasons until 2013, culminating in a tally of one goal from 27 appearances in his last season.
From the comforting confines of Portugal, Moutinho moved to Monaco in Ligue 1, France, in July 2013, for a substantial fee of around £22m. He spent five years in France, consistently delivering performances to warrant his selection in the starting lineup to the extent of making 31 appearances and scoring one goal in his first and 33 appearances with a solitary goal in his final season in 2018.
Another pivotal transfer took place in July 2018, when Moutinho swapped the French Riviera for the city of Wolverhampton, joining the Wolverhampton Wanderers in England for a fee of around £5m. He had five decisive seasons with the English club, logging in regular appearances and scoring at least once in each of the seasons until season 2022 - 2023, during which he didn't find the net despite appearing 31 times.
In August 2023, he bid Wolves farewell and returned to his homeland, joining SC Braga in Liga Portugal where he currently plays. His tenacious performances were reflected in his 30 first team appearances and one goal in 2023 - 2024, providing a solid footing for his playing career in Braga. In the ongoing season of 2025 - 2026, Moutinho has already made two first team appearances.
His footballing exploits are not restricted to domestic leagues, of course. He participated in the prestigious Champions League 2023 - 2024 for SC Braga, starting three times while making two appearances as a substitute. Meanwhile, he also flaunted his skills in the Europa League 2023 - 2024, where he scored one goal in two starts for Braga, and notched up five starts in the Europa League Qualifiers 2025 - 2026.
