Portuguese association football player
Nuno Albertino Varela Tavares (European Portuguese: [ˈnunu taˈvaɾɨʃ] ; born 26 January 2000) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Serie A club Lazio , on loan from Premier League club Arsenal , and the Portugal national team .
Club career
Benfica
Born in Lisbon of Cape Verdean descent, Tavares finished his development with Benfica after three years at city rivals Sporting CP and two stints with Casa Pia .[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] His manager at Casa Pia, João Silva, drove him home from training every day while also allowing his studies to take priority.[ 6]
Tavares made his senior debut with Benfica's reserves in the LigaPro , his first match being a 3–2 home win against Covilhã on 27 October 2018.[ 7] He played his first official game with the first team on 4 August 2019, featuring 90 minutes in the 5–0 victory over Sporting in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira at the Estádio Algarve .[ 8] His Primeira Liga bow took place the following week, opening an eventual 5–0 home defeat of Paços de Ferreira and adding two assists .[ 9] However, his weaknesses were exposed two weeks later in a 2–0 loss to Porto in O Clássico , which led him to return to the B side and lose his place to Tomás Tavares , being limited to occasional domestic cup matches in place of Alejandro Grimaldo .[ 6]
Following a difficult season , and a video posted on the Instagram account of a friend of Tavares where Grimaldo was referred to in derogatory terms, Benfica decided to sell the player in spite of his public apologies.[ 6] During his spell at the club, he made 41 competitive appearances.[ 10]
Arsenal
On 10 July 2021, Tavares joined Arsenal on a long-term contract in a deal worth around £8 million.[ 11] [ 12] He made his Premier League debut on 13 August, coming on as a late substitute for Calum Chambers in a 2–0 away defeat to Brentford .[ 13] Following an injury to Kieran Tierney he managed to earn a starting spot, initially achieving good performances and earning praise from coach Mikel Arteta , who especially liked his attacking qualities; however, he also struggled with homesickness , and his defensive frailties, positional mistakes and lapses in concentration led to him being regularly substituted at half-time during matches, most notably when he offered a goal to Diogo Jota in the 4–0 defeat to Liverpool following a misplaced pass.[ 14] [ 15] [ 16]
Tavares scored his first goal on 23 April 2022, through a calm tap-in after David de Gea had saved Bukayo Saka 's curl in the third minute of an eventual 3–1 home win against Manchester United .[ 17]
Loans
On 30 July 2022, Tavares moved to Ligue 1 club Marseille on a season -long loan;[ 18] he wanted to have the option to sign permanently at the end of the deal, but Arteta refused to sanction it.[ 19] He scored on his debut, a 4–1 home victory over Reims .[ 20] He repeated the feat the following matchday, in the 1–1 draw at Brest .[ 21]
Tavares improved his form under manager Igor Tudor , with his attacking style being put to good use in the latter's system.[ 22] [ 23] On 2 January 2023, however, in the last minutes of a 2–1 away defeat of Montpellier – he had opened the score at the start of the second half – he gave away a penalty after deliberately kicking Arnaud Souquet in the box and was consequently sent off ,[ 24] being handed a three-match ban for his actions two days later.[ 25]
On 1 September 2023, Tavares joined Nottingham Forest on loan for the season with a £12 million option to buy.[ 26] Even though he featured more after his compatriot Nuno Espírito Santo replaced Steve Cooper on the bench in December, he totalled only 12 appearances.[ 27] [ 28]
Forest did not eventually activate the purchase clause.[ 29] [ 30] On 15 July 2024, Tavares was loaned to Lazio for the 2024–25 campaign with an obligation to buy if certain conditions were met.[ 31] [ 30]
International career
Tavares won his first cap for Portugal at under-21 level on 10 September 2019, in a 2–0 win in Belarus for the 2021 UEFA European Championship qualifiers .[ 32] On 7 October 2021, against Liechtenstein in the next edition , he scored the first goal in the 11–0 rout in Vizela .[ 33]
Tavares was included in a provisional squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar ,[ 34] but did not make the final cut.[ 35] Courtesy of his Lazio performances,[ 36] he made his full debut on 15 November 2024, replacing Nuno Mendes late into the 5–1 home victory over Poland in the UEFA Nations League .[ 37] [ 38]
Tavares was involved in the Amazon Original sports docuseries All or Nothing: Arsenal , which documented the club by spending time with the coaching staff and players behind the scenes both on and off the field throughout their 2021–22 season .[ 39] [ 40]
Career statistics
Club
As of match played 23 January 2025
International
As of match played 15 November 2024 [ 44]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team
Year
Apps
Goals
Portugal
2024
1
0
Total
1
0
Honours
Benfica
References
^ "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed" . Premier League . 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021 .
^ a b c "Nuno Tavares" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 29 December 2021 .
^ Da Moura, Bruno (19 May 2018). "Benfica de Luis Lopes é campeão nacional de juniores" [Luis Lopes' Benfica are junior national champions] (in Portuguese). DTudo1Pouco. Retrieved 26 December 2019 .
^ "Benfica confirma cinco jogadores da formação na pré-época" [Benfica confirm five youth players in preseason]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 27 June 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2021 .
^ "Nuno Tavares: outro menino de Lage que a mãe tirou de Alcochete" [Nuno Tavares: another Lage kid that his mother took from Alcochete]. Observador (in Portuguese). 4 August 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2021 .
^ a b c Lowy, Zach (2 July 2021). "Nuno Tavares' ascent to Arsenal" . Breaking The Lines. Retrieved 18 October 2022 .
^ "Benfica B vence Covilhã e dorme na liderança" [Benfica B beat Covilhã and sleep in first place]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 27 October 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2021 .
^ a b Ribeiro, Patrick (4 August 2019). "Benfica stick five past Sporting in season curtain-raiser" . PortuGOAL. Retrieved 11 August 2019 .
^ " "Golo do Nuno Tavares? Ninguém estava à espera que ele aparecesse ali, nem eu..." " ["Nuno Tavares' goal? Nobody expected he would appear there, not even me..."]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 11 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019 .
^ "Benfica confirma transferência de Nuno Tavares para o Arsenal" [Benfica confirm transfer of Nuno Tavares to Arsenal]. Público (in Portuguese). 10 July 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021 .
^ "Welcome Nuno! | Tavares joins us from Benfica" . Arsenal F.C. 10 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021 .
^ "Nuno Tavares: Arsenal sign left-back from Benfica in £8m deal" . BBC Sport . 10 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021 .
^ McNulty, Phil (13 August 2021). "Brentford 2–0 Arsenal" . BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2021 .
^ Desmond, Rhys (19 December 2021). "Mikel Arteta – Arsenal – Tactical analysis (2021–22 edition)" . The Mastermindsite. Retrieved 18 October 2022 .
^ "Arsenal loanees Nuno Tavares & Folarin Balogun grab debut goals" . Medium . 8 August 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022 .
^ Freeman, Will (12 September 2022). "Why Nuno Tavares is enjoying life at Marseille alongside former Arsenal player Matteo Guendouzi" . Football London. Retrieved 18 October 2022 .
^ McNulty, Phil (23 April 2022). "Arsenal 3–1 Manchester United" . BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2022 .
^ "Nuno Tavares joins Marseille on loan" . Arsenal F.C. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022 .
^ Marsh, Dan (12 September 2022). "Mikel Arteta's transfer "solution" vindicated as wantaway Arsenal star thrives" . Daily Mirror . Retrieved 17 November 2022 .
^ Frand, Arthur (7 August 2022). "Ligue 1. L'OM s'amuse face à Reims avec un doublé de Luis Suarez lors de la première journée" [Ligue 1. OM have fun against Reims with Luis Suarez brace in matchday one]. Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 7 August 2022 .
^ Pugmire, Jerome (14 August 2022). "Sanchez makes debut for Marseille in a 1–1 draw at Brest" . Associated Press . Retrieved 14 August 2022 .
^ Killen, Stephen; Martin, Laurie (8 September 2022). "Nuno Tavares' crucial Arsenal problem revealed amid Matteo Guendouzi 'flourishing' at Marseille" . Football London. Retrieved 18 October 2022 .
^ "EPL: He doesn't even realise his qualities – Marseille boss, Tudor hails Arsenal star" . Saga Gist. 13 September 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022 .
^ McAvoy, Callum (3 January 2023). "Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares 'lost his mind' after getting sent off for horror tackle" . Metro . Retrieved 13 January 2023 .
^ "OM. Nuno Tavares suspendu trois matches" [OM. Nuno Tavares with three-match suspension]. Ouest-France (in French). 4 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023 .
^ "Forest sign Nuno Tavares on loan from Arsenal" . Nottingham Forest F.C. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023 .
^ Smart, Ryan (10 April 2024). "What happened to the Arsenal outcast 'kicked out of training' who 'annoyed' Mikel Arteta" . SPORTbible . Retrieved 15 June 2024 .
^ Holland, Josh (21 May 2024). "Arsenal miss out on crucial transfer windfall as Mikel Arteta handed headache" . Football London. Retrieved 15 June 2024 .
^ Critchlow, Dan (21 May 2024). "Arsenal loanee's club confirm they aren't activating purchase clause" . Daily Cannon. Retrieved 16 July 2024 .
^ a b Onyeagwara, Nnamdi; McNicholas, James (15 July 2024). "Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares joins Lazio on loan" . The Athletic . Retrieved 15 July 2024 .
^ "Nuno Tavares completes loan move to Lazio" . Arsenal F.C. 15 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024 .
^ "Portugal vence Bielorrússia e sobe à liderança do Grupo 7" [Portugal beat Belarus and climb to first place in Group 7]. Record (in Portuguese). 10 September 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2021 .
^ "Goleada histórica. Seleção de sub-21 vence Liechtenstein por 11–0" [Historic rout. Under-21 national team defeat Liechtenstein 11–0]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 7 October 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021 .
^ Thanveer, Dakir Mohammed (25 October 2022). "Portugal reportedly name provisional 55-man squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup; Liverpool star receives surprise call up" . Sportskeeda. Retrieved 9 November 2022 .
^ "Os 26 convocados de Portugal: Gonçalo Ramos, António Silva, Otávio e Matheus Nunes chamados" [Portugal select 26: Gonçalo Ramos, António Silva, Otávio and Matheus Nunes called] (in Portuguese). SAPO . 10 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022 .
^ Pires, António (8 October 2024). "Nuno Tavares é o expresso de Roma: "Sinto-me cada vez mais em casa" " [Nuno Tavares is the Roman express: "I feel more at home by the day"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 November 2024 .
^ "Vitinha sparks second-half demolition job as Portugal thrash Poland 5–1 in Porto" . PortuGOAL. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024 .
^ "Nuno Tavares "feliz" pela 1.ª internacionalização: "Estou entre os melhores, onde quero estar" " [Nuno Tavares "happy" for the 1st cap: "I am among the best, where I want to be"]. Record (in Portuguese). 15 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024 .
^ "Full 'All Or Nothing' trailer released" . Arsenal F.C. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022 .
^ All or Nothing: Arsenal | Official full trailer 🎬 . Amazon Prime Video . 19 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022 – via YouTube .
^ a b c d e f "Nuno Tavares" . Soccerway . Retrieved 26 August 2021 .
^ "Games played by Nuno Tavares in 2021/2022" . Soccerbase . Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2021 .
^ "Games played by Nuno Tavares in 2023/2024" . Soccerbase . Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2024 .
^ "Nuno Tavares" . EU-Football.info . Retrieved 16 November 2024 .
External links