André de Castro Pereira (born 2 April 1988), known as Castro, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He is the assistant manager of Primeira Liga club Porto.
Developed at Porto, where he was mainly loaned out, he spent most of his career in Turkey, making 227 Süper Lig appearances and scoring 26 goals for Kasımpaşa and Göztepe. In his country's Primeira Liga, he also played for Olhanense, Braga and Moreirense, totalling 132 games and 11 goals.
Club career Porto Born in Gondomar, Porto District, Castro joined Porto's youth system at the age of 11, from hometown club Gondomar. In 2007, he helped the team conquer the junior championship.
Castro made his first-team – and Primeira Liga – debut on 2 February 2008, coming on as a substitute for Paulo Assunção for the last eleven minutes of a 4–0 home win against União de Leiria. He appeared in a further two official matches during the season.
In the following two years, Castro played with Olhanense on loan, helping the Algarve side return to the top division after an absence of more than 30 years in his debut campaign and also winning several Best Young Player monthly awards during his second, where he scored six goals in 28 games as his team retained their status.
Castro returned to Porto for 2010–11, but was soon deemed surplus to requirements by new manager André Villas-Boas as practically all Portuguese players. In January 2011, after having totalled 106 minutes in six competitive matches, he was loaned to Sporting de Gijón in Spain, making his La Liga debut on the 23rd by playing one minute in a 1–0 home victory over Atlético Madrid.
Castro managed to feature regularly for the Asturians during his spell, starting 11 times and scoring against Mallorca (4–0, away) and Getafe (2–0 at home), in an eventual escape from relegation. In mid-August 2011, another loan spell was arranged. He started in 26 of his 29 league appearances and added another two goals, but his team dropped down a tier.
Turkey On 14 August 2013, Castro joined Turkish Süper Lig club Kasımpaşa on loan. The move was made permanent for the 2014–15 season. On 6 May 2017, he scored twice in a 3–1 win at Galatasaray.
Castro signed a three-year contract with Göztepe of the same league on 8 July 2017. He scored four times in his first year, adding nine assists to help to a sixth-place finish one year after promotion.
Braga On 28 July 2020, Castro returned to his own country's top flight, on a two-year deal at Braga. Counting two goals and four assists to his name from 66 games, he renewed for a further year at its conclusion.
On 3 October 2023, Castro scored his only UEFA Champions League goal, coming off the bench in the 86th minute and closing the 3–2 away win over Union Berlin in the group stage shortly after.
Later career Castro remained in the top tier on 17 January 2024, with the 35-year-old signing for Moreirense until June 2025 after leaving Braga by mutual agreement. He returned to Porto 11 years later on 30 August, being handed the captain's armband at their reserves in the Liga Portugal 2.
At the end of the 2024–25 season, Castro announced his retirement. On 2 July 2025, he was announced as assistant manager of Porto B; however, two months later, he was promoted to the main squad in the same role under Francesco Farioli.
International career Castro earned 57 caps for Portugal across all youth levels, including 19 for the under-21s. On 5 August 2011, he was called by the full side for a friendly with Luxembourg, but remained an unused substitute.
Career statistics +Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsPorto2007–08Primeira Liga2010000000302010–11Primeira Liga1030—20—602012–13Primeira Liga17130302000251Total20170304000341Olhanense (loan)2008–09Liga de Honra2822050——3522009–10Primeira Liga2860010——296Total5682060——648Sporting Gijón (loan)2010–11La Liga15200———1522011–12La Liga29200———292Total44400———444Kasımpaşa (loan)2013–14Süper Lig33310———343Kasımpaşa2014–15Süper Lig32500———3252015–16Süper Lig33400———3342016–17Süper Lig33661———397Total981561———10416Göztepe2017–18Süper Lig33400———3342018–19Süper Lig31130———3412019–20Süper Lig32321———344Total96851———1019Braga2020–21Primeira Liga212403050—3322021–22Primeira Liga2101010100—3302022–23Primeira Liga241503071—3922023–24Primeira Liga30200021—71Total69312070242—1125Moreirense2023–24Primeira Liga1410000——1412024–25Primeira Liga100000——10Total1510000——151Porto B2024–25Liga Portugal 2221————221Career totals453443321602820053048
Honours Porto Primeira Liga: 2007–08, 2010–11, 2012–13 Taça de Portugal: 2010–11 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2012 UEFA Europa League: 2010–11 Taça da Liga runner-up: 2012–13
Olhanense Segunda Liga: 2008–09
Braga Taça de Portugal: 2020–21
References
External links