Carlos Miguel Ribeiro Dias (born 26 February 1993), known as Cafú, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cypriot First Division club AEL Limassol.
He played in Portugal, France, Poland, Greece, England and Turkey, winning two Ekstraklasa and Super League Greece titles with Legia Warsaw and Olympiacos respectively, as well as a double with both of those teams.
Cafú represented Portugal at youth level.
Club career Benfica Born in Guimarães of Bissau-Guinean descent, Cafú joined local Vitória's youth system at the age of 11, signing with Benfica four years later and going on to complete his development there. He started playing as a striker, but later shifted to a defensive midfielder role.
On 19 September 2012, whilst with Benfica B, Cafú made his debut as a professional, coming on as a 46th-minute substitute for Cláudio Correa and scoring the 2–2 equaliser away against Tondela in the Segunda Liga. It was his only goal of the season, in seven starts.
Vitória Guimarães On 26 July 2013, Cafú signed a four-year contract with former club Vitória. Having returned to his previous position, he was initially assigned to the reserve team, which he helped to promote to the second tier.
Cafú first appeared in the Primeira Liga on 17 August 2014, in a 3–1 away win over Gil Vicente where he partnered with André André and Bernard Mensah in midfield and also featured the full 90 minutes. He finished his debut campaign with 29 games, in an eventual fifth-place finish and the subsequent qualification for the UEFA Europa League.
Lorient On 8 June 2016, Cafú signed a four-year contract with French club Lorient. His maiden appearance in Ligue 1 occurred on 18 November, in a 3–0 home loss against Monaco.
Metz Following his team's relegation, Cafú joined Metz also in the French top division on 1 August 2017, penning a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He made his league debut 17 days later, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home defeat to title holders Monaco.
Legia Warsaw On 27 February 2018, Cafú was loaned to Legia Warsaw until 30 June 2019. Subsequently, the move was made permanent.
During his spell at the Polish Army Stadium, Cafú took part in 59 competitive matches (nine goals, six assists). On 2 May 2018, he scored the 2–1 winner in the final of the Polish Cup against Arka Gdynia.
Olympiacos On 1 February 2020, Olympiacos agreed to pay Legia €400,000 to sign Cafú. He played 14 official games during his stint, including nine in two separate editions of the Super League Greece which his side won.
Nottingham Forest Cafú was loaned to English Championship side Nottingham Forest on 5 October 2020, until the end of the season. He was originally seen as a defensive midfielder, but manager Chris Hughton began using him in a more attacking role.
Cafú agreed to a permanent move on 2 February 2021. He scored his first goal for the club on 11 December, closing a 4–1 away win against Swansea City. The following 9 January, he came off the bench for Philip Zinckernagel to help beat Arsenal 1–0 in the third round of the FA Cup. He was unused as the Reds ended their 23-year absence from the Premier League with a 1–0 playoff final victory over Huddersfield Town on 29 May 2022.
On 14 August 2022, Cafú made his debut in the English top tier, replacing Orel Mangala late into the 1–0 home defeat of West Ham United. He was released at the end of the campaign.
Rotherham United Cafú returned to the English second division on 8 July 2023, on a one-year deal at Rotherham United. He received two yellow cards in his first competitive game for his new team, resulting in being sent off in the 69th minute of an eventual 4–1 away loss to Stoke City. He scored his first goal the following 20 January, opening the 1–1 draw at Middlesbrough.
On 7 May 2024, after being relegated, Rotherham announced that Cafú was to be released alongside ten teammates when his contract expired on 30 June.
Later career On 15 August 2024, Cafú signed for Turkish Süper Lig club Kasımpaşa.
International career Cafú earned 27 caps for Portugal from under-16 to under-20 levels. He was part of the under-19 squad that competed in the 2012 UEFA European Championship.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBenfica B2012–13Segunda Liga231————231Vitória Guimarães B2013–14Campeonato Portugal276————2762014–15Segunda Liga10————10Total 28600000000286Vitória Guimarães2014–15Primeira Liga2901020——3202015–16Primeira Liga323101020—363Total 61320302000683Lorient2016–17Ligue 11802210—20232Metz2017–18Ligue 11002110——131Legia Warsaw (loan)2017–18Ekstraklasa7211———832018–19Ekstraklasa31442—6010426Legia Warsaw2019–20Ekstraklasa6000—30—90Total 44653009010599Legia Warsaw II2019–20III liga1000———10Olympiacos2019–20Super League Greece7130—10—1112020–21Super League Greece2100—10—31Total 9130—20—142Nottingham Forest (loan)2020–21Championship 1302000——150Nottingham Forest2020–21 Championship1800000——1802021–22Championship1413020—102012022–23Premier League100010——20Total 4615030—10551Rotherham United2023–24Championship3221010——342Kasımpaşa2024–25 Süper Lig34100———3412025–26Süper Lig25000———250Total 59100———591Career total33122206901304037728
Honours Legia Warsaw Ekstraklasa: 2017–18, 2019–20 Polish Cup: 2017–18
Olympiacos Super League Greece: 2019–20, 2020–21 Greek Football Cup: 2019–20
Nottingham Forest EFL Championship play-offs: 2022
References
External links