Francisco da Costa Aragão (born 5 May 1995), commonly known as Chico da Costa or just Chico, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Fortaleza, on loan from Cruzeiro.
Career Born in Taquari, Rio Grande do Sul, Chico played for the youth sides of Grêmio, Internacional, CFZ do Rio and Novo Hamburgo before making his first team debut with the latter in 2013. He joined Atlético Paranaense in 2014, initially for the under-23 team.
In February 2015, Chico was loaned to Inter de Lages after the club began a partnership with Atlético, and made his senior debut on 12 April of that year, scoring the winner in a 2–1 Campeonato Catarinense home win over Chapecoense. Despite being rarely used, he moved to Tombense also in a temporary deal, along with head coach Marcelo Mabilia.
Ahead of the 2016 season, Chico joined São José-RS also on loan, but finished the year at Operário Ferroviário. He returned to Zequinha for the 2017 campaign, now on a permanent deal, but did not feature in any matches for the side.
In 2017, Chico moved abroad for the first time in his career, joining Serie A de México side Inter Playa del Carmen. He scored ten goals in the Apertura tournament for the side, and joined Ascenso MX side Venados in January 2018.
In July 2018, Chico returned to Inter Playa. After scoring seven times in just ten matches, he returned to the second division with Atlante in December of that year. He played his first match with the club on 8 January, in a 2–1 Copa Mexico home loss to Pachuca, and scored his first goal eight days later in a 1–1 draw at Tijuana.
Chico was an important unit of Atlante in the 2020 Clausura, notably scoring a brace in a 2–1 home win over Cafetaleros de Chiapas on 13 February of that year. On 15 June, he agreed to a deal with Querétaro in the Liga MX.
Chico made his debut in the top tier of Mexican football on 22 August 2020, replacing Ángel Sepúlveda at half-time in a 1–0 away loss to Atlas. He scored his first goal for the club against the same opponent the following 18 January, netting the winner in a 1–0 home success.
On 9 June 2021, Chico was presented at Paraguayan Primera División side Sol de América. He was the club's top scorer with eight goals in the 2021 Clausura tournament, but still departed in December.
On 30 December 2021, Chico switched teams and countries again after signing for Club Bolívar. The following 12 July, he renewed his contract with the club, which purchased the remaining 50% of his economic rights from Sol de América.
On 17 November 2022, Chico was presented at the Colombian side Atlético Nacional on a one-year loan deal. After struggling with injuries, his loan was cut short on 26 June 2023, and he subsequently returned to Bolívar where he regained his goalscoring form.
On 5 July 2024, Chico returned to Paraguay after being announced at Cerro Porteño. On 14 July of the following year, he returned to Brazil after nearly nine years, being loaned to Série A side Mirassol.
On 9 January 2026, Cruzeiro announced the signing of Chico on a two-year contract.
Personal life Chico's father Nilson was also a footballer and a forward. He notably played for and coached teams in the Mato Grosso do Sul.
Career statistics
ClubSeasonLeagueState leagueCupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsNovo Hamburgo2013Gaúcho—00——201201Inter de Lages2015Série D—21———21Tombense2015Série C20————20São José-RS2016Série D4071———111Operário Ferroviário2016Paranaense————6161São José-RS2017Série D—0000——00Inter Playa del Carmen2016–17Serie A de México74————742017–181510————1510Total2214————2214Venados2017–18Ascenso MX91—21——112Inter Playa del Carmen2018–19Serie A de México107————107Atlante2018–19Ascenso MX50—31——812019–20143—20—20183Total193—51—20264Querétaro2020–21Liga MX131—00——131Sol de América2021Paraguayan Primera División168————168Bolívar2022Bolivian Primera División3621——43—40242023127—10940—26162024107——65—1612Total5835—109148—8252Atlético Nacional (loan)2023Categoría Primera A101—002010131Cerro Porteño2024Paraguayan Primera División216—2220—2582025140—0062—202Total456—2282—4510Mirassol (loan)2025Série A206————206Cruzeiro2026Série A30500000—80Career total2318214219132410292307109
Honours Novo Hamburgo Copa Metropolitana: 2013
Operário Ferroviário Taça FPF: 2016
Bolívar Bolivian Primera División: 2022
Atlético Nacional Superliga Colombiana: 2023
Cruzeiro Campeonato Mineiro: 2026
Individual Bolivian Primera División top scorer: 2022 Apertura
References