REINILDO: WHO ARE YOU?

According to several reports, Sunderland are set to bring in free agent defender Reinildo, who most recently turned out for Atlético Madrid. The Mozambique international will make history, with him becoming our first player from the Southeast African nation as well as the Premier League’s first player from the country. How has he fared so far in his footballing career?

Born in 1994 in the city of Beira in Mozambique, his career started with local team Ferroviário da Beira in 2012 where he stayed for two years before transferring to GD Maputo in his country’s capital. A year later he moved to Europe, joining Benfica’s B team but he’d only manage to make one appearance for them, instead spending the bulk of his time there out on loan with clubs in Portugal’s second tier. The first of these was with Fafe, who he was relegated with and the second was with Sporting Covilhã, where he did manage to avoid relegation by a margin of just three points.

He must have been decent enough despite not playing for teams who were, admittedly, not very good as he was picked up by Belenenses SAD in 2018 of the Primeira Liga. Just under 20 games later he was loaned out to Lille and despite barely featuring for them during the loan spell, he was signed permanently.

His first full season for Lille saw him play Champions League football but in his second season he helped them to win Ligue 1 and he was also named in the UNFP (the professional footballers’ union in France) Ligue 1 Team of the Year. Reinildo would spend another half-season at Lille after this, winning one more trophy (the Trophée des Champions), before moving to Spain with Atlético Madrid in 2022.

The full back played Champions League football in every single one of his seasons on the red side of Madrid and racked up just over 100 appearances in all competitions total. He’s never been a natural goalscorer, scoring just nine goals in 257 career games at club level and four goals in 49 matches for his country. The final game he played for his last side was at the Club World Cup. His final words as an Atleti player: “I love you all for allowing a Mozambican boy to live this incredible dream.”

For next season, Reinildo’s country has qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations. The dates for that are between the 21st December 2025 and 18th January 2026, of course how long he is absent depends on how far his country progresses. He is also capable of operating as a left-sided midfielder and centre back alongside his primary role as a left back, where he is most likely going to be providing tough competition for Dennis Cirkin.

In terms of the data, last season he ranked in the top 8% of full backs for interceptions and was better than 70% of full backs for defensive actions and 60% for aerial duels won in La Liga. One thing is for sure: you don't play 100 games in a Diego Simeone defence unless you're prepared for a proper battle. Even if he doesn't play every minute of every game, this signing is a shrewd one and could be crucial in our Premier League relegation fight.