Pedro Neto facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Pedro Neto

Neto with Portugal in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth	(2000-03-09) 9 March 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth	Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Height	1.73 m
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	7
Youth career
2008–2010	Vianense
2010–2013	Perspectiva em Jogo
2013–2015	Braga
2015–2016	Palmeiras Braga
2016–2017	Braga
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2017	Braga B	1	(0)
2017–2019	Braga	3	(1)
2017–2019	→ Lazio (loan)	4	(0)
2019–2024	Wolverhampton Wanderers	111	(11)
2024–	Chelsea	11	(1)
National team‡
2016–2017	Portugal U17	9	(1)
2017–2018	Portugal U18	3	(0)
2017–2019	Portugal U19	7	(4)
2017–2019	Portugal U20	11	(1)
2019–2023	Portugal U21	10	(3)
2020–	Portugal	13	(1)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:27, 10 November 2024 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:43, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

Pedro Lomba Neto (European Portuguese: [ˈpeðɾu ˈnɛtu]; born 9 March 2000) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Chelsea and the Portugal national team.

He started his career at Braga, who loaned him to Italian club Lazio in the summer of 2017. In 2019, he signed with Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he dealt with several injury problems. In August 2024, he joined Chelsea.

A former Portugal international at youth level, Neto made his full debut in November 2020, scoring in his first match. He was selected for UEFA Euro 2024.

Club career

Braga

Born in Viana do Castelo, Neto joined Braga's youth system at the age of 13. On 7 May 2017, whilst still a junior, he made his professional debut with their reserves, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–3 home loss against Porto B in the Segunda Liga. The following weekend, in his first Primeira Liga appearance with the first team, he scored after only a few minutes on the pitch, helping the hosts defeat already relegated Nacional 4–0 and becoming the club's youngest ever goal scorer in the competition.

On 31 August 2017, both Neto and teammate Bruno Jordão were loaned to Lazio of Italy for two years, with an obligation to buy both players for a combined €26 million. He only played his first match in Serie A on 27 January 2019, replacing Bastos in the last-minute of the 1–2 home loss to Juventus.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Neto with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2022

On 2 August 2019, Neto signed with Wolverhampton Wanderers. He made his debut twelve days later in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round against Pyunik, scoring and providing an assist for Morgan Gibbs-White in a 4–0 home win (8–0 aggregate). His maiden appearance in the Premier League took place a few days later in the same month, when he came on for compatriot Diogo Jota late on in the 1–1 home draw with Manchester United.

Neto's first league start occurred on 28 September 2019, when he assisted Matt Doherty's opening goal in a 2–0 victory over Watford at Molineux. After having what would have been his first goal in the competition ruled out controversially by VAR at Liverpool on 29 December, he scored in the next game (a 2–1 away loss to Watford on 1 January 2020), becoming the first teenager to achieve the feat for the club in the Premier League in the process.

On 4 October 2020, Neto scored his first league goal for Wolves in the 2020–21 campaign in the 1–0 home defeat of Fulham. A month later, he extended his contract to 2025.

Neto was Sky Sports' player of the match in a league game with Arsenal on 29 November 2020, in which he scored once and set up Daniel Podence for his team's second goal in the game as they ran out 2–1 winners in their first away victory against that opposition since 1979. He suffered a serious knee injury in the first half of the 1–0 away defeat of Fulham on 9 April 2021, which ruled him out for the remainder of that season and the bulk of the following. He finally returned on 20 February 2022, as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 home win over Leicester City.

On 9 March 2022, Neto's 22nd birthday, he agreed to a new deal running until 2027. On 22 May, the last day of the campaign, he scored his first goal for the club since his injury, opening an eventual 3–1 loss at Liverpool in the third minute.

Neto made his 100th competitive appearance on 17 September 2022, in a 3–0 home defeat against Manchester City. The following month, he suffered an ankle injury that required surgery and sidelined him for nearly five months. He returned to action on 4 March 2023, playing the first half of the 1–0 home win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Neto played his 100th match in the English top tier on 21 October 2023, in a 2–1 away victory against Bournemouth where he also assisted Matheus Cunha, his sixth decisive pass of the new season. He scored his first-ever FA Cup goal on 28 January 2024, opening the 2–0 win at West Bromwich Albion in the fourth round.

Chelsea

On 11 August 2024, Neto moved to Chelsea on a seven-year contract; the deal was reported to be worth £51.3 million with £2.6 million in potential bonuses. His first competitive appearance took place seven days later, as a substitute in a 2–0 league home loss against Manchester City. He scored his first goal on 24 September, in the 5–0 victory over League Two side Barrow in the third round of the EFL Cup.

International career

On 5 September 2019, aged 19, Neto won his first cap for Portugal at under-21 level, playing the first half of a 4–0 win against Gibraltar in the 2021 UEFA European Championship qualification campaign, held in Alverca do Ribatejo. On 5 November 2020, he had his first call-up to the senior team, for matches against Andorra and France. He debuted on 11 November in a 7–0 home friendly win over the former, scored the first goal and became the first player born in the 2000s to represent the nation.

Neto was ruled out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to an injury suffered with his club. In spite of recurrent physical problems in the next years, he was however selected for UEFA Euro 2024 by new manager Roberto Martínez. In the opening match against the Czech Republic, he came off the bench in the 90th minute and created the winning goal for Francisco Conceição two minutes later, which secured a 2–1 win; also in the group phase, he featured the last 45 minutes of the 3–0 victory over Turkey and 75 against Georgia (2–0 loss).

Personal life

Neto's uncle, Sérgio Lomba, was also a footballer.

Career statistics

Club

International

Portugal score listed first, score column indicates score after each Neto goal

List of international goals scored by Pedro Neto

No.	Cap	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	1	11 November 2020	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal	Andorra	1–0	7–0	Friendly

Honours

Lazio

• Coppa Italia: 2018–19

Individual

• Wolverhampton Wanderers Player of the Month: September 2023

See also

In Spanish: Pedro Neto para niños