Thank you, Morato!

THANK YOU, MORATO!

Morato has finished his career at Benfica which began in September 2019, by joining Nottingham Forest (England) on a permanent deal. A national champion in 2022/23, the Brazilian defender played 86 games for the first team before moving on to a new professional stage.

Negotiated from São Paulo, Morato arrived at Luz to join the B team. Between September 2019 (he was 18) and the beginning of February 2021, when he moved up to the first team, the defender made 46 appearances for the eagles: 10 for the U19s, two for the U23s, 32 for the B team and two for the first team, and scored four goals.

Morato's official debut with the first team took place on December 21, 2019, against Vitória FC, in the group stage of the League Cup, at Estádio do Bonfim. On that occasion, the defender started and played full time. 

Morato's first match at the Cathedral took place on August 10, 2021. Against Spartak Moscow, in the 2nd leg of the 3rd qualifying round, he came on at half-time in the Eagles' 2-0 win.

Before that, Morato played four matches in 2020/21, divided between the League (2) and the Portuguese Cup (2).

In the 2021/22 season, the left-footed defender got more action: 25 games (14 in the League, 4 in the League Cup, 3 in the Champions League qualifying round, 2 in the Champions League and 2 in the Portuguese Cup.

It was during this season that he scored his first goal for the first team. In the Champions League, against Bayern in Munich, in the 4th round of the group stage, he scored.

During the 2022/23 season, Morato was used by Roger Schmidt in 20 matches, scoring a goal in the 0-3 win over Boavista on matchday 4 of the league.

On his way to win the 38th league title, he played 9 games in the league, 4 in the qualifying stage for the Champions League, in which he was used in two games. In the League Cup, the defender played in 3 matches and also contributed to the Reds' performance in 2 matches in the Portuguese Cup.

In 2023/24, he made the most appearances with the Sacred Mantle. A total of 35 games, including the League (21), Champions League (5), Portuguese Cup (5), League Cup (3) and Europa League (1). 

In January 2024, he also contributed with a final pass in the win over Braga (3-2) in the last 16 of the Portuguese Cup.

This season (2024/25), Morato started the match against Famalicão in matchday 1 of the Liga Betclic.

With the 2022/23 Championship to his name and the 2023 Super Cup (he was an unused substitute in the 2-0 win over FC Porto), the Brazilian defender concludes his time with Benfica's first team with 86 appearances, 2 goals and 2 assists, in over 6,400 minutes of use.

Thank you, Morato!