Rafael Lobato

Attacking Midfielder (R) - Moreirense
6 Feb 2027
Saturday
Process
Overview Personal Contract News 6 Transfers Relations Events 36 Awards Matches History

Marked for Rafael Lobato

24 Edition

The Moreirense Sentinel

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Transfer targets11 Jan 2027

$10.9M settles it between the clubs for William Gomes

Porto have accepted the money. What Moreirense do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.

Market11 Jan 2027

Yan Maranhão agrees terms with Torreense

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Moreirense people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Transfer targets11 Jan 2027

Rudi Almeida is a medical away from Moreirense

The deal with Famalicao is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.

Market11 Jan 2027

Business is business: Dinis Pinto goes

Braga paid $2.8M and Moreirense took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Squad11 Jan 2027

A falling-out at Moreirense

Maracás and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad11 Jan 2027

Rafael Lobato is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Match9 Jan 2027

Nobody wins at Moreirense

9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.

Squad11 Jan 2027

A row about effort at Moreirense

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandre Duville-Parsemain was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Boardroom11 Jan 2027

Moreirense beat the market to Yaya Sithole from Tondela

Tondela will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Yaya Sithole has pre-agreed a move to Moreirense, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.

In brief

Back issues
23 Edition

The Moreirense Sentinel

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market4 Jan 2027

Moreirense turn down Benfica for Dinis Pinto

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad4 Jan 2027

João Veloso is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Transfer targets4 Jan 2027

The paperwork begins on Rafael Lobato

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Moreirense have done the hard part with Rio Ave, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Squad4 Jan 2027

Words exchanged at Moreirense

Fábio Martins and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Market4 Jan 2027

Yan Maranhão attracts admirers

The name of Yan Maranhão has come up in conversations Moreirense were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad4 Jan 2027

Mateja Stjepanović signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mateja Stjepanović and Moreirense agree another 4 years.

Transfer targets4 Jan 2027

AVS tell Moreirense: Daniel Rivas is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match2 Jan 2027

Famalicao take the points off Moreirense

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad4 Jan 2027

A row about effort at Moreirense

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Leonardo Vonić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

18 Edition

The Rio Ave Post

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market30 Nov 2026

Jalen Blesa hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rio Ave can pretend not to have heard.

The dugout30 Nov 2026

Ennio van der Gouw keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Rio Ave may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Match28 Nov 2026

No end in sight to Rio Ave's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Rio Ave has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad30 Nov 2026

Home is on Francisco Petrasso's mind

“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Rio Ave are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

The dugout30 Nov 2026

No hiding place for Rômulo

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rômulo, and the manager let it.

Squad30 Nov 2026

A falling-out at Rio Ave

Rafael Lobato and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings30 Nov 2026

Pedro Amaral was the difference for Rio Ave

Marked 7.30. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.

Player ratings30 Nov 2026

Nobody could get near Marios Vrousai

Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout30 Nov 2026

Half-satisfied: Marco Castro on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

In brief

14 Edition

The Rio Ave Post

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match28 Oct 2026

Rio Ave march on in the cup

Feirense are out and Rio Ave go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Market2 Nov 2026

Francisco Petrasso asks to leave Rio Ave

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

The terraces2 Nov 2026

Rio Ave supporters have found a favourite in Samuel Alves

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Alves has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Player ratings2 Nov 2026

Saba Samushia beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Loan watch2 Nov 2026

Tobías Medina has seen enough of Leixões

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Rio Ave, and 5 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad2 Nov 2026

Saba Samushia in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rio Ave this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings2 Nov 2026

Diogo Bezerra was the difference for Rio Ave

Marked 7.49. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.

The dugout2 Nov 2026

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Marco Castro was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Rio Ave dressing room was either.

Squad2 Nov 2026

A promotion for Diogo Nascimento

Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Diogo Nascimento has moved up it.

In brief

11 Edition

The Rio Ave Post

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad12 Oct 2026

Miguel Domingos breaks a bone — 31 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 31 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad12 Oct 2026

The step up is real for Franco Pinho

At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Squad12 Oct 2026

Rafael Lobato in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rio Ave this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

4 Edition

The Rio Ave Post

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market24 Aug 2026

Lorent Talla puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rio Ave, and it is not being withdrawn.

Transfer targets24 Aug 2026

Portimonense tell Rio Ave: Tiago Mamede is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Boardroom24 Aug 2026

Rio Ave go back to the board over Issiar Dramé

The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $289.2K — a club that wants Issiar Dramé enough to be asked twice.

Transfer targets24 Aug 2026

No thanks: Pedro Fonseca rejects the move

Rio Ave had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Cortulua, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Market24 Aug 2026

Rio Ave turn down Leixões for Julien Lomboto

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Transfer targets24 Aug 2026

Rio Ave bid $280.0K for Issiar Dramé

The offer went to Estrela da Amadora this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

The dugout24 Aug 2026

The manager makes an example of Jakub Brabec

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match22 Aug 2026

A bad afternoon for Rio Ave against Alverca

0‑2 to Alverca, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad24 Aug 2026

Tempers go at Rio Ave

Rafael Lobato was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief