Rony Lopes

Marcos Paulo Mesquita "Rony" Lopes (born 28 December 1995) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for French club OGC Nice on loan from Sevilla FC.

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Mesquita and the second or paternal family name is Lopes.

Rony Lopes

Lopes training with Lille in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Marcos Paulo Mesquita Lopes[1][2]
Date of birth	(1995-12-28) 28 December 1995[1]
Place of birth	Belém, Brazil[1]
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Playing position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team	Nice (on loan from Sevilla)
Number	22
Youth career
2003–2006	AD Poiares
2006–2011	Benfica
2011–2013	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2015	Manchester City	0	(0)
2014–2015	→ Lille (loan)	23	(3)
2015–2019	Monaco	65	(17)
2015	Monaco B	1	(0)
2016–2017	→ Lille (loan)	37	(6)
2016	→ Lille B (loan)	1	(0)
2019–	Sevilla	5	(0)
2020–	→ Nice (loan)	0	(0)
National team^‡
2010–2011	Portugal U16	8	(3)
2011–2012	Portugal U17	11	(1)
2012	Portugal U18	3	(1)
2012–2014	Portugal U19	24	(14)
2015	Portugal U20	7	(0)
2014–2017	Portugal U21	12	(1)
2017–	Portugal	2	(0)
Honours Men's football Representing  Portugal UEFA European Under-19 Championship Runner-up 2014 Hungary
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:14, 26 June 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 September 2018

Early life

Born in Belém, Pará, Brazil to a Brazilian father and an Angolan-born Portuguese mother,[3] Lopes moved to Portugal at the age of four.[4][5]

Club career

Manchester City

Lopes played youth football for S.L. Benfica from ages 10–15, signing for Manchester City in 2011.[6] He was a surprise addition to the first team's pre-season the following year, but had to wait until 7 January 2013 to make his competitive debut, when he came as an 88th-minute substitute for David Silva in a FA Cup third-round tie against Watford and scored the final goal in the 3–0 win, which made him the youngest ever goalscorer for the club at the age of 17 years and 9 days.[7]

Lopes was a regular for City's Elite Development Squad in the 2012–13 season, and went on to claim the inaugural Academy Player of the Year award after winning a public vote.[8] He was included in the team that featured in the first match of the UEFA Youth League, netting twice in a 4–1 victory at FC Viktoria Plzeň[9] and adding a hat-trick in the 6–0 home defeat of FC Bayern Munich.[10]

On 21 January 2014, Lopes started against West Ham United in the second leg of the semi-finals of the Football League Cup. In the game, he assisted Sergio Agüero and Álvaro Negredo to a goal each, in a 3–0 away win (9–0 on aggregate).[11]

On 7 July 2014, Lopes was loaned to Lille OSC until the end of the campaign.[12] His maiden appearance in Ligue 1 occurred on 9 August, in a goalless home draw against FC Metz,[13] and he scored his first goal on 14 September in a 2–0 victory over FC Nantes also at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.[14]

Lopes was included in City's squad for their pre-season tour in Australia.[15] On 5 August, he was promoted to the first team alongside Jason Denayer and Kelechi Iheanacho.[16]

Monaco

On 28 August 2015, Lopes joined Ligue 1 side AS Monaco FC for £9 million,[17] sharing teams with a host of compatriots including manager Leonardo Jardim. In early January 2016, he was loaned again to Lille until June.[18]

In July 2016, still owned by Monaco, Lopes re-signed at Lille for one season.[19] He scored a brace in the league opener, but in a 2–3 away loss against FC Metz.[20]

On 16 September 2017, Lopes scored his first competitive goal for Monaco when he opened the scoring in a 3–0 league home win over RC Strasbourg Alsace.[21] He started for the first time in the UEFA Champions League on 1 November, and scored in the 1–1 group stage away draw to Beşiktaş JK.[22]

Sevilla

On 14 August 2019, Lopes signed a five-year contract at Sevilla FC of the Spanish La Liga in part exchange for Wissam Ben Yedder.[23] In his first season, he appeared in only 14 official matches.[24]

On 29 July 2020, Lopes joined OGC Nice on a season-long loan deal with option to buy.[25]

International career

Lopes chose to represent Portugal internationally,[26] winning caps at every youth level.[2] He appeared with the under-20 side at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, playing all matches in New Zealand and helping his country reach the quarter-finals.[27]

On 5 January 2014, still aged 18, Lopes made his debut with the under-21s, playing roughly 20 minutes in a 2–0 win against Macedonia for the 2015 UEFA European Championship qualifiers.[28] He first appeared with the full side on 14 November 2017, replacing Gonçalo Guedes late in the second half of a 1–1 friendly draw to the United States.[29]

Lopes was named in a preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup,[30] but did not make the final cut.[31]

Club statistics

As of 29 July 2020

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester City	2012–13[32]	Premier League	—		1	1	—		—		—		1	1
	2013–14[33]		—		1	0	3	0	—		—		4	0
	Total		0	0	2	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
Lille (loan)	2014–15[34]	Ligue 1	23	3	—		1	0	3	0	—		27	3
	2015–16[35]		12	2	1	1	3	0	—		—		16	3
	2016–17[35]		25	4	2	2	0	0	2	0	—		29	6
	Total		60	9	3	3	4	0	5	0	0	0	72	12
Monaco	2015–16[35]	Ligue 1	2	0	—		—		—		—		2	0
	2017–18[35]		38	15	2	1	4	0	5	1	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	50	17
	2018–19[35]		24	2	2	0	2	2	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	29	4
	2019–20[35]		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		65	17	4	1	6	2	5	1	2	0	82	21
Sevilla	2019–20[35]	La Liga	5	0	2	0	—		7	0	—		14	0
	Total		5	0	2	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	14	0
Nice	2020–21[35]	Ligue 1	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career total			130	26	11	5	13	2	17	1	2	0	175	34

1. Appearances in Trophée des Champions

Honours

Club

Manchester City

• Football League Cup: 2013–14[35]

Monaco

• Coupe de la Ligue runner-up: 2017–18[35]

International

Portugal

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship runner-up: 2014[35]

References

1. "Rony Lopes" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
2. Iannacca, Márcio (14 August 2014). "Joia brasileira da sub-20 veste a 10 de Portugal e admite: "Coração dividido"" [Under-20 Brazilian gem wears the Portuguese number 10 and admits: "Torn heart"] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
3. Azevedo, Afonso (8 September 2016). "Entre Brasil e Portugal, enquanto brilha em França" [Between Brazil and Portugal, while he shines in France] (in Portuguese). Bet.pt. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
4. "Ronny Lopes, 16 (Manchester City)" (in Portuguese). Olheiro. 8 March 2012.
5. Tomé, Bruno (15 February 2014). "Bloco de notas: Os jovens talentos que estão a fugir de Portugal" [Notebook: The young talents that are fleeing Portugal] (in Portuguese). Futebol 365. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
6. "Rony confirmado no Manchester City" [Rony confirmed at Manchester City] (in Portuguese). ESPBR. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
7. "Marcos makes his mark". Manchester City F.C. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
8. Pollard, Rob (8 April 2015). "What role will Marcos Lopes play for Manchester City in 2015/16 season?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
9. "Marcos Lopes bisa na estreia da competição" [Marcos Lopes grabs brace in competition premiere]. Record (in Portuguese). 17 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
10. Crafton, Adam (19 March 2015). "Marcos 'Rony' Lopes is carving up Ligue 1 with Lille and wanted by Brazil and Portugal ... but what the Manchester City academy graduate really wants is to wear the sky blue". Daily Mail. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
11. Jurejko, Jonathan (21 January 2014). "West Ham United 0–3 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
12. "Transfer news: Manchester City midfielder Marcos Lopes joins Lille on loan". Sky Sports. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
13. "French Ligue 1 report: Goalless between Lille and Metz". Sky Sports. 9 August 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
14. "Origi inspires Lille to top of the table". Ligue 1. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
15. "Official tour 2015 squad list". Manchester City F.C. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
16. ".@Jasondenayer, @Rony10Lopes & @67Kelechi on stage now. Three academy graduates promoted to the first team. #citylive". Twitter. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
17. "Lopes joins Monaco". Manchester City F.C. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
18. "Transfert – France: Rony Lopes (Monaco) prêté à Lille" [Transfer – France: Rony Lopes (Monaco) loaned to Lille]. Le Parisien (in French). 7 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
19. "LOSC: Rony Lopes reste à Lille une saison de plus" [LOSC: Rony Lopes remains at Lille for another season] (in French). France 3. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
20. "Le LOSC s'écroule à Metz" [LOSC collapse at Metz] (in French). France 3. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
21. "Falcao stars as Monaco sweep past Strasbourg". Ligue 1. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
22. Clément, Anthony; Testelin, Régis (1 November 2017). "Les notes de Besiktas – Monaco" [The grades of Besiktas – Monaco]. L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2 November 2017.
23. "El Sevilla ficha a Rony Lopes por cinco temporadas" [Sevilla sign Rony Lopes for five seasons]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 14 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
24. Cáceres, Ignacio (12 July 2020). "Vieira quiere a Rony Lopes en su Niza" [Vieira wants Rony Lopes in his Nice] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
25. "Rony Lopes loaned to OGC Nice, with option to buy". OGC Nice. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
26. Teixeira, Nuno R. (27 August 2014). "Marcos Lopes quer representar Portugal no Mundial sub-20 (com fotos)" [Marcos Lopes wants to represent Portugal at the under-20 World Cup (with pictures)] (in Portuguese). Relvado. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
27. "Brazil through as profligate Portugal pay the penalty". FIFA. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
28. "Perfect Portugal dispatch FYROM". UEFA. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
29. "Golo com sabor a frango valeu empate à seleção nacional" [Chicken-flavoured ("Chicken" a Portuguese word for blunder) goal provided draw to the national team]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 14 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
30. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad – 23-man & preliminary lists & when will they be announced?". Goal. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
31. "Nearly half Portugal's Euro squad to miss World Cup". Special Broadcasting Service. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
32. "Games played by Rony Lopes in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
33. "Games played by Rony Lopes in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
34. "Games played by Rony Lopes in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
35. "Rony Lopes". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 June 2015.

External links

• Rony Lopes at ForaDeJogo
• Rony Lopes at Soccerbase
• Rony Lopes at L'Équipe Football (in French)
• National team data (in Portuguese)
• Rony Lopes at National-Football-Teams.com
• Rony Lopes – FIFA competition record