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Tomás Lemos Araújo (born 16 May 2002) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Primeira Liga club Benfica.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tomás Lemos Araújo | ||
| Date of birth | 16 May 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Benfica | ||
| Number | 44 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2015 | Operário Famalicão | ||
| 2015 | Evolution Soccer Academy | ||
| 2015–2016 | Palmeiras FC | ||
| 2016–2022 | Benfica | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2022 | Benfica B | 48 | (3) |
| 2021– | Benfica | 21 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | → Gil Vicente (loan) | 22 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Portugal U15 | 4 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Portugal U16 | 11 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Portugal U17 | 18 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Portugal U18 | 6 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Portugal U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Portugal U20 | 5 | (0) |
| 2023– | Portugal U21 | 8 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 September 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:33, 20 November 2023 (UTC) | |||
Araújo joined Benfica's academy in 2016, aged 14, having previously played at youth level for Operário Famalicão, Palmeiras FC and Evolution Soccer Academy.[1] On 22 May 2018, he signed his first professional contract with Benfica, until 2021.[2]
After rising through the club's youth ranks, Araújo made his professional debut for Benfica's B team on 19 September 2020, coming off the bench to replace Pedro Ganchas on the 71st minute of a 6–0 victory away at Casa Pia, in the Liga Portugal 2.[3] He made his first professional start on 24 October, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 league defeat at home against Académico de Viseu.[4] On 16 January 2021, Araújo scored his first professional goal, the opener in a 2–2 league draw at home to Académica de Coimbra.[5]
On 2 March 2021, Araújo signed a new deal with Benfica. The duration of the contract was undisclosed.[6]
On 15 December 2021, aged 19, Araújo made his debut for Benfica's main team, starting and playing the full match in a 3–0 home victory over Sporting da Covilhã in the Taça da Liga.[7] On 27 February 2022, he made his Primeira Liga debut, coming off the bench to replace Jan Vertonghen in extra-time of a 3–0 home victory over Vitória de Guimarães.[8] On 13 May, Araújo made his first Primeira Liga start, playing the full match in a 2–0 victory away at Paços de Ferreira.[9]
On 27 July 2022, Benfica sent Araújo on a season-long loan to fellow Primeira Liga club Gil Vicente.[10] He made his debut for the Barcelos side on 18 August, starting in a 4–0 defeat away to AZ Alkmaar in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.[11] On 3 September, he made his first league appearance for Gil Vicente, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 home defeat to Porto.[12] Araújo scored his first Primeira Liga goal on 5 March 2023, Gil Vicente's second in a 2–0 victory at home against Marítimo.[13]
At the end of the 2022–23 season, Araújo returned to Benfica and, having impressed on loan, on 24 July 2023, he signed a new contract with the Eagles until 2028.[14]
On 3 October 2023, Araújo made his UEFA Champions League debut for Benfica, in a group stage match away at Inter Milan, coming off the bench in the first-half to replace the injured Alexander Bah, and playing the rest of the game as a makeshift right-back; Benfica lost 1–0.[15]
With the Portugal under-17s, Araújo took participated in the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Ireland, playing four matches losing in the quarter-finals to Italy.[16]
On 24 March 2023, he won his first cap for the under-21 side, starting in a 2–0 friendly win over Romania. In June, he took part in the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[17] Portugal were eliminated from the tournament, on 2 July, after a 1–0 loss to England in the quarter-finals.[18]
On 8 October 2024, Araújo received his first call-up to the senior squad for the UEFA Nations League matches against Poland and Croatia, as a replacement for the injured Gonçalo Inácio.[19]
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Benfica B | 2020–21 | Liga Portugal 2 | 27 | 1 | — | — | — | 27 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | Liga Portugal 2 | 21 | 2 | — | — | — | 21 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 48 | 3 | — | — | — | 48 | 3 | |||||
| Benfica | 2021–22 | Primeira Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| 2024–25 | Primeira Liga | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
| Gil Vicente (loan) | 2022–23 | Primeira Liga | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| Career total | 91 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 105 | 5 | ||
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League
Benfica
Individual
- UEFA Youth League Team of the Tournament: 2021–22[24]
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