Samú Costa

Samú Costa
Samú with Portugal in 2026
Personal information
Full name Samuel de Almeida Costa
Date of birth (2000-11-27) 27 November 2000 (age 25)
Place of birth Aveiro, Portugal
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Al-Nassr
Number 11
Youth career
2008–2013 Beira-Mar
2013–2015 Gafanha
2015–2016 Palmeiras Braga
2016–2019 Braga
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Braga B 12 (1)
2020–2021 Braga 1 (0)
2020–2021 → Almería (loan) 35 (2)
2021–2023 Almería 70 (1)
2023–2026 Mallorca 100 (8)
2026– Al-Nassr 8 (3)
International career‡
2019 Portugal U19 6 (0)
2019 Portugal U20 6 (1)
2022–2023 Portugal U21 7 (1)
2024– Portugal 7 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Portugal
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Runner-upArmenia 2019
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 October 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 27 June 2026

Samuel "Samú" de Almeida Costa (born 27 November 2000) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr and the Portugal national team.

Club career

Braga

Born in Aveiro, Costa represented Beira-Mar, Gafanha, Palmeiras FC de Braga and Braga as a youth. He made his Campeonato de Portugal debut for the latter's B-team on 2 November 2019 in a game against Bragança.

On 25 July 2020, Costa played his first match for Braga, coming on as a substitute for Pedro Amador in the 46th minute in a match against Porto.

Almería

On 10 September 2020, Costa was loaned to Segunda División side UD Almería for the 2020–21 season. He made his debut abroad seventeen days later, starting in a 2–0 away win over CD Lugo.

Costa scored his first professional goal on 24 January 2021, netting the opener in a 2–2 home draw against CE Sabadell FC. On 11 June, after being regularly used, he was bought outright and signed a five-year contract.

Costa helped the Andalusians in their promotion to La Liga as champions, and made his top-tier debut on 14 August 2022, starting in a 2–1 home loss to Real Madrid. On 23 September, he further extended his link until 2029.

Mallorca

On 10 August 2023, Costa agreed to a five-year contract with RCD Mallorca also in the Spanish first division. He played for the club for three seasons, making 108 appearances and scoring eight goals in all competitions.

Al-Nassr

On 9 August 2026, Costa joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr on his 1st match against Al-Fateh he scored his first goal in a 3-0 win.

International career

On 12 October 2024, Costa debuted for Portugal national football team in a 2–1 victory against Poland during a UEFA Nations League match, coming as a substitute for Bernardo Silva.

On 19 May 2026, Costa was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 October 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Braga B 2019–20 Campeonato de Portugal 121————121
Braga 2019–20 Primeira Liga 10000000—10
Almería (loan) 2020–21 Segunda División 35230——20402
Almería 2021–22 Segunda División 38020———400
2022–23 La Liga 32110———331
Total 105360——201133
Mallorca 2023–24 La Liga 34150———391
2024–25 La Liga 32000——10330
2025–26 La Liga 34720———367
Total 100870——101088
Al-Nassr 2026–27 Saudi Pro League 8310—2000113
Career total 2261414000203024514

International

As of match played 27 June 2026
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Portugal 202420
202500
202650
Total70

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "player profile". Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "Samuel Costa" (in Spanish). UD Almería. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  3. ↑ "Sporting Braga II vs. Bragança". Soccerway. 2 November 2019. Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  4. ↑ "Sporting Braga vs. Porto". Soccerway. 25 July 2020. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  5. ↑ "Samú Costa, un todo terreno para el centro del campo" [Samú Costa, an all-round for the centre of midfield] (in Spanish). UD Almería. 10 September 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "El Almería hace efectiva la opción de compra por Samú Costa" [Almería exercise the buyout clause over Samú Costa] (in Spanish). Marca. 11 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "Samú Costa renueva hasta 2029" [Samú Costa renews until 2029] (in Spanish). UD Almería. 23 September 2022. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Samu Costa se convierte en nuevo jugador del RCD Mallorca" [Samu Costa becomes the new player of RCD Mallorca] (in Spanish). RCD Mallorca. 10 August 2023. Archived from the original on 19 May 2026. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "Samu Costa, traspasado al Al-Nassr" (in Spanish). RCD Mallorca. 9 August 2026. Archived from the original on 9 August 2026. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  10. ↑ Mateu, Cesar (13 October 2024). "Samú Costa debuta con Portugal y su foco internacional se expande" [Samú Costa debuts with Portugal and his international focus expands]. Marca (in Spanish). Unidad Editorial. Archived from the original on 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  11. ↑ "Ronaldo set for sixth World Cup as Portugal squad named". 19 May 2026. Archived from the original on 3 July 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Samú Costa at Soccerway
  13. ↑ Samú Costa at National-Football-Teams.com
  14. ↑ "Samu Costa, LALIGA EA SPORTS Goal of the Month for October". La Liga. 27 October 2025. Archived from the original on 28 October 2025. Retrieved 30 October 2025.