Paulo Jorge dos Santos Futre (
Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpawlu ˈfutɾɨ]; born 28 February 1966) is a Portuguese retired
footballer who played mostly as a
left winger.
After starting playing for
Sporting, he moved to
Porto –
winning the 1987 European Cup
– after which he embarked in an extensive professional career, having
represented clubs in Spain, France, Italy and Japan, most notably
Atlético Madrid. He also appeared for
Benfica during four months in 1993.
A
Portuguese international since the age of 17, Futre gained more than 40
caps for his country, representing it at the
1986 World Cup.
Sporting / Porto
Born in
Montijo,
Setúbal District, Futre first appeared professionally in
1983–84, as a 17-year-old for
Sporting Clube de Portugal,
whose youth system he had joined at the age of nine. When he requested a
pay raise from president João Rocha, he was turned down and left for
F.C. Porto after just one season, as veterans
Jaime Pacheco and
António Sousa moved in the opposite direction as part of the deal.
In the following years Futre collected two
national championships, also helping the northerners to the
1986–87 European Cup, putting on a
Man of the match performance in
the final against
FC Bayern Munich.
Atlético Madrid
After that continental win, Futre was traded to
Atlético Madrid in Spain, earning a reported annual salary of
€650,000.
At the
capital
outfit, he quickly rose to fan favourite status, but his physical
weakness left him with several knee injuries which tormented his career
in the 1990s.
In
his fifth season, Futre provided countless
assists for
striker Manolo who scored 27 goals for the
Pichichi Trophy, with him netting in
the campaign's
domestic cup, a 2–0 win over neighbours
Real Madrid; during most of his spell with the
Colchoneros, he was also
team captain.
Journeyman / Retirement
In January 1993, Futre moved to Porto and Sporting rivals
S.L. Benfica, winning a
Portuguese Cup in his short stay (and scoring in the final against
Boavista F.C. in a 5–2 triumph
), as his injury woes persisted. After Benfica, he signed one-season contracts with
Olympique de Marseille – where he teamed up with countryman
Rui Barros –
A.C. Reggiana 1919,
A.C. Milan and
West Ham United,
where he infamously refused to play until he was given squad number 10.
Finally, he returned to Atlético Madrid (ten
La Liga games in
1997–98), effectively ending his career with
J. League Division 1 side
Yokohama Flügels; he ranked joint-98th in
World Soccer's 100 Greatest Players of the 20th Century, published in December 1999.
Futre worked as
director of football at Atlético Madrid from 2000 to 2003,
subsequently becoming a real-estate developer in his hometown.
In May 2011, he was part of Dias Ferreira's team in an unsuccessful run for Sporting's presidency.
International career
Futre played 41 times for
Portugal in a 12-year span, scoring six goals. His debut came against
Finland for the
UEFA Euro 1984 qualifiers, on 27 April 1983 – he was only 17 years and 204 days old, breaking a national team record.
Futre was a member of the Portuguese national team that competed in the
1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, playing 90 minutes in the 1–3 loss against
Morocco, in an eventual group stage exit.