Tiago Ferreira (footballer, born 1993)

Tiago Emanuel Canelas Almeida Ferreira (born 10 July 1993) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Liga Portugal 2 club União de Leiria.

Porto
Born in Porto, Ferreira played youth football with five clubs in the area, finishing his development with FC Porto after joining at the age of 14. He made his professional debut with the reserves that competed in the second division, his first appearance in the competition being on 12 August 2012 in a 2–2 away draw against C.D. Tondela.

Ferreira played 35 matches and scored one goal in the 2013–14 season to help his team to a final runner-up position in the second tier, but they were ineligible for promotion. In summer 2014, after failing to appear once in competitive games for the main squad, he was released.

Zulte Waregem
On 15 July 2014, free agent Ferreira signed a four-year contract with S.V. Zulte Waregem. He made his Belgian Pro League debut on 3 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 loss at K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen.

União Madeira
Ferreira returned to his country in the 2015 off-season, joining C.F. União on a three-year deal. His maiden appearance in the Primeira Liga took place on 28 November, when he played one minute in a 2–2 away draw against Vitória de Setúbal.

Sparingly played by manager Luís Norton de Matos in his debut campaign, Ferreira also saw his side be relegated. He asked to be released from contract in May 2017 claiming unpaid wages, which led to criticism from club president Filipe Silva.

Universitatea Craiova
On 21 July 2017, Ferreira joined Romanian club CS Universitatea Craiova. He played his first game in the Liga I nine days later, when he featured 77 minutes in a 1–1 away draw with FC Steaua București.

Ferreira was released by mutual consent on 23 April 2020.

MTK
On 11 June 2020, Ferreira agreed to a contract at MTK Budapest FC of the Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I. He scored his only goal on 29 April 2021, in a 1–3 home defeat against Fehérvár FC. After struggling to find a place in the team under coaches Vaszilisz Teodoru and Gábor Márton, Ferreira severed is ties in January 2022.

Later career
Subsequently, Ferreira represented in quick succession Tractor SC (Persian Gulf Pro League), FK Kukësi (Albanian Kategoria Superiore), C.D. Trofense and U.D. Leiria (Portuguese second division).

International career
Ferreira earned 84 caps for Portugal at youth level. He appeared in two FIFA World Cup tournaments with the under-20 team, helping them to finish second in the 2011 edition in Colombia.

Honours
Universitatea Craiova
 * Cupa României: 2017–18
 * Supercupa României runner-up: 2018

Portugal U20
 * FIFA U-20 World Cup runner-up: 2011

Orders
 * PRT Order of Prince Henry - Knight BAR.png Knight of the Order of Prince Henry