PETALING JAYA: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) have snapped up another new midfielder to further bolster their already formidable engine room for the new football season.
The Southern Tigers have confirmed the signing of Portuguese Francisco Geraldes, an attacking midfielder.
The 28-year-old Geraldes is JDT’s second new import after the acquisition of Argentinian-Syrian midfielder Jalil Elias recently.
With Argentinian midfielder Leandro Velasquez leaving the club, JDT’s decision to sign a new playmaker was expected and Geraldes, noted for his visionary passing and long-range shooting, will be a good fit to provide ammunition for the likes of winger Arif Aiman Hanapi and Brazilian striker Bergson Da Silva.
Geraldes, who is nicknamed Chico, will don the number 10 jersey, usually reserved for playmakers.
He started his career with Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon in 2013 where legendary players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo started their careers.
Geraldes then moved on to other Portuguese clubs like Moreirense (2016-2017) and Rio Ave (2017-2018), before moving to Germany to play for Eintracht Frankfurt (2018) and Greek club AEK Athens (2019-2020).
He rejoined Rio Ave in 2020 before moving to Estoril in 2021.
In 2023, he joined Emirati club Baniyas.
JDT owner Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim welcomed Geraldes by posting a comment on the club’s Instagram page.
“Welcome, Chico. This is a new project, a new era.”
He also indicated there will be more signings to come during the new season.
Besides Elias and Geraldes in midfield, JDT also boast the likes of Natxo Insa, Afiq Fazail, Nathaniel Shio Hong Wan, Juan Munoz and Endrick Dos Santos.
