Place of birth Sao Paulo, Brazil Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 ⁄2 in) | Playing position Name Diego Lopes | |
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Full name Diego Hipolito da Silva Lopes Date of birth (1994-05-03) 3 May 1994 (age 21) Current team Kayserispor(on loan from Benfica) | ||
Diego Hipólito da Silva Lopes (born 3 May 1994), known as Diego Lopes, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Greek club Panetolikos, on loan from Benfica.
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Career
Born in São Paulo, Lopes arrived in Portugal in December 2008, after a short spell at Palmeiras and joined Benfica. Rated by Rui Costa, as a top prospect, he helped the Lisbon-side, win the first Under-15 Championship since 1988–89.
On 10 June 2012, Lopes joined Rio Ave in Primeira Liga, and made his debut on 2 September 2012 in a draw against Académica. His first goal arriving twenty-four days later in a 2012–13 Taça da Liga match against Freamunde. A year later, on 3 August 2013, Lopes signed a permanent deal with Rio Ave for five seasons. After good performances in his third year in Vila do Conde, which included a career best, nine goals, he was touted for a return to Benfica.
The move was confirmed days later, when he rejoined Benfica on a five-year deal. However, he was not included in the first-team and was subsequently loaned to Turkish team Kayserispor alongside Derley. He scored his only goal for them in a Turkish Cup match against İnegölspor on 26 January, scoring the second goal in a 2–0 win. Lopes did not stay with the Turkish team, being loaned for six-months to América Mineiro in July 2016. After three months, América Mineiro terminated the loan deal ahead of time and returned him to Benfica.
In January 2017, Lopes was loaned for a third time, joining Panetolikos in the Superleague Greece for 18 months.