The football carousel keeps spinning, and a familiar face is set for a fresh start. João Mário, the Portuguese midfielder who lifted the European Championship trophy in 2016, is heading to Greece. He’s making a temporary switch from Turkish club Besiktas to AEK Athens for the upcoming season, lasting until 2026. Both clubs confirmed the loan deal on Friday, and it’s important to note: there’s no option for AEK to buy him outright.
Social media was buzzing as the Greek side proudly announced Mário’s arrival. This isn’t the first time the former Sporting and Benfica standout has packed his bags. Just last summer, he moved to Istanbul, initially on loan from Benfica. That deal quickly became permanent when Besiktas paid a compulsory 2 million euro fee to secure his services.
Now 32 years old, Mário is embarking on his fifth adventure in a foreign league. His travels have taken him far and wide already. His career abroad kicked off with Italian giants Inter Milan. From there, he found himself loaned out to England’s West Ham and then Russia’s Lokomotiv Moscow. His recent chapter with Besiktas saw him play 45 games, bagging 10 goals and dishing out five assists. Interestingly, his departure from Besiktas coincides with the arrival of another Portuguese winger, Jota Silva, who joins on loan from Nottingham Forest and was previously linked to Sporting.
Mário’s name carries significant weight back home. He’s earned 56 caps for Portugal’s senior national team, scoring three goals in the process. He wore the national colors at the Euro 2016 triumph, as well as the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Most of his youth development happened at Sporting, where he also played for the senior team across two different periods. During his second stint (2020/21), he was on loan from Inter Milan. With Sporting, he collected an impressive haul of trophies: a league title, a Portuguese Cup, a League Cup, and a Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup.
After a brief loan spell at V. Setúbal from Sporting, Mário cut ties with Inter in the summer of 2021. He then made a move to rival club Benfica. There, he added another league title and a Super Cup to his collection. His next stop is Greece, where he’ll join fellow Portuguese player Filipe Relvas, a central defender at AEK. The club is currently a top contender in the local league, and Mário’s experience could certainly give them an edge.
