Sporting CP's 10 biggest sales of all time

24 Oct 2024 15:56 BST |
Updated: 30 Sept 2026 21:39 BST |
4 min read

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Sporting CP have one of the best academy systems in Europe and they have produced a number of world-class players over the years, including Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, they have often been forced to sell these youngsters to bigger clubs on the continent, with Sporting consistently earning profits on their players.

Below, FootballTransfers lists Sporting’s 10 biggest sales ever.

10. Francisco Trincao – €39.4m (to Al-Ahli, 2026)

Having been a failed wonderkid at Barcelona and Wolves, Francisco Trincao carved out a very good career for himself at Sporting, bagging 47 goals and 51 assists in 208 appearances.

This earned him tentative links with a possible Premier League return – Liverpool were reportedly interested – but he ultimately left Lisbon for Jeddah, joining back-to-back AFC Champions League Elite winners Al-Ahli in the summer of 2026.

9. Pedro Porro – €40m (to Tottenham, 2023)

Manchester City picked up Pedro Porro from Girona in 2019, but the Spaniard never made a single first-team appearance for the Etihad Stadium side.

Instead, he was loaned out to Real Valladolid and then to Sporting, with the latter signing him on a permanent deal in 2022. Porro subsequently joined Tottenham on loan six months later, before they signed him permanently for €40m in July 2023.

Porro left Sporting with 12 goals and 20 assists in 98 games for the club.

8. Ousmane Diomande – €40m (to Nottingham Forest, 2026)

Almost immediately after joining Sporting from Midtjylland in early 2021, centre-back Ousmane Diomande began being linked with a big-money move to the Premier League.

All of the league’s big hitters were supposedly after him, with the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool linked with him in virtually every transfer window. Ultimately, Diomande did end up in the Premier League – but not in the upper tier.

Following collapsed moves to Crystal Palace in summer 2025 and the subsequent January, Diomande joined former Eagles boss Oliver Glasner at Nottingham Forest in summer 2026.

7. Morten Hjulmand – €40m (to Atletico Madrid, 2026)

In recent years, Sporting have shown themselves to be exceptional developers of midfield talent. After Joao Palhinha and Manuel Ugarte, the club helped Denmark international Morten Hjulmand to make a name for himself.

A more complete player than his predecessors – at least according to his former manager Ruben Amorim – Hjulmand quickly became Sporting’s captain and an integral part of the side that won back-to-back league titles in 2024 and 2025.

Despite significant interest in 2025, he opted to stay for another year. Sporting repaid that loyalty by allowing him to join Atletico Madrid in 2026 for just half the fee the Spanish giants would have had to pay had they triggered his €80m release clause.

6. Joao Mario – €43.8m (to Inter, 2016)

Joao Mario progressed through the youth ranks at Sporting and after establishing himself as a regular in 2014, he registered six goals and 11 assists during the 2015-16 Portuguese top flight season.

Inter subsequently lodged a €43.8m bid for his services, which was promptly accepted by Sporting, and he sealed a move to the San Siro.

However, Mario never quite settled at Inter and he was loaned to West Ham, Lokomotiv Moscow and back to Sporting before joining Benfica on a free transfer in 2021.

5. Matheus Nunes – €45m (to Wolves, 2022)

Matheus Nunes was dubbed as “one of the best players in the world” by Pep Guardiola in early 2022, and Wolves decided to pounce just months later.

The Old Gold have enjoyed a strong Portuguese influence since 2016 and Nunes joined a host of his countrymen upon his move to Molineux.

After one season at Wolves, Nunes was sold to Manchester City for a whopping €62m, where he was subsequently converted into a makeshift right-back by Guardiola.

4. Geovany Quenda – €50m (to Chelsea, 2026)

Teenage winger Geovany Quenda emerged as one of Portugal’s biggest talents in 2024. By the spring of 2025, he was firmly on the radar of Premier League clubs and expected to join Man Utd, then coached by former Sporting boss Ruben Amorim.

However, Chelsea hijacked the deal. They made Sporting a more attractive offer by not only committing to a €50m outlay, but they also allowed the club to keep Quenda for an additional year.

Instead of signing him that summer after his 18th birthday, Chelsea pre-agreed a deal with Sporting for 2026. That way, Quenda was able to continue his development in a familiar environment, while the Blues did not use up one of their limited international loan spots.

3. Manuel Ugarte – €60m (to PSG, 2023)

Manuel Ugarte was heavily linked with a move to Chelsea in 2023, but PSG won the race for his signature, with Sporting earning a handsome fee as a result.

The Uruguay star departed the Portuguese top flight having made 85 appearances for Sporting, but he left PSG to join Man Utd after just one season in Ligue 1.

His struggles away from Sporting continued at Man Utd.

2. Bruno Fernandes – €65m (to Man Utd, 2020)

Bruno Fernandes became Sporting’s all-time record sale when he joined Manchester United for €65m in January 2020.

The Portuguese midfielder racked up 113 goal contributions in just 137 appearances for Sporting, and he immediately became a crucial figure at Old Trafford.

After becoming Man Utd captain in July 2023, Fernandes set a new assists record in 2026, for which he was named Premier League Player of the Year and PFA Players’ Player of the Year.

1. Viktor Gyokeres – €65.8m (to Arsenal, 2025)

Fernandes’ record as Sporting’s biggest sale in history was toppled by Viktor Gyokeres when he sealed a €65.8m move to Arsenal in 2025.

The Sweden striker was also wanted by Man Utd, but he favoured a move to Arsenal and the Gunners eventually finalised an agreement with Sporting after weeks of negotiations.

Gyokeres scored a whopping 97 goals in just 102 games for Sporting, following his arrival from Coventry City, and he is one of their best signings in recent memory.

The 10 biggest Sporting CP sales of all time

Cameron Smith is a Digital Content Producer for FootballTransfers, having joined the team upon its inception in November 2020.

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