Romário Baldé (born 25 December 1996) is a Bissau-Guinean professional footballer who plays as a winger l. He was born in Guinea-Bissau, but represented Portugal internationally on junior levels. On senior level, he switch allegiance back to his country of birth. Club career Born in Bissau, Baldé arrived in the youth ranks of Benfica at age 12, from local Estrela da Amadora. He represented the club on the debut season of UEFA Youth League, helping them progress all the way through the final, lost to Barcelona. The following season, the 17–year old made his professional debut for Benfica B in a 2014–15 Segunda Liga match against C.D. Trofense on 9 August 2014. He also represented Benfica again in the UEFA Youth League, reaching the quarter-finals against FC Shakhtar Donetsk, where he missed a penalty, attempted in panenka style, that would have given his team the lead. They were later eliminated in the penalty shootout. In May 2015, Baldé announced that he would be leaving the club, after he could not agree on a new contract with Benfica. However, two months later, he back-tracked on that decision and signed a five-year extension with Benfica, being immediately loaned to Primeira Liga side Tondela for one season. He made his debut for Tondela in the 1–0 loss against Vitória de Guimarães on 13 September, and scored his first goal three weeks later in a 1–1 draw with Moreirense. Being regularly used throughout the season, he finished the campaign with 25 appearances and two goals. In the following season, Baldé was not loaned out and remained at Benfica B, appearing in 21 games and scoring once. On 25 August 2017, Baldé moved on a permanent deal to Polish club, Lechia Gdańsk, signing a three-year contract. On 31 August, he moved to Académica de Coimbra on a one-year loan with an option to sign permanently. International career Baldé represented Portugal at the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, scoring one goal. He captained the Portugal U20s for the 2016 Toulon Tournament. Baldé made his Guinea-Bissau national team debut on 8 June 2019 in a friendly against Angola, as a half-time substitute for Jorginho. Honours Benfica UEFA Youth League runner-up: 2013–14 References External links 1996 births Living people Portuguese footballers Portugal youth international footballers Bissau-Guinean footballers Guinea-Bissau international footballers Sportspeople from Bissau Bissau-Guinean emigrants to Portugal Portuguese sportspeople of Bissau-Guinean descent Association football forwards S.L. Benfica B