Carlos Roberto Forbs Borges (born 19 March 2004) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, on loan from Eredivisie club Ajax.
.jpg) Carlos Forbs with Ajax in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carlos Roberto Forbs Borges | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 19 March 2004 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sintra, Portugal | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team |
Wolverhampton Wanderers (on loan from Ajax) | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 26 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | NADCC Sintra | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Sporting CP | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2023 | Manchester City | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Ajax | 22 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Jong Ajax | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Portugal U16 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Portugal U18 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Portugal U19 | 16 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Portugal U21 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 August 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:38, 17 October 2023 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
editEarly career
editBorn in Sintra, Lisboa Region, Forbs started playing football there, before enjoying a season-short spell at Sporting CP in the capital. He moved to England at the age of around 11, where he attended high-school at the Cooperative Academy of Leeds, but soon caught the eye of many Premier League scouts, joining the Manchester City academy in 2015.[1][2][3]
In Manchester, he progressed through all of the youth categories, becoming a regular provider of goals and assists with the under-18 and under-23 teams, as City won both national tournaments between 2020 and 2022.[1][2][4][5] He was named under-18 player of the season for Manchester City in May 2021.[6]
By the end of 2021, he made his Youth League debut, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 away pool win against RB Leipzig.[7]
He made headlines in September 2022, as he scored a hat-trick and delivered an assist during Manchester City's opening game of the Youth League, a 5–1 away win against Sevilla.[1][3][7][8] He also proved to be instrumental a month later, with a goal and an assist in the 3–1 win at Copenhagen.[9] In the 2022–23 season, he scored 25 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions for Manchester City U21.[10]
Ajax
editOn 3 August 2023, Forbs signed for Eredivisie club AFC Ajax on a five-year contract in a €14 million deal, which could rise to €19 million with variables.[11][12] Nine days later, he made his professional debut for the Amsterdam side, coming off the bench to replace Brian Brobbey in the final minutes of a 4–1 home victory over Heracles Almelo, in the 2023–24 Eredivisie's opening game-week.[13] Ten days later, in the next league match, away to Excelsior, Forbs started and assisted Brobbey's opener, before being replaced by Davy Klaassen in the 60th minute; the game ended in a 2–2 draw.[14] On 24 August, he made his debut in European competitions, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 4–1 win away at Ludogorets Razgrad, in the UEFA Europa League play-off round.[15] On 21 September, in an Europa League group stage match at home to Marseille, Forbs scored his first professional goal and also provided an assist; the game ended in a 3–3 draw.[16]
Wolverhampton Wanderers
editOn 30 August 2024, Forbs returned to England and joined Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers on an initial season-long loan.[17]
International career
editBorn in Portugal, Forbs is of Bissau-Guinean descent.[18] He is a youth international for Portugal. By 2022, he became a regular starter with the Portuguese under-19s.[3][19]
On 8 September 2023, Forbs made his debut for Portugal's under-21s, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–0 home win over Andorra, in a qualifier for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[20]
Personal life
editFormerly known as Carlos Borges, the player has opted to play using his mother's surname as Carlos Forbs since he joined Ajax in August 2023.[21]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 22 August 2024[22]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester City U21 | 2022–23 | — | – | – | 3[b] | 4 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Ajax | 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10[c] | 1 | – | 32 | 3 | |
| 2024–25 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[d] | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 | – | 38 | 4 | |||
| Jong Ajax | 2023–24 | Eerste Divisie | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 43 | 8 | ||
- ^ Includes KNVB Cup
- ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy
- ^ Eight appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ Apperanaces in UEFA Europa League
International
edit- As of 10 December 2023
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | |
Honours
editIndividual
References
edit- ^ a b c Guerra, Francisco (7 September 2022). "Carlos Borges, a nova coqueluche do Manchester City". Record (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ a b Brennan, Stuart (1 February 2022). "Man City have another Portuguese star in the making". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ a b c ""Hat-trick" do português Carlos Borges pelo Manchester City na Youth League - Renascença". Rádio Renascença (in European Portuguese). 6 September 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ Bajkowski, Simon (19 May 2022). "Man City exciting winger Carlos Borges is out to make up for lost time". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ Smith, Jonathan (6 July 2022). "Palmer, Kayky, Delap and the Man City wonderkids who could follow in Foden's footsteps". Goal. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ "Manchester City fans laud 'insane' Carlos Borges after U-18 award". The Boot Room. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ a b Lawless, Josh (6 September 2022). "18-year-old Manchester City prospect Carlos Borges is a serious talent, his stats are crazy". SPORTbible. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ "A nova pérola portuguesa no Man. City: Carlos Borges deu show em Sevilha". Notícias ao Minuto (in Portuguese). 6 September 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ Brotherton, Alex (11 October 2022). "Carlos Borges sends Pep Guardiola message in Man City EDS Youth League win". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ "Carlos Borges, la perla lusa que espera la llamada de Guardiola" (in Spanish). BeSoccer. 7 July 2023.
- ^ "Ajax sign Carlos Roberto Forbs Borges". AFC Ajax. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ "Man City forward Borges joins Ajax in £17.3m deal". BBC Sport. 3 August 2023.
- ^ "Ajax 4 - 1 Heracles Almelo: Nyförvärven levererade direkt" [Ajax 4 - 1 Heracles Almelo: The new signings delivered straight away]. SvenskaFans.com (in Swedish). 12 August 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "Com Francisco Conceição de fora, Carlos Borges assiste mas Ajax tropeça" [With Francisco Conceição out, Carlos Borges assists but Ajax stumbles]. Notícias ao Minuto (in European Portuguese). 19 August 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "Ludogorets vs Ajax". beIN SPORTS. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "'Show' do português Carlos Borges no empate entre Ajax e Marseille" [Portuguese Carlos Borges 'show' in draw between Ajax and Marseille]. Notícias ao Minuto (in European Portuguese). 21 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "Forbs deal concludes transfer window". Wolverhampton Wanderers. 31 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ "Carlos Borges | Laufbahn | Spielerprofil". kicker.
- ^ Silva, Flávio Miguel (16 September 2022). "Sporting domina escolhas de Joaquim Milheiro". Record (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ "Tarde de estreias e números especiais" [Afternoon of debuts and special numbers] (in European Portuguese). FPF. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "Ajax complete signing of Portuguese forward Carlos Forbs from Manchester City".
- ^ Carlos Forbs at Soccerway
- ^ "2023 Under-19 EURO Team of the Tournament". UEFA.
External links
edit- Carlos Forbs at Soccerway