Starting Young
Tavares signed to the Leicester City Academy when he was just 9 years old, and remained in Leicester until his loan to Porto went into effect in 2021. The young midfielder's pathway through the academy to later appear for the first team is reminiscent of Colorado Homegrowns Cole Bassett and Darren Yapi, who began their own careers within the Rapids’ youth framework.
International Experience
Tavares has appeared for his home country in multiple age groups, featuring on Portugal's U-18 and U-19 youth sides. The Cascais native made his international debut in the U-18's friendly with Montenegro at just 17 years and 15 days of age and went on to make eight total appearances for Portugal.
Look Familiar?
Tavares isn't the only famous footballer in his family. Manchester United legend Nani is first cousins with Tavares on his mother’s side. As reported by The Athletic in 2021, the two had yet to meet but Nani gave Tavares “lots of advice and said he would keep track of his progress” over the phone after the midfielder began his career.
Tavares follows Nani’s path to MLS from Europe, albeit earlier in his career, as Nani spent three seasons as Orlando City SC’s captain before departing for Venezia in 2022.
Goal Contributions
Tavares' box-to-box talents aren't just limited to distribution and play-making, as the midfielder accumulated 12 goals and delivered seven assists across 56 appearances in his youth career before signing to Leicester's first team. Once on loan to Porto, he recorded four assists with the club's second team. He joins Connor Ronan, Cole Bassett, Ralph Priso and Danny Leyva in Colorado's center midfield, who combine for 11 goal contributions on the year.
Find the complete details about Tavares' acquisition here.
