Tiago Barreiros de Melo Tomás (born 16 June 2002) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg.
Club career
Sporting CP
Born in Lisbon of Angolan descent, Tomás came through the youth system of Sporting CP after a year at nearby Estoril. On 25 June 2020, he signed a five-year contract at the former club, with a buyout clause of €60 million.
Tomás made his professional debut on 1 July 2020 one month after his 18th birthday, as an 81st-minute substitute for Matheus Nunes in a 2–1 Primeira Liga win against Gil Vicente at home. He scored his first goal on 24 September, the only one of a home victory over Aberdeen in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. He contributed three goals from 30 appearances during the season, helping his team to conquer the league after 19 years.
On 30 January 2022, Tomás was loaned to VfB Stuttgart until June 2023 with a buying option. He played his first match in the Bundesliga six days later, replacing Chris Führich for the final ten minutes of the 3–2 home loss to Eintracht Frankfurt. He scored twice in his next appearance, but was unable to keep his team from a 4–2 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen.
In the 2022–23 campaign, Tomás helped the Mercedes-Benz Arena club to avoid relegation via the playoffs, with the player coming from the bench in both legs of the 6–1 aggregate win over Hamburger SV. On 16 June 2023, Stuttgart did not exercise its option and he left, thanking the organisation for "believing in me when no one else did".
VfL Wolfsburg
On 5 July 2023, Tomás signed a four-year contract with VfL Wolfsburg also of the German top division.
International career
Aged 18, Tomás was selected by Portugal under-21 manager Rui Jorge for his 2021 UEFA European Championship squad. He earned his first cap in the first group stage match, starting in the 1–0 win against Croatia in Koper.
Tomás scored his only goal on 7 October 2021, his team's tenth in the 11–0 demolition of Liechstenstein in Vizela for the 2023 European Championship qualifiers.