Vítor Machado Ferreira (born 13 February 2000), known as Vitinha (), is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Portugal national team.
Coming through Porto's youth system, Vitinha impressed during his time with the reserve team before being promoted to the first-team in 2020, winning a domestic double of the Primeira Liga and the Taça de Portugal in his first season. He was loaned to Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 2020, before returning the following season. He established himself as an integral player for Porto winning a second domestic double, being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year and winning the Best Young Player of the Year award. In June 2022, he joined Paris Saint-Germain for a transfer worth €41.5 million.
Vitinha is a former Portugal youth international, representing his country at various youth levels, being part of the under-19 and under-21 teams that finished as runners-up in the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and 2021 European Under-21 Championship, respectively. He made his senior international debut in 2022, representing Portugal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Club career
Porto
2019–20: Early career
Vitinha was born in Santo Tirso. He started playing football at Desportivo das Aves, where his father formerly played for the club, aged 7, before moving to Pinheirinhos de Ringe, where he started to stand out alongside goalkeeper and future teammate Diogo Costa. After going through some training sessions with Benfica, he was integrated into one of Benfica's feeder club Póvoa de Lanhoso, where he stayed for three years, before being dismissed because of his slight frame. Despite Sporting CP being interested in him, Vitinha ended up joining the youth ranks of FC Porto two years later, aged eleven, being subsequently loaned to Padroense for a season.
He made his LigaPro debut for the reserve team on 11 August 2019 in a game against Sporting da Covilhã. He was also part of Porto's squad that won the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League. On 28 January 2020, Vitinha made his first appearance for the first team, coming on as a substitute for Wilson Manafá in the 61st minute in a match against Gil Vicente. He made a total of eight appearances as the club won the league title.
2020–21: Loan to Wolves
On 9 September 2020, Vitinha moved on a season-long loan to English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. The club held an option to make the loan into permanent deal at its conclusion for a fee of €20 million, as Porto were forced to loan him due to UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations. He made his debut on 14 September away to Sheffield United as a second-half substitute, and his first start three days later in a home EFL Cup defeat to Stoke City.
Vitinha made his full Premier League debut away to Manchester United on 29 December 2020, a game which Wolves lost narrowly to a deflection in added time. On 22 January, he scored his first goal for the club with a 35-yard strike in a 1–0 away win over non-League team Chorley in the fourth round of the FA Cup. At the end of the season, the club declined to exercise his buy option.
2021–22: Return and domestic double
Vitinha began the 2021–22 season on the bench, but following his impressive performances during the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, he began finding more and more space as a starter, scoring his first goal for the club in a 3–0 away win against Portimonense on 3 December. On 23 December, Vitinha impressed during the 3–0 home over rivals Benfica in O Clássico in the Taça de Portugal, scoring and assisting a goal, as he was named man of match. Shortly after Sérgio Oliveira departed to Roma in January 2022, Vitinha further consolidated his place as starter, impressing Porto's manager Sérgio Conceição, with his performances without the ball and his pressing, being named the league's Player of the Month and Midfielder of the Month for two consecutive months in December and January, a feat which he repeated in March.
Vitinha would contribute to 47 appearances, with a goal in the 3–1 defeat of Tondela in the domestic cup final, to help Porto win the domestic double of the Primeira Liga and the Taça de Portugal, while also being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year and the Primeira Liga Best Young Player of the Year.
Paris Saint-Germain
On 30 June 2022, Vitinha signed a five-year contract with Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), for a fee of €41.5 million, after triggering the release clause of his contract.