Cláudia Neto

Cláudia Teresa Pires Neto (born 18 April 1988) is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a midfielder for Portuguese Campeonato Nacional Feminino club Sporting CP. She has previously played for Prainsa Zaragoza and RCD Espanyol in the Spanish Primera División, Linköping FC in the Swedish Damallsvenskan, VfL Wolfsburg in the German Frauen-Bundesliga, and Fiorentina in the Italian Serie A.

Club career Spain Neto started playing at the age of twelve futsal with União de Lagos. With them she won all the trophies available in the Algarve Football Association. In 2008, she turned to association football and signed for Prainsa Zaragoza in Spain's Superliga. Five years later, in 2013, she moved to RCD Espanyol, where she played just one season.

Linköping FC Neto moved to Sweden and joined Linköping FC in June 2014, signing a one-and-a-half year contract. She was one of the most influential players during the 2014 Damallsvenskan season, contributing with her precise passing and humble character. This led to her signing a two-year contract extension in September 2015. In February 2017, Neto was nominated for the FIFPRO World 11 team. During her time with Linköpings, she helped the club twice win the Svenska Cupen and win the league championship back-to-back in the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Wolfsburg VfL In November 2017, together with Linköpings team-mate Kristine Minde, Neto joined German champions VfL Wolfsburg, signing a contract until June 2019. After exceeding the high expectations the club had of her, they signed her to a one-year contract extension in October 2018, keeping her at the club until June 2020. In all three of her seasons at the club they won both the Frauen-Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal Frauen each season.

Fiorentina In August 2020, Neto signed with Italian club Fiorentina until 2022.

Sporting CP In June 2022, Neto returned to Portugal, after 14 seasons overseas, and signed with Sporting CP. In June 2024, Neto re-signed with Sporting CP for another season after scoring 17 goals in 54 matches since 2022. This kept her the oldest player of the squad.

International career Neto was called up for Portuguese national youth teams from 2004. She retired from international football in September 2021, having scored 19 goals in 136 caps since her debut in March 2006.

Style of play Neto stated that starting off her career playing futsal gave her technique and helped her think and execute faster due to playing in reduced spaces.

Honours

Damallsvenskan: Winner (2) 2016, 2017 Svenska Cupen: Winner (2) 2013–14, 2014–15