Diogo Valente

Braga and Académica On 1 July 2009, Valente left Porto by mutual agreement, joining S.C. Braga for an undisclosed fee. As the Minho side finished in a best-ever second place, he appeared rarely, sometimes not even making the squad of 18.

Valente featured regularly for Académica de Coimbra during 2010–11, on loan. On 29 June 2011, he terminated his contract with Braga and signed a one-year deal with the Students; in the first year in his second spell he again rarely missed a game, and scored once in seven appearances in the season's Taça de Portugal, which ended in conquest after 73 years.

Later years In late May 2012, Valente joined Romanian club CFR Cluj on a three-year contract, where he shared teams with a host of compatriots. He scored three competitive goals during his stint at the Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu, including one in the defeat to FC Dinamo București in the Supercupa României (on penalties, following a 2–2 draw in regulation time).

On 20 August 2015, after an unassuming top-flight spell at Gil Vicente FC (less than one third of the games, relegation), 30-year-old Valente moved abroad again and signed a one-year deal with Şanlıurfaspor in the Turkish TFF First League. He returned to his country and its division two at the end of the campaign, representing in quick succession S.C. Freamunde and U.D. Oliveirense.

Valente dropped into the third tier for the first time in his career in July 2019, with S.C. Espinho. Two years later, he continued at that level with S.C. Salgueiros.

International career Valente earned his first cap for the Portugal under-21 team on 29 March 2005, featuring 89 minutes in a 1–0 away win over Slovakia for the 2006 UEFA European Championship qualifiers.

Career statistics

Honours Porto Primeira Liga: 2006–07

Académica Taça de Portugal: 2011–12