Football Career
Born in Praia, Cape Verde one year before the nation gained independence from Portugal, dos Santos migrated to France at a very young age, and started his professional career at AS Monaco FC. He then played for Montpellier HSC and Olympique de Marseille, spending four Ligue 1 seasons with the latter: with L'OM, he appeared in nine complete matches in the 2003–04 UEFA Cup, including the final against Valencia CF, a 0–2 loss, which would be his last match for the club.
In the summer of 2004, Portuguese League giants S.L. Benfica bought dos Santos for an undisclosed fee, and he signed a three-year contract. The first-choice during his first season, as the Lisbon-based side ended an 11-year drought in the league, he appeared rarely in his second campaign, and left in the January 2006 transfer window.
Dos Santos then returned to former club Monaco, where he replaced Manchester United-bound Patrice Evra, having signed a 1½-year link. After 40 matches during this stint, a new contract was not agreed, and he was released.
In July 2007, dos Santos moved to RC Strasbourg, where he spent one year before announcing his retirement from the game in February 2009, aged 35. Shortly after, however, he signed with amateurs Rapid de Menton, close to where he had fixed his residence, in Monaco.
Read more about this topic: Manuel Dos Santos Fernandes
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