Melbourne City FC is happy to announce the re-signing of attacker Raphael Borges Rodrigues until the end of the 2022/23 Isuzu UTE A-League season, with a trigger for a further season.
Borges Rodrigues made his debut as a 16-year-old and has gone on to make five senior appearances.
Since joining the City Academy in 2017, the young attacking midfielder has impressed with his work ethic and desire to improve his game.
Prior to the suspension of the 2021 NPL season, Borges Rodrigues had scored five goals for City’s Senior NPL team, including a hattrick against Whittlesea Ranges.
Melbourne City FC Director of Football Michael Petrillo said:
“Raphael’s progress through our Academy and now within the A-League Men environment has been great to see. His commitment to work hard with the help of the coaching and high performance team shows he is a player that has a very bright future at the Melbourne City Football Club.
“He is a versatile attacking player, able to play in multiple positions with good technical skills, a good turn of pace, and he’s strong with a great mentality to want to succeed.
“We look forward to his continued development and are so pleased to have him commit to a long-term deal. It continues the fine work of our Academy to produce yet another young player who has been able to come through our youth team development program to the senior team.”
Raphael Borges Rodrigues said:
“My time at Melbourne City has been amazing so far. From coming in for a trial as a 14-year-old to where I am now, I feel like I’ve come a long way and I’m excited to keep working hard and doing my best for the team.
“All of the staff and players are amazing people, and we all want to build on last year’s success.
“For me as a young player, being surrounded by coaches and players who push you every day is very important.”
