Henrique Araújo

Henrique Pereira Araújo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ẽˈʁiki aɾaˈuʒu]; born 19 January 2002) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Watford on loan from Primeira Liga club Benfica.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Pereira and the second or paternal family name is Araújo.
Henrique Araújo
Araújo with Benfica in 2022
Personal information
Full name Henrique Pereira Araújo
Date of birth (2002-01-19) 19 January 2002
Place of birth Funchal, Portugal
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Watford (on loan from Benfica)
Number 21
Youth career
2008–2011 Andorinha
2011–2018 Marítimo
2018–2022 Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020– Benfica B 60 (29)
2022– Benfica 10 (3)
2023 → Watford (loan) 8 (0)
International career‡
2019 Portugal U18 6 (4)
2020 Portugal U19 1 (0)
2021– Portugal U21 8 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Born in Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira, Araújo started his football career in the youth ranks of local side Andorinha in 2008, and later moved to Marítimo's in 2011.[2] In 2018, aged 16, he went on a week trial with Benfica, who signed him and he subsequently moved from Madeira to Seixal, near Lisbon, to join Benfica's youth academy, despite also having trained with rivals Porto, who declined signing him.[3]

2020–22: Rise to the first team and UEFA Youth League

On 5 March 2019, Araújo signed his first professional contract with Benfica B.[4] Araújo made his professional debut with Benfica B in a 1–0 LigaPro loss to Estoril on 4 October 2020.[5] Following a prolific goalscoring form for the B team, to which he scored ten goals and provided three assist, Araújo was promoted to Benfica's first team by interim manager Nélson Veríssimo, making his debut on 2 February 2022, in a 2–1 home loss to Gil Vicente in the Primeira Liga.[6]

He scored his first goal for the club on 11 March in a 1–1 home draw to Vizela.[7] During that season, Araújo played in the 2021–22 UEFA Youth League, scoring a hat-trick in the final on 25 April, in a 6–0 win over Red Bull Salzburg to help Benfica win their first Youth League title, and their first title in European football since the 1961–62 European Cup.[2] In his first start on 13 May, Araújo scored a brace in a 2–0 away win against Paços de Ferreira.[8] On 5 September, he agreed to a contract extension to 2027, increasing his buyout clause to €100 million.[9][10]

On 2 November, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 6–1 away win against Maccabi Haifa in their last 2022–23 UEFA Champions League group stage match, to ensure Benfica's qualification to the round of sixteen, as group winners.[11]

2023: Loan to Watford

After making 14 appearances, finding limited first-team minutes, during Benfica's opening half of the season, on 23 January, 2023, Araújo joined English Championship club Watford on loan until the rest of the season, in order to continue his development.[12]

International career

Araújo represented Portugal at under-17 and under-19, for a total of 7 caps, scoring four goals.[2] On 7 October 2022, Araújo won his first cap for the under-21 side, replacing Gonçalo Ramos in the 46th minute in the 11–0 victory thrashing of Liechtenstein for the 2023 European Championship qualification campaign.[13]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 8 May 2023[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Benfica B
2020–21 Liga Portugal 2 2811————2811
2021–22 2614————2614
2022–23 64————64
Total 6029————6029
Benfica
2021–22 Primeira Liga 53—10——63
2022–23 Primeira Liga 5020205[lower-alpha 3]2—142
Total 103203052—205
Watford (loan) 2022–23 Championship 80————80
Career total 7832203052—8334
  1. Includes Taça de Portugal
  2. Includes Taça da Liga
  3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Benfica

Individual

References
  1. "Henrique Araújo". S.L. Benfica. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  2. "O voo de Henrique Araújo, do início no Andorinha aos golos pelas águias – e a um recorde na Youth League".
  3. "O craque que ambicionava ser político e promete tanto no Benfica".
  4. "Henrique Araújo assina contrato profissional até 2022". SL Benfica (in Portuguese). 5 Mar 2019. Retrieved 26 Nov 2020.
  5. "Benfica II vs. Estoril - 4 October 2020 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com.
  6. "Henrique Araújo estreia-se na Liga pelo Benfica". dnoticias.pt.
  7. "Henrique Araújo estreia-se a marcar pela equipa principal". abola.pt.
  8. "BENFICA VENCE EM PAÇOS DE FERREIRA (2-0) COM BIS DE HENRIQUE ARAÚJO". abola.pt.
  9. "Henrique Araújo e António Silva renovam contratos". A Bola (in Portuguese). 5 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  10. "As cláusulas de rescisão de António Silva e Henrique Araújo". A Bola (in Portuguese). 5 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  11. Matthew, Marshall (2 November 2022). "Benfica crush Maccabi Haifa to snatch top spot from PSG in Group H". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  12. "Oficial: Henrique Araújo emprestado ao Watford". 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  13. "Portugal vs. Liechtenstein".
  14. Henrique Araújo at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  15. Conheça os 24 heróis da Youth League
  16. "Henrique Araújo: "Prémio significa que o meu trabalho está a ser bem feito"".
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