Xavi Sintes will become the first Menorcan player ever to play in the Portuguese top flight, after signing with Estoril Praia.
Sintes, 25, has a free-agent after leaving Cordoba CF where he spent the past two seasons, making 62 appearances for the second tier club.
He was previously with Real Madrid, where he won the UEFA Youth League in 2019/20, RCD Mallorca and CD San Francisco. He made his senior debut for Real Madrid Castilla, before moving on to join Sevilla B.
The centre-back, who has been handed the number six shirt, said: “From the first moment they told me I could come to Estoril, it immediately seemed like a very interesting challenge. The coach also spoke to me, and that attitude helped me make the decision to accept.
“I play a lot with my intelligence on the field. I am always very focused during the 90 minutes and I want to help bring even more defensive strength to the team. I have played as a central midfielder and now, as a centre-back, this fact helps me to have better technical attributes to handle the ball better.”
Estoril have lost three of their first four games of this season. They finished 10th in the last campaign. Their squad includes the Englishman Khayon Edwards and former Everton and Leeds goalkeeper Joel Robles.
Big boost for Alaior as they hit milestone
Alaior have become the third Menorcan club to win 1,000 matches in their history, as revealed by the Associacio Historica del Futbol Menorqui (AHFM).
They completed the feat with their 2-0 win over Sporting Mahon in the Balearic Islands Cup final at the end of August.
Only UD Mahon and CD Menorca have previously reached the milestone.
Meanwhile, the local council have pledged an investment of €430,000 to modernise their Los Pinos home, including a new playing surface.
Menorcans go head to head in third tier
Ciutadella-born striker Sergi Enrich, who previously played in La Liga with RCD Mallorca and SD Eibar, is playing in Primera RFEF this season, the third tier.
He has stayed with SD Huesca, where he has featured for the past two seasons, following their relegation from Segunda division.
Now 36, Enrich came up against another Menorcan, Andreu Hernandez, when Huesca faced UE Sant Andreu recently.
Young centre-back Hernandez, also from Ciutadella, battled with Enrich throughout the match that Huesca won 1-0.
