Ze Manuel

Jose Manuel Silva Oliveira (born 23 October 1990), commonly known as Ze Manuel, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Rio Ave F.C. as a winger.

Club Career

Born in Braga, Ze Manuel finished his youth career with local club S.C. Braga. He spent the better part of his first three seasons as a senior in the third division with Merelinense FC, but also managed to appear once in the Primeira Liga with Braga, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute in a 1−1 away draw against FC Porto on 24 May 2009.

Having returned to his hometown in the summer of 2011, Ze Manuel represented exclusively F.C. Vizela (farm team, third level) and the reserves (division two). For the second part of the 2012–13 campaign, he was also loaned to third-tier side C.D. Cinfaes.

In the 2013 off-season, Ze Manuel signed with Boavista F.C. who competed in the third division, being immediately promoted to the top flight as a result of the consequences of the Apito Dourado affair. He made his debut with the club in the latter competition on 17 August 2014, featuring 60 minutes in a 0–3 loss at former team Braga. He produced exactly the same numbers in his second and third seasons, scoring six goals in 31 matches.

On 25 June 2016, free agent Ze Manuel joined Porto on a five-year contract. He never appeared for them in competitive games, being successively loaned to Vitoria de Setubal,Wisla Krakow and C.D. Feirense.