Who was the Player of the Week in the Champions League? João Félix, Bellingham, Odegaard...

There were plenty of big names in the hat for ‘Player of the Week’ in the Champions League this week, but few would have predicted that the first player to win the award. FC Porto’s Galeno shone brightly in the Portuguese side’s victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Brazilian, who scored two goals and set up team-mate Taremi in the 3-1 win, was nominated for Champions League Player of the Week. And he was competing with some big names: João Félix (Barça), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) and Martin Odegaard (Arsenal). Despite some fine performances across Europe, UEFA announced that Galeno was named was best player on matchday one thanks to the number of votes he received on the official UEFA website.

Galeno’s rise

Galeno, 25, has been progressing through Portuguese football from a young age. Signed at the age of 18 by Porto from Anapolis, he has gradually made a name for himself. In 2019, Porto sold him to Braga and it was there that he began to demonstrate his talent. His displays saw Porto buy him back in the summer of 2022 to replace forward Luis Diaz, who was sold six months earlier to Liverpool. The left winger scored 15 goals last season and this season he is delivering again.