During his first stint with the Madeiran side, the forward played a total of 58 games, scoring eight goals and providing six assists.
He then played for Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers, and Reading in England, Shanghai Port in China, Umm-Salal in Qatar, Persepolis in Iran, and Umraniyespor in Turkey, where he played in the second half of last season.
While representing Angola, Lucas João earned five international caps, scoring one goal in a 1-1 draw against Ghana in a qualifying match for the 2023 African Cup of Nations (CAN).
Before making his debut for the 'Palancas Negras', the Lisbon-born player also played for the Portuguese national team twice in friendly matches.
Lucas João, 31, is the 13th signing for the 'alvinegros' for 2025/26, following the arrivals of Kaíque Azarias (formerly of Farense), Kevyn Vinícius (formerly of Fluminense, Brazil), Lenny Vallier (formerly of Guingamp, France), Alan Núñez (formerly of Cerro Porteño, Paraguay), Douglas Nathan (formerly of São Caetano, Brazil), Matheus Dias (Internacional, Brazil), Motez Nourani (formerly of Adana Demirspor, Turkey), Josué Souza (formerly of Grêmio, Brazil), Deivison Souza (formerly of Hope Internacional, Brazil), Martim Gustavo (formerly of Estoril Praia), Jesús Ramirez (formerly of Vitória de Guimarães) and Pablo Ruan (formerly of Londrina, Brazil).
This Monday, Nacional defeated Académica, from Liga 3, by 4-2, in a preparation game for the new season, part of the team's training camp, in Penafiel, and which will run until Thursday.
