Early years and Porto Born in
Paredes,
Porto District, Barros began his senior career with
S.C. Covilhã in the
Segunda Liga. He helped
Varzim S.C. to promote to the
Primeira Liga in his second season as a professional. Barros signed with
FC Porto for
1987–88, immediately having an impact: 12 goals in the league, which ended with the championship conquest, also being essential as the northerners began the campaign with two major achievements, the
European Super Cup against
AFC Ajax and the
Intercontinental Cup against
Peñarol (he also scored in the first leg of the Super Cup final). As a result, he was voted
Portuguese Footballer of the Year.
Abroad Barros joined Italian side
Juventus FC in the summer of 1988, where he chose to wear the number 8 shirt, turning down the opportunity to wear the prestigious
number 10 shirt which had previously belonged to the recently retired
Michel Platini, whose role he had inherited at the
Turin club. During his two-year tenure, he scored 19 goals in 95 appearances in all competitions and helped to a
Coppa Italia and
UEFA Cup double in 1990. Subsequently, Barros moved to
AS Monaco FC, originally for one year (eventually three). During his spell, he notably lost
the final of the
1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup to
SV Werder Bremen. In the 1993 off-season, Barros signed with another team in France,
Olympique de Marseille, teaming up with compatriot
Paulo Futre – who left Porto for
Atlético Madrid precisely the year he arrived. The former contributed in helping them to a
second-place finish in the league, although the club was relegated following its involvement in a
match fixing scandal.
Return to Porto In the summer of 1994, Barros returned to Porto, where he became an important attacking element in four of five consecutive league wins. He retired from football in June 2000, at the age of 34. Barros was also on the bench for the
3–0 win over
Vitória F.C. in the
domestic supercup, on 19 August 2006.
Jesualdo Ferreira was appointed shortly afterwards, and he stayed as his assistant during the following campaigns as Porto won the league four times in a row. On 13 June 2018, Barros succeeded former Porto and Portugal teammate
António Folha at the helm of
Porto's reserves, who competed in the second tier. On 3 February 2021, with the team
dead last with 16 games remaining, Folha was put back in the position. ==International career==