Ivan Cavaleiro has left CD Tondela and is now a free agent after his contract with the Portuguese club expired on 2026-02-02, officially joining the “Without Club” pool from that date. The move was completed without a transfer fee, with the experienced left winger’s market value currently listed at €500k and his new status running open-ended until at least 2026-02-02 as a recorded transfer date and no new expiry set.
The 32-year-old, who holds both Angolan and Portuguese nationality, departs Tondela following a short spell back in his home country. He had only joined the club from Polish side Stal Mielec earlier in the 2025–26 season, also on a free transfer. Prior to that, he had moved to Stal Mielec as a free agent after leaving Brazilian outfit Red Bull Bragantino, underlining a recent career pattern of short-term stints across several leagues.
Cavaleiro’s exit means Tondela lose an experienced attacking option capable of operating primarily as a left winger, and naturally right-footed. While detailed appearance and goal statistics for his time at Tondela are not provided in the data, his presence coincided with a market valuation of €500k as of late 2025, suggesting he remained considered a useful, if no longer peak-value, contributor at Liga Portugal level.
The former Portugal youth international’s club career has taken in several major European leagues. After rising through Benfica’s academy system, progressing from the U15s and U17s to Benfica B and then the first team, he moved to AS Monaco, at one point reaching a peak market value of €12m during his early twenties. From Ligue 1 he switched to Wolverhampton Wanderers, becoming a key figure in the Championship and later the Premier League, before transferring to Fulham, where he maintained a valuation around €8–10m during his mid-twenties.
Subsequent moves included a loan to Turkish Süper Lig side Alanyaspor, then a permanent switch to LOSC Lille in France, followed by his spell in Brazil with Red Bull Bragantino. More recently, he tested himself in Poland’s top flight with Stal Mielec before returning to Portugal with Tondela, indicating a late-career willingness to adapt to very different footballing cultures and tactical setups.
Now registered as “Without Club,” Cavaleiro is free to negotiate with any interested side. Given his profile as a versatile wide attacker with top-flight experience in Portugal, France, England, Türkiye, Brazil and Poland, he represents a low-risk option for clubs seeking an experienced winger without paying a transfer fee. At €500k market value, he sits in a bracket where wages and role will likely decide his next step more than any notional transfer price.
Cavaleiro’s free-agent status opens the door to yet another move abroad, potentially adding a new league to a résumé that already spans several continents, and the next contract he signs will go a long way toward defining the final phase of a career that began in Benfica’s youth ranks and has since taken him around much of the footballing world.
