Cheonan City have completed the signing of Guinea-Bissau centre-forward Ivanildo from United Arab Emirates side Al-Orooba FC, adding the 29-year-old to their attacking options in K League 2 on a contract running from 2026-02-10 to 2026-02-10.
The move takes the Bissau-born striker out of the Middle East and into South Korean football, with Cheonan City securing a player whose primary position is centre-forward and who operates predominantly with his right foot. The transfer has been finalised as a standard deal, with no fee disclosed by either club in the available data, and no market value listed for the player at the time of the move.
Ivanildo leaves Al-Orooba after a relatively short spell in the UAE, having joined the club from Portuguese side Varzim SC ahead of the 25/26 season. His switch to Cheonan City marks the latest step in a career that has largely unfolded in Portugal’s lower tiers before taking him to the Gulf and now to East Asia. For Cheonan City, the signing represents the addition of an experienced, well-travelled forward rather than a high-profile, high-value acquisition.
The 1.83m striker has followed a steady pathway through Portuguese football. After his youth spell with Clube Futebol Benfica U19, he graduated to the senior side of CF Benfica, then moved on to GDR Canaviais and Juventude Évora SC, both in Portugal. Subsequent transfers took him to CF União Madeira, SC Vila Real, Leça FC and Lusitânia FC Lourosa before his move to Varzim SC and, later, Al-Orooba. At each stop, he continued to be deployed as an out-and-out centre-forward.
Across this sequence of clubs, Ivanildo built a profile as a traditional attacking focal point rather than a versatile multi-position player, with the available data listing only his main role in attack and his preferred right foot. There are no recorded statistics in the provided information regarding goals, assists, appearances or standout single-match performances, and no recent match details or season-by-season tallies are supplied for any of his former sides, including his time at Al-Orooba.
Likewise, the data does not give any indication of his involvement with the Guinea-Bissau national team beyond his nationality, nor does it reference any caps or goals at international level. Reactions from supporters or media in Guinea-Bissau, Portugal, the UAE or South Korea to this transfer are also not contained in the material, and there is no information on how fans have responded to his career moves so far.
What is clear is that, with this confirmed move, Ivanildo continues a career spent entirely abroad rather than in his country of birth, now stepping into the competitive environment of K League 2 with Cheonan City. At 29, the transfer offers him the platform to test himself in a new football culture and tactical landscape, and its success or failure is likely to influence the next phase of his professional journey, his reputation outside Europe, and any future moves that may follow.
