West Ham United signed Brazilian defender Morato on a season-long loan from Nottingham Forest on 1 September 2026

Born Felipe Rodrigues da Silva in the city of Francisco Morato - from where he draws his nickname - he moved to Europe at the age of 18, when he joined Portuguese club Benfica.

Morato played 47 times for Benfica, winning the Primeira Liga title in 2022/23 and appearing in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, before moving to Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2024.

In his first season in England, playing under Nuno Espírito Santo, he helped Forest finish seventh in the Premier League and qualify for Europe. In 2025/26, he started 13 times as the club reached the Europa League semi-finals, and was named in the Team of the Tournament.

Career

2026/27

Joined West Ham United on a season-long loan on transfer deadline day, 1 September 2026.

Before West Ham

Born Felipe Rodrigues da Silva in the Brazilian city of Francisco Morato on 30 June 2001...Took his single word nickname from the city of his birth..Joined leading Brazilian club São Paulo as a schoolboy and spent a few years within its Academy...Moved to Portuguese side Benfica on a five-year contract in September 2019...Aged 18 years and three months, he made his debut for Benfica B in the second-tier LigaPro against Leixões on 22 September 2019...Made his first-team debut for Benfica by starting a 2-2 draw at Vitória de Setúbal in the Portuguese League Cup on 21 December 2019...Reached the 2020 UEFA Youth League final with Benfica U19s, where they were edged out 3-2 by Real Madrid...Was a regular for Benfica B in 2020/21, making 28 LigaPro appearances and scoring four goals...Scored his first senior goal in a defeat at Mafra on 27 September 2020...Made his top-flight Primeira Liga debut for Benfica in a 2-0 win at Tondela on 30 April 2021, then started the Portuguese League Cup final defeat by Braga three weeks later...Promoted to the Benfica first-team squad on a permanent basis at the start of the 2021/22 season and made 25 appearances in all competitions, including five in the UEFA Champions League...Netted his first Champions League goal against Bayern Munich on 2 November 2021...Was a member of Benfica’s first-team squad throughout the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, totalling 55 appearances in all competitions, including six in the UEFA Champions League and six in the UEFA Europa League...Netted his first Primeira Liga goal for Benfica with a header in a 3-0 win over Boavista on 27 August 2022...On the bench as Benfica beat Porto to win the Portuguese Super Cup in August 2023...Joined Nottingham Forest on a five-year contract in August 2024...Appeared 26 times in the Premier League in 2024/25 as Forest finished seventh and qualified for Europe...Played 14 times in the UEFA Europa League in 2025/26, helping his team to wins over Malmö, Utrecht, Ferencváros, Midtjylland and Porto before they were beaten by Aston Villa in the semi-finals...Named in the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League Team of the Tournament.

Honours

Club Honours

Benfica

Primeira Liga (2022/23) Portuguese Super Cup (2023)

Individual Honours

UEFA Europa League Team of the Season (2025/26)