Date of Birth 2 April 1989. A Grays Athletic legend! Joao returned to the club in September 2023. The Portuguese winger had spells at Clapton, Brentwood, Aveley and Dagenham & Redbridge, where he made one Football League appearance as a substitute in 2010. He first came to Grays in 2011. After a brief spell at Concord Rangers he re-joined Grays in December 2016 and made his 400th appearance on 4 January 2020 at which point he had scored 106 goals. He left us in July 2021, after 411 appearances and 110 goals. More recently, he has represented Hullbridge Sports and Welling Town. A very popular player and a real fans' favourite who has always found time to talk to supporters. Following the appointment of Darren Manning as our manager in November 2023, Joao has now also taken on a coaching role. He will support the development of younger players and help them to understand what it means to represent our community football club.

SPONSORED BY Jean Love, Chris Turner