Champion, relegated, and world champion... Essugo's crazy season | OneFootball

Success and failure in football are often separated by the thinnest of margins. For every winner, there is a loser, and the transition between those extremes happens far more often - and more abruptly - than many care to admit.

The young career of Dário Essugo represents a perfect example of the highs and lows of football.

At 20 years old, the midfielder, who became a World Champion last Sunday, having played only 38 minutes, already has four titles as a senior to his name. Nonetheless, his journey has also been marked by adversities, with two relegations - one in Spain and another in Portugal - on his resume.

Interestingly, the titles were achieved with clubs where he played relatively few games/minutes, while the relegations occurred when Essugo played for longer periods of the season.

With this premise in mind, we decided to analyse the highs and lows that outline the short but eventful journey of Dário Essugo, from the Sporting youth teams to the adventure in the Club World Cup with Chelsea.

First title after six minutes

In the 2020/21 season, Dário Essugo won the first title of his career – the Portuguese championship with Sporting – with just six minutes played in the competition.

In matchweek 24 of the competition, during Sporting's home game against Vitória SC, Ruben Amorim decided to bring on shirt number '84' six minutes before the end of the match thus securing Essugo's debut as a professional for the Lions.

Nevertheless, these brief moments provided by the current Manchester United coach were more than enough for the young Essugo, then just 16 years old, to win his first career medal.

In the following season, the young midfielder mainly played for Sporting's U19 and B teams participating in just two matches for the senior side - nine minutes in the Champions League against Ajax and 45 minutes in the league Sporting against FC Arouca.

From champion to relegation

In the 2023/24 season, Essugo started the season with Sporting, making ten appearances before being loaned out for half a season to GD Chaves.

The midfielder represented the colours of the Valentes Transmontanos for about three months, participating in 14 matches - 13 of them as a starter.

The season in question was bittersweet for the player. By matchday 32, Benfica's defeat to FC Famalicão allowed Sporting to celebrate the title without having to play and earning Essugo another medal.

Meanwhile, there was nothing Essugo could do to save Chaves from relegation during his loan spell just five years after Sporting won the league.

Mixed emotions

After the loan period in Chaves, Dário Essugo returned to Sporting for the 2024/25 campaign but again did not find a space in the squad. The midfielder played just 16 (!) minutes as a substitute in two matches at the start of the season before securing a loan move in La Liga.

In search of minutes, routine, and above all, a project that would provide a basis for him to establish himself as a starter, Essugo joined Las Palmas until the end of the season. The young midfielder participated in 27 matches for the Spanish team, scoring once.

The successive positive performances put the young player under the spotlight and the midfielder began to attract the interest of some European giants. Chelsea's strong interest was felt during the winter market, but the deal was only concluded in March.

Essugo completed the remainder of the season with the Amarillos with the future transfer to the Blues agreed. However, once again his loan spell ended in relegation after Las Palmas finished in 19th place.

Just three days later, on May 17th, Sporting was crowned national champion. Thanks to the modest 16 minutes played for the Lions, as mentioned earlier, Essugo was part of the players who won the championship for the Lions. From the melancholy of relegation to the euphoria of the title in just three days!

In the final stretch of the season, Essugo also joined the Chelsea squad that traveled to the United States of America, with a view to participating in the Club World Cup 2025. The midfielder played only 38 minutes in the competition, featuring in three different matches as a substitute.

Just last Sunday, Chelsea was crowned winner of the competition, with a resounding victory against PSG, and Essugo's brief presence in the intercontinental tournament secured the 20-year-old midfielder the status of World Champion.

Interestingly, one of his teammates, in this case Liam Delap, also added the Club World Cup victory to the relegation obtained while serving Ipswich Town, which was unable to secure maintenance in the Premier League.

Overall, Dário Essugo ends the season with three achievements - two positive and one negative - in his bag. Despite not being able to prevent Las Palmas' relegation to the Spanish second tier, the midfielder became a twice national champion with Sporting and a World Champion with Chelsea. A true rollercoaster of emotions.