Two more from Portugal's World Cup squad on the move as João Moutinho and Gelson Martins complete summer transfers
João Moutinho and Gelson Martins follow in the path of Cristiano Ronaldo, José Fonte, Rui Patricio, William Carvalho, Ricardo Pereira and Bruno Alves as they complete a summer move since the World Cup in Russia came to an end.
Moutinho, 31, completed his highly anticipated move to Wolverhampton Wanderers yesterday for a fee in the region of £5million, while Gelson has signed a six-year contract with La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid after terminating his contract with Sporting last month following the violent scenes at the club's training ground just a week before the end of the season.
Impressively, with both Moutinho and Gelson moving on, we have seen a total of eight players from Portugal's World Cup squad transfer to a new club since the tournament ended in disappointment, with the nation crashing out in the round of 16.
With Ronaldo heading to Juventus for approximately £100million, Patricio and Moutinho linking up with Wolves, Jose Fonte returning to Europe to join up with Lille after a disappointing spell in China, Bruno Alves joining newly-promoted Serie A side Parma, William Carvalho crossing the border to become a Real Betis recruit, Leicester purchasing Ricardo Pereira, and Atletico Madrid completing the signing of Gelson Martins, there has been a great deal of change in Portugal's ranks.
With João Mario also returning to Inter Milan after a loan spell with West Ham and Gonçalo Guedes currently back with PSG after his season-long loan deal with Valencia came to an end, it means just 13 of Portugal's 23-man squad are still playing for the same club that they were with before the World Cup began. And there are indications that the upheaval and movement has not finished yet as we approach the latter stages of the transfer window.
Indeed, both Pepe and Quaresma were left out of Besiktas' squad for the club's upcoming Europa League second qualifying round, which has sparked further suggestions that they could be on the move.
Quaresma, 35, has been heavily linked with an imminent move to China, while Pepe is a supposed target of both Porto and Wolves, with the salary seemingly the stumbling block for the Portuguese champions.
Gonçalo Guedes, meanwhile, has been left out of PSG's pre-season tour in Asia, with the Portuguese forward expected to be returning to Valencia this window.
João Mario is also thought to be on the move, with game time expected to be limited at the Italian club.