Francisco das Chagas Soares dos Santos (born 17 January 1991), known as Soares or Tiquinho, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Mirassol, on loan from Santos.
Having started his career in the lower leagues of his homeland, he moved to Portugal aged 23. He played 155 Primeira Liga games for Nacional, Vitória de Guimarães and Porto, scoring 64 goals and winning two league titles with the last of those clubs. After winning the Super League Greece with Olympiacos in 2022, he joined Botafogo in Série A.
Born in Sousa, ParaÃÂba, but raised in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Soares started his career with Palmeiras FC das Rocas. He moved to América de Natal in 2009 to complete his development.
Soares made his professional debut for the latter club on 14 August 2010, coming on as a substitute in a 2âÂÂ1 Série B home loss against Vila Nova. He only appeared in one further match in the championship, before being released on 3 September of that year.
Soares subsequently represented Botafogo da ParaÃÂba, Sousa, CSP, , , Cerâmica, Treze, Veranópolis, Pelotas and Lucena.
On 27 January 2015, Soares moved abroad for the first time in his career after signing with Primeira Liga side Nacional, still owned by CSP. He made his debut on 21 February, replacing Lucas João in a 3âÂÂ1 away loss against Braga.
Soares scored his first goal abroad on 20 April 2015, equalising the 1âÂÂ1 Madeira derby at MarÃÂtimo. The following 20 March, he scored a brace in a 3âÂÂ2 home win over Vitória de Guimarães.
On 25 May 2016, Soares signed for Vitória de Guimarães. He made his debut for his new team on 14 August, starting in a 1âÂÂ0 home loss to Braga, and scored his first goal 12 days later in a 5âÂÂ3 win against Paços de Ferreira also at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, through a penalty.
On 4 November 2016, Soares scored a double in a 2âÂÂ1 home defeat of former club Nacional. He finished his spell in Minho with 22 official appearances and nine goals.
On 23 January 2017, Soares signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Porto, with a â¬40 million clause. His first match took place on 4 February, when he started and netted twice in a 2âÂÂ1 home victory over Sporting CP.
Soares made his UEFA Champions League debut on 22 February 2017, starting in a 2âÂÂ0 home loss to Juventus in the round of 16. In his first full season, he scored eight goals from 24 games to help the club to win the national championship after a five-year wait.
Soares was not initially included in the 2018âÂÂ19 Champions League squad by manager Sérgio Conceição, due to injury. On 18 January 2019, he put three past Chaves in a 4âÂÂ1 away victory, his tally of 15 over the campaign eventually being the best for Porto and fourth-best in the league. On 25 May he opened the scoring in the final of the Taça de Portugal and also converted his team's first shot in the penalty shootout after the 2âÂÂ2 draw, but Sporting were victorious; he dedicated his goal to goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who had suffered a heart attack weeks earlier.
On 27 February 2020, Soares was sent off for the first time in his career as the side lost 3âÂÂ1 at home to Bayer Leverkusen (5âÂÂ2 aggregate) in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League, for elbowing Jonathan Tah in the face.
Soares moved to the Chinese Super League in September 2020, agreeing to a three-year and three-month deal at Tianjin TEDA. The transfer fee was estimated at around â¬10 million, as was his total salary.
On 31 May 2021, Soares joined Olympiacos of the Super League Greece on a three-year contract. On 22 September, he scored twice in a 4âÂÂ1 home win against Apollon Smyrnis. On 22 December, he repeated the feat in the 2âÂÂ0 defeat of Levadiakos in the round of 16 of the Greek Football Cup, following assists from Mathieu Valbuena.
Soares returned to Brazil in August 2022 after seven years, with the 31-year-old signing for Botafogo. He made his Campeonato Brasileiro Série A debut at the age of 31 on 4 September, starting in a 3âÂÂ1 win at Fortaleza; thirteen days later, he scored his first goal to conclude a 2âÂÂ0 win over Coritiba at the Estádio OlÃÂmpico Nilton Santos. He finished the season with six goals from 14 games, the Gloriosos second top scorer with one behind Erison despite his late arrival.
In 2023, Soares scored a career-best 29 goals despite struggling with injuries in the latter stages of the season. In the following campaign, he won both the Copa Libertadores and the Brazilian League, but lost his starting spot after Igor Jesus was acquired.
On 24 January 2025, Soared joined Santos on a three-year deal. He made his debut the following day in a 2âÂÂ1 away loss to Velo Clube, and scored his first goal on 5 February, opening the 1âÂÂ1 home draw against Botafogo-SP through a penalty.
On 20 February 2026, Soares was loaned to fellow top-division Mirassol for the season.
Botafogo-PB
CSP
Lucena
Porto
Olympiacos
Botafogo
Individual