Diego Cardoso Nogueira (born 6 March 1994), known as Diego Cardoso, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Maltese Premier League club Valletta.
Born in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Diego Cardoso joined Santos FC's youth setup in 2007, aged 12.[1] He soon earned plaudits for his performances with the under-20's, being the club's top goalscorer with nine goals.
On 21 January 2014 Diego Cardoso made his first-team debut, coming on as a late substitute in a 1-1 away draw against Audax.[2] He scored his first goal on 9 March, the last of a 4–1 home routing over Oeste.[3]
On 21 August 2015, after appearing rarely, Diego Cardoso was loaned to Bragantino until the end of the season.[4]
On 6 January of the following year he moved to fellow Série B team Vila Nova, in a one-year loan deal.[5]
After two years playing in Santos B, on 7 January 2019, Diego Cardoso was loaned to Guarani until the end of the year.[6] A regular starter during the Campeonato Paulista, he lost his starting spot in the Série B.
On 31 December 2019, Diego Cardoso signed a one-year contract with Botafogo-SP, after his deal with Santos expired.[7]
On 24 July 2023, Valletta from Malta, announced the signing of Diego Cardoso.[8]
| Club | Season | League | State League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Santos | 2014 | Série A | 6 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 4 | ||
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13[a] | 4 | 13 | 4 | |||
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 19[a] | 10 | 19 | 10 | |||||
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 5[a] | 4 | 5 | 4 | |||||
| Subtotal | 6 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | 37 | 18 | 54 | 22 | |||
| Bragantino (loan) | 2015 | Série B | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Vila Nova (loan) | 2016 | Série B | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | — | — | 3[b] | 1 | 14 | 2 | ||
| Guarani (loan) | 2019 | Série B | 18 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 11 | ||
| Botafogo-SP | 2020 | Série B | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 1 | ||
| Operário Ferroviário | 2020 | Série B | 14 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| São Caetano | 2021 | Paulista | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 42 | 6 | 38 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 19 | 127 | 36 | ||
