 Freitas playing for Timor-Leste in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paulo Domingos Gali da Costa Freitas | ||
| Date of birth | 31 December 2004 | ||
| Place of birth | Dili, Timor Leste[1] | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Persebaya Surabaya | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2017 | Timor-Leste Youth Training Center Dili | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018 | SLB Laulara | ||
| 2019–2022 | Lalenok United | ||
| 2022–2023 | Assalam | ||
| 2023 | Karketu Dili | ||
| 2023–2025 | PSIS Semarang | 61 | (12) |
| 2025– | Persebaya Surabaya | 13 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017–2019 | Timor-Leste U16 | 9 | (11) |
| 2017–2019 | Timor-Leste U19 | 4 | (2) |
| 2021– | Timor-Leste U23 | 9 | (4) |
| 2018– | Timor-Leste | 16 | (3) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 6 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 14 October 2025 | |||
Paulo Domingos Gali da Costa Freitas (born 31 December 2004) is a Timorese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Super League club Persebaya Surabaya and the Timor-Leste national team. Nicknamed The Eternal Wonderkid, he is a player with the longest youth career, debuting for the national team at the age of 13.
Club career
[edit]On 2 June 2023, Gali joined Indonesian club PSIS Semarang, signing a one season contract.[2] On 3 July 2023, he scored a goal in his debut against Bhayangkara at the Jatidiri Stadium, Semarang.[3]
On 12 February 2024, his contract was extended for two seasons, until 2026.[4]
International career
[edit]On 1 September 2018, Gali made his debut for the senior team in a 2018 AFF Championship qualification game against Brunei in the first-leg in a 3–1 win. On 27 January 2022, Gali scored his debut goal for the senior team in a friendly match against Indonesia.
Controversy
[edit]In 2019 Timor Leste's under 15 team for the 2019 AFF U-15 Championship were accused of fielding overage players at the tournament, with team captain Gali Freitas being one of the prominent players accused of being over age with claims that he was at least 22 years old at the time.[5] These protests lead to a formal investigation by the ASEAN Football Federation into the incident. The protests however were later dismissed with Gali being deemed to be eligible to participate in the tournament.[6][7]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 6 December 2025[8]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| PSIS Semarang | 2023–24[8] | Liga 1 | 32 | 11 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 32 | 11 | ||
| 2024–25[8] | Liga 1 | 29 | 1 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 | |||
| Persebaya Surabaya | 2025–26 | Super League | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | |
| Career total | 74 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 13 | ||
International
[edit]- As of 14 October 2025
| Timor-Leste national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 |
| 2022 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 16 | 3 |
- Scores and results list Timor Leste's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Freitas goal.[9]
International senior goals
- As of match played 14 October 2025
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 27 January 2022 | Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar Regency, Indonesia |  Indonesia |
1–0 | 1–4 | Friendly |
| 2. | 8 October 2024 | Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei |  Brunei |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2024 ASEAN Championship qualification |
| 3. | 9 October 2025 | Territory Rugby League Stadium, Darwin, Australia |  Philippines |
1–2 | 1–4 | 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
Honours
[edit]Lalenok United
Individual
- AFF U-16 Youth Championship top scorer: 2019 (7 goals)
References
[edit]- ^ "Gali". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ stafadmin (2 June 2023). "PSIS Rekrut Paulo Gali Freitas untuk Kuota Pemain Asing ASEAN". PSIS Semarang (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- ^ "PSIS Semarang vs. Bhayangkara - 3 July 2023". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "PSIS Perpanjang Kontrak Gali Freitas Hingga 2026". psis.co.id. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Timor Leste accused of fielding 22-year-old at AFF U-15 tournament". The New Paper. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ AFF (4 August 2019). "Protest against Timor Leste player dismissed". AFF - The Official Website Of The Asean Football Federation. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
- ^ "AFF announce Timor-Leste U-15 player age fraud verdict". 10 August 2019. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
- ^ a b c "Paulo Domingos Gali da Costa Freitas". Soccerway.
- ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Paulo Gali (Player)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ "East Timor 2020". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
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