Merely days into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, football enthusiasts have stumbled upon what is possibly one of the most legendary pieces of sports lore: the real-life story of Dublin-born Roberto Lopes. From being a white-collar worker in the Republic of Ireland to playing for Cape Verde at their first World Cup, the 33-year-old’s seemingly far-fetched truth is breaking the bar set by the usual “hiring” stories commonly seen on social media.
How a LinkedIn message helped recruit Cape Verde’s FIFA star Roberto Lopes
Just days ago, Cape Verde made a stunning debut in the World Cup, as the African country ranked No 67 in the world earned a draw against tournament favourite Spain, ranked No 2, in a shocking turn of events. It was that 0-0 opening match that elevated many players from the Cape Verde roster to viral fame. Defender Robert Lopes was one such key performer, but his teammates almost lost the chance to play alongside him.
While most people rely on professional SNS sites to land desk jobs, Lopes was ironically helped by social media to move away from his. His dream profession came knocking on his door in the form of a recruitment message on LinkedIn, but the Irish star almost let it slip, fearing he was being targeted by spam since it was written in Portuguese, a language he didn’t speak.
Lopes’ reaction was nothing out of the ordinary. As expected, he chose to ignore the message, which was actually sent by then-Cape Verde head coach Rui Aguas in 2018. The former Benfica striker made the move to recruit the ex-bank employee for a tiny island nation 3,000 miles from where he was born after he discovered that Lopes’ father, Carlos, was from Cape Verde.
The message sat in Lopes’ LinkedIn inbox without a reply for 9 months. Fortunately, Aguas followed up in English, and the rest is history. The 9-months-late LinkedIn message ultimately helped the Dublin star make his international debut in 2019, which was followed by a 2-0 friendly win against Togo.
Aguas didn’t necessarily get the ball rolling on Lopes’ football career, as he had already played a game for the Republic of Ireland under-19 team and been attached to professional club football since 2010. However, it’s safe to say that Aguas’ LinkedIn message was the life-altering push the player needed, especially since the 33-year-old never registered to enter the competitive international sphere before it.
“I thought it was a spam message and I took no notice of it,” the present-day Cape Verde FIFA star told BBC Sport. “And then about nine months later, he messaged me back, saying, ‘Hi Roberto, have you had a chance to consider what I said to you?”
“I felt so rude for not having replied to him months earlier,” he added, revealing that he ultimately copied Aguas’ original message and put it on Google Translate. The results showed the then-coach’s proposal he had ignored months ago: “We’re looking at getting new players into the Cape Verde squad and would you be interested in declaring for Cape Verde?”
Lopes fully gave up his day job in 2017 when Dublin rivals Shamrock Rovers presented him with a chance to make his full-time entry into professional football. “I was not enjoying the work,” the new FIFA star said of his old bank job in an interview with BBC Sport.
What’s next for Roberto Lopes’ team?
After securing a shocking draw with Spain, Cape Verde’s Blue Sharks are set to face Uruguay and Saudi Arabia next in Group H on June 22 and 27, respectively (IST).