Guimaraes granite, in the Marakana fire » Tomas Handel, the “engineer” who dictates the rhythm of the red inferno

In the shadow of the much better-known Arnautovic and Krunic, the Lusitanian of Austrian descent became, in just a few months, the “control piece” in the game of coach Vladan Milojevic and one of the gallery's appreciations.

However, his path hides a past with great projections, undermined by an injury with drama tendencies, which he did not know how to metabolize, even if he had support.

• Red Star – FCSB is played today, from 22:00, at the Rajko Mitic Stadium “Marakana” in Belgrade. The match will be broadcast on TV on Digisport and in liveTEXT format on GSP.ro. The Gazeta reporters will transmit the most important information from the scene.

Tomas Handel, the “architect” of the Red Star. The clause of 50 million euros and the break of 357 days

Born in Guimaraes, the city where Portugal was founded as a state, Tomas Romano Pereira dos Santos Handel took his first steps in football at Moreirense, before moving to Vitoria at the age of 10.

Noted as one of the best juniors of his generation, the Lusitanian would see everything he had built in thousands of hours of training and immeasurable family sacrifices ruined.

It was in February 2022, when a serious muscle tear in his left thigh took him out of football for almost a year. It wasn't the doctor who told him how long he would be away, but his father. At first, Handel didn't believe it, until he felt, after the adrenaline wore off, the severe pain and the increasingly oppressive weakness. The months after the operation taught him another language. The one of recovery, the one where he has to wait to make a new tackle.

After 357 days, he returned with a goal in a match against Rio Ave, then continued his good run, also scoring against Boavista. Executions of a mature, experienced player.

It was the most difficult year of my life, but I came back stronger. I learned not to dramatize anything.
– Tomas Handel, midfielder

Victory rewarded him. The leadership of the “conquistadors” extended his contract, fixed a termination clause of 50 million euros and put the armband on his arm. The complete way for a club to show its confidence.

Two years later, the departure was backwards. Handel chose a different future, but promised: “One day, if life is generous, I will return home. I am forever one of you.”

Red Star Belgrade bought him in September 2025 for 3.1 million euros, plus bonuses up to 4.5 million, with 20% of the resale. He was already wanted by Besiktas, Ligue 1 teams and two Portuguese clubs, but chose Belgrade.

Tomas Handel, in the Red Star – Vojvodina, October 30, 2025. Photo: Imago

• In Portugal, at Vitoria Guimaraes, he was described as a “jogador de sistema”, a left-handed midfielder who dictates the tempo of his team with positional intelligence and quality progression.

• He signed his first professional contract on March 27, 2019, with an initial termination clause of 15 million euros.

Transfer to the Balkans. Belgrade and Austria's refusal

“I want big games, I want Europe. And I want to feel football in a place where it burns”said Handel at the official presentation in the “Zvezdei” T-shirt. Adaptation was instantaneous. He debuted with a goal in a match with Zeleznicar, which ended 7-1, and after the first six games, he entered the top of the progressive passers of the Serbian league, although he did not come as a star.

With an Austrian grandmother, the Vienna Federation contacted him as early as 2022, after the injury, at a time when the Portuguese had not opened the door to the seniors.

He said no to Ralf Rangnick. Simple. “I'm Portuguese. That's how I feel. I played at U21 and I want to play at senior level for Portugal.”

3he has appearances for the Portuguese youth national team, for which he made his debut at 20 years and 9 months, under the command of Rui Jorge

Tomas Handel has not yet made his debut for Portugal's first national team. Photo: Imago

At Red Star, Handel is not just a player, he is a link. The image of calm in a team that lives with a high pulse. When Milson is the misfit playboy, Bruno Duarte is the predator, Krunic plays the role of the mechanic, albeit revolted, and Seol burns like a torch, the Lusitanian is the one who sets everything in rhythm.

I heard you're not allowed to say some names here. And that others are not spoken in the locker room. I set out to quickly learn the Belgrade code. For me, football is not only running. It's a breathing game.
– Thomas Handel

No arrogance, no unnecessary intonations. With a sense of place, Handel is order in a stadium that calls for chaos. On the evening when Steaua Roșie – FCSB is playing, the Portuguese is exactly where he wanted to be: “on fire”, with the ball at his feet and with the peace of those who have been on the sidelines too long to not know how much each step is worth.

• Tomas Handel is good friends, since childhood, with Vitinha, from PSG, with whom he was also a classmate. In interviews, Handel refers to him as the best player in the world.

10 million eurosis Handel's market share, according to the specialist portal Transfermarkt.com

Top 10 most expensive transfers of Red Star of all time

1. In-beom Hwang (2023, Olympiakos) – 5.5 million euros
2. Milson (2024, Maccabi Tel Aviv) – 5 million euros
3. Nasser Djiga (2024, Basel) – 4.4 million euros
4. Cherif Ndiaye (2023, Adana) – 4 million euros
5. Shavy Babicka (2025, Toulouse) – 4 million euros
6. Mahmudo Bajo (2025, DAC) – 3.5 million euros
7. Tomas Handel (2025, Vitoria) – 3.1 million euros
8. Osman Bukari (2022, Gent) – 3 million euros
9. Nemanja Radonjic (2017, Rome) – 3 million euros
10. Franklin Tebo (2025, Sarpsborg) – 2.7 million euros