09/03/2026
FROM THE “LITTLE GIANT” TO A €5 MILLION PSV SIGNING! 🇨🇻
Ayoni Santos was born in Rotterdam in 2005 and raised in Spangen by a Cape Verdean family. He began playing at Sparta Rotterdam’s partner club, De Betrokken Spartaan, before joining Sparta’s academy at only nine years old.
In 2019, a photograph of the undersized Ayoni playing against a much taller Ajax youth player went viral. Many people focused on the enormous difference in size—but Ayoni continued believing in his ability. He spent fourteen years progressing through every level of Sparta’s academy.
Ayoni signed his first professional contract in 2024 and earned another improved deal in 2025. On October 19, 2025, he finally made his Eredivisie debut. Only five months later, he fulfilled another dream by making his senior debut for Cabo Verde.
After recording 32 appearances, two goals and one assist for Sparta’s first team, Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven came calling. On September 2, 2026, Ayoni signed a five-year contract through 2031, with the transfer reportedly worth approximately €5 million—not €5,000.
The younger brother of Cabo Verde international Jamiro Monteiro has now joined one of the biggest clubs in the Netherlands. From the small boy in that famous photograph to a €5 million PSV signing—Ayoni Santos’s journey proves that size never determines the size of your future. 🇨🇻❤️⚽️
