Born in Pemba (then called Porto Amélia), Portuguese Mozambique, Cadete began his footballing career with Associação Académica de Santarém at age 15, scoring an impressive 43 goals in just 18 games.
[7] However, due to lengthy negotiations between Celtic and Sporting and issues with registering the player, his transfer was not finalised until April, and turned out to be controversial: despite being signed prior to the transfer deadline, the Scottish Football Association delayed processing his registration in time for the Scottish Cup semi-finals against Rangers at Hampden Park, and following a complaint from Celtic chairman Fergus McCann, SFA chief Jim Farry was eventually relieved of his duties after being found guilty of deliberately holding back the player's registration.
[11] Cadete's only full season in Scotland was arguably the greatest of his career, with the player finishing the year as the country's top scorer with 38 goals in 49 appearances in all competitions, without the aid of penalty kicks.
He remained a Celtic player over the summer, but fled back to Portugal citing mental health issues and a failure to adjust to life in Scotland without his family; his requests for a transfer were eventually granted.
[15] He moved to Benfica alongside former Celtic teammate van Hooijdonk in January 1999, and a year later he returned to the United Kingdom, joining newly promoted Premier League side Bradford City on loan until the end of the campaign; he made his debut as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa at Valley Parade, and was described as having an "instant impact" in that game.
[17] As newly promoted Scots St Mirren looked for a striker to bolster their chances of top-flight survival, he almost made a return to the country, but the proposed January switch fell through and he remained in Estrela, subsequently seeing out his Benfica contract after claiming unpaid wages.
He returned to Scotland to make a guest appearance on Tam Cowan's Scottish football show Offside, where he spoke of his love for Celtic and how he regretted leaving; he also invited manager Martin O'Neill to give him a trial at his former club.
He signed a short-term contract for top-tier relegation battlers Partick Thistle in late January 2004, ending his 18-month exile from the game;[20] the move was controversial however, as he had already agreed to join Raith Rovers, even being photographed in the team shirt by the media.