David Tavares was born in Lisbon on 19 March 1999 and came through Benfica's academy, establishing himself as a left-footed central midfielder with the B team. He was registered with the first-team squad for the 2019-20 season.

He was loaned to Moreirense in September 2020 and joined Famalicão permanently the following summer, spending three seasons there either side of a loan at Torreense. In 2024 he moved abroad, first to Gloria Buzău in Romania and then to Turan Tovuz in Azerbaijan. He has been capped by Cape Verde.