Francisco Leonel Lima Silva Machado, known as Chiquinho, was born in Santo Tirso and began his senior career at Leixões, with a loan spell at Gondomar. He moved to Croatian side Lokomotiva Zagreb in 2017 and spent the following season on loan at Académica, joining Benfica on a five-year contract in May 2018.

An attacking midfielder who could also play wide, he spent much of his Benfica contract out on loan before returning to the squad.

In 2023/24 he was a squad player rather than a regular, making nine league appearances without scoring before joining Olympiacos on 20 January 2024. He was later named in the Super League Greece team of the season.

He won the Primeira Liga with Benfica in 2022/23. He was not capped by Portugal at senior level.