Alex Nicolao Telles (; born 15 December 1992) is a Brazilian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

club

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...

, on loan from

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, and the Brazil national team. Telles started his career at Brazilian Série D side Juventude, before being sold to Série A side Grêmio in 2013. That year, he was voted the best left-back in the league. In January 2014, Telles signed with Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

, winning various trophies including a league title, two

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...

s and the

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup ( Turkish: ''TFF Süper Kupa''), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known ...

, only to be loaned to

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

team

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

during the 2015–16 season. In July 2016, Telles was sold to

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

side

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

, where he established himself as one of the best left-backs in the league. He made almost 200 appearances for Porto and won four trophies, including two league titles, one

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...

and one

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

, as well as being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year for three consecutive seasons. Telles' performances sparked the interest of several European clubs, and in October 2020, he signed for Manchester United for an initial €18 million (£15.4 million). Born in Brazil, Telles also holds

Italian citizenship Italian nationality law is the law of Italy governing the acquisition, transmission and loss of Italian citizenship. Like many continental European countries it is largely based on '' jus sanguinis''. It also incorporates many elements that are ...

, but ended up representing

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

at international level. He made his senior international debut in 2019.

Club career

Juventude and Grêmio

Telles was born in

Caxias do Sul Caxias do Sul (), is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, situated in the state's mountainous Serra Gaúcha region. It was established by Italian immigrants on June 20, 1890. Today it is the second largest city in the state of Rio Gr ...

, a city in the Brazilian state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

. At the age of eight, he began playing football with the neighbouring kids and was later enrolled to a youth academy of

Esporte Clube Juventude Esporte Clube Juventude, also known as Juventude, is a Brazilian football team in Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul. The club currently competes in the top tier of Brazilian football, the Série A, as well as in Campeonato Gaúcho Série ...

. Telles began his professional career with Juventude, making his debut on 24 January 2011 against São José-PA. He scored his first goal on 20 August in a 1–1 home draw against Cruzeiro. In December, Telles was transferred to Grêmio after a partnership was established with Juventude. He made his Grêmio debut on 3 February 2013 against

Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonat ...

. On 26 May, Telles made his Série A debut, starting in a 2–0 home win against Náutico.

Galatasaray

On 22 January 2014, after long negotiations, Telles completed a move to Turkish club

for €6 million, signing a contract that will keep him with the club until 2018. He made his debut two weeks later, starting in a 3–0 win against

Tokatspor Tokatspor is a Turkish sports club in Tokat. The club was founded in 1969 and they play at the Gaziosmanpaşa Stadium, which has a capacity of 5,762. Their most notable accomplishment was a Turkish Cup stay group stage in 2008–09 season. Their ...

for the campaign's

, and made his maiden

debut in a 3–0 home victory against

Eskişehirspor Eskişehirspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in Eskişehir. Eskisehirspor has a total of six trophies, making them the sixth most trophies holders in Turkey. Founded in 1965, Eskişehirspor competed in the top division ...

on 8 February 2014. Telles made his first assist for the club against

Antalyaspor Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Antalya. The club's colours are red and white. They play their home matches at the Antalya Stadium. In Turkey, the club won the First League twice in 1982 and 1 ...

in a 2–2 away game on 17 February. He also scored his first goal for Galatasaray against

Akhisar Belediyespor Akhisarspor Kulübü (Akhisar Sports Club), commonly known as Akhisarspor, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Akhisar.

on 8 March in a 6–1 home win. In August 2015, there were rumours mentioning Telles as a good choice to fill the place made by the departure of left-back

Filipe Luís Filipe Luís Kasmirski (born 9 August 1985), known as Filipe Luís, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left back for Flamengo. A player of tireless approach also known for his tactical awareness, he spent most of his early p ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. In response to the rumour, Galatasaray manager

Hamza Hamzaoğlu Hamza Hamzaoğlu (born 1 July 1970) is a Turkish professional football manager and former player. Club career Hamzaoğlu began his career in 1988 with İzmirspor. In 1995, he transferred to Galatasaray as captain and midfielder, where he won th ...

said the club would only be tempted by an acceptable offer.

Loan to Inter Milan

On 31 August 2015, Galatasaray agreed to let Telles join Italian club

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

on a one-year loan for a €1.3 million fee, in addition to €250,000 if Inter qualify for the group stage of the

2016–17 UEFA Champions League The 2016–17 UEFA Champions League was the 62nd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 25th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pla ...

. The deal included a buyout option for €8.5 million, letting Internazionale make the move permanent when the loan deal is finished. Telles reunited with Internazionale manager

Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Samp ...

in Italy, who previously coached him at Galatasaray. Alex Telles 2018

He made his debut for the club on 13 September in the 2015–16 Serie A matchday 3 against city rivals

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, playing the entirety of the match as Inter won 1–0.

Porto

On 12 July 2016, Portuguese side

announced the signing of Telles for a €6.5 million fee. According to a Galatasaray press release, the

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

club reserved a further 10% of any added value in a future transfer deal. The following day, after signing a five-year contract, he stated: ''"I ambition titles, I ambition a very beautiful story. I have recently commented with my relatives that I do not want to come here in passing, I want to leave a legacy."'' On 12 August, in a 3–1 away win against

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Football in Portugal, Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which ...

, he marked his league debut and first competitive match with a poor performance and subsequent expulsion. Despite the rough start, Telles gradually cemented himself in the team's starting eleven, scoring his first goal when facing rivals Boavista in a 3–1 home victory at

Estádio do Dragão The Estádio do Dragão (; English: Dragon Stadium) is an all-seater football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the third largest football stadium in Portugal ...

Manchester United

On 5 October 2020,

had agreed a deal in principle to sign Telles for a fee believed to be £15.4 million. The transfer was completed and Telles was announced as a United player that day. He made his debut playing as a left wing-back on 20 October in a 2–1 win over

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

in the UEFA Champions League group stage. On 29 September 2021, Telles scored his first goal for Manchester United with a left-footed volley from outside the penalty area in a 2–1 home win against

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, th ...

in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage.

Loan to Sevilla

On 4 August 2022, Telles was loaned to

club

until the end of the 2022–23 season.

International career

Although he was born in Brazil, Telles also has an Italian passport, making him in the past eligible to represent Italy national team. In October 2016, Telles said that he would "welcome" a call-up from the ''"Azzurri"'', adding that his great-grandparents are Italian and he feels Italian. In March 2019, however, he received his first call-up to the Brazil national team. He made his debut for Brazil on 23 March 2019 in a friendly against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, as a starter. On 7 November 2022, Telles was named in the squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

. He was ruled out for the rest of the competition after picking up a right knee injury in the final group stage match against

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Style of play

Telles is an offensive full back and is described as a skilled, quick and playmaking defender.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Juventude *

Copa FGF The Copa Federação Gaúcha de Futebol, commonly known as the Copa FGF, is an annual cup competition organized by the Rio Grande do Sul state football federation for clubs that are in the first, second and third divisions of the Campeonato Gaú ...

: 2011, 2012 Galatasaray *

: 2014–15 *

: 2013–14, 2014–15 *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Porto *

: 2017–18, 2019–20 *

: 2019–20 *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Manchester United *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

runner-up:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Individual * Brasileirão Série A Team of the Year – Best Left-back: 2013 * Bola de Prata – Best Left-back: 2013 * SJPF Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2016, 2017 *

Defender of the Month: August 2017, January 2018, February 2018, April 2018, August 2019, December 2019, February 2020 *Primeira Liga Player of the Month: February 2020 *Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20 *Primeira Liga Goal of the Month: October/November 2019 * FC Porto Player of the Year – Dragão de Ouro Award: 2018

References

External links

* * * * *
Grêmio profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telles, Alex 1992 births Living people Brazilian people of Italian descent People from Caxias do Sul Brazilian footballers Association football defenders Esporte Clube Juventude players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players Galatasaray S.K. footballers Inter Milan players FC Porto players Manchester United F.C. players Sevilla FC players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série D players Süper Lig players Serie A players Primeira Liga players Premier League players La Liga players Brazil international footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in England Sportspeople from Rio Grande do Sul 2022 FIFA World Cup players