David Neres Campos (; born 3 March 1997) 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 le ...

who plays as a winger for Portuguese

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, ...

club Benfica and the Brazil national team. Neres is a graduate of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

's youth system and was promoted to the first team in 2016. He joined

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

in January 2017. At Ajax, Neres established himself as one of the best young wingers in Europe, after winning a domestic double and being instrumental part of Ajax's first

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

semi-final appearance in 22 years, in a breakthrough 2018–19 season. The following seasons, were marked by continuous injuries resulted in Neres playing a limited amount of games and declining in performances, leading him to move to Ukrainian side

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...

, and then transferred to Benfica for €15.3 million. After 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 various youth levels, Neres was called up to the full international team for the first time in March 2019, and was part of the squad that took part won the

2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and 7 ...

Club career

São Paulo

Born in

, Neres joined

's youth setup in September 2007, aged ten. In February 2016, after being regularly used in that year's

U-20 Copa Libertadores The Under-20 CONMEBOL Libertadores (Portuguese and Spanish: CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub-20) is the international association football club competition for teams that play in CONMEBOL leagues. It was created by Manuel Burga Seoane and the Peruvian ...

, he suffered a

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...

injury which kept him sidelined for months. Neres was promoted to the main squad by manager

Ricardo Gomes Ricardo Gomes Raymundo (born 13 December 1964) is a Brazilian retired professional footballer and manager. As a player, he played as a central defender, in a 14-year professional career, for Fluminense (six years), Benfica (four) and Paris Sai ...

in August 2016. He made his first team – and Série A debut – on 17 October, coming on as a second-half substitute for Robson in a 2–1 away win against

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, ...

. On 22 October 2016 Neres scored his first goal, netting the last in a 2–0 home win against Ponte Preta. Fourteen days later he scored his second goal, netting the second in a 4–0 home routing of local rival Corinthians.

Ajax

On 30 January 2017, Neres moved to the Dutch club

for a reported fee of €12 million.

2016–2019: Breakthrough and European semi-final

Neres made his debut for

against

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...

, on 26 February 2017. In that season, he managed to get 3 goals in 8 league matches. He also featured in an

team that went to the UEFA Europa League final that year. Neres managed to get 14 goals and 13 assists in 32 league matches, making him the most valuable player of Ajax that year, having scored the most goals and assists combined. Neres himself sees the game against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

, on 22 October 2017, as his breakthrough, where he racked up three assists in a 4–1 away win. 130px, Neres with Ajax in 2019 In his third season, Neres scored his first official European goal against

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...

in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the Champions League. In that year, Neres wasn't guaranteed a starting spot up until February. Because of this, there were rumours that Neres wanted to leave. In January,

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

made a £36.9 million bid on Neres, but Ajax ultimately refused, because they wanted to keep the team together to win prizes that year and make it far in the

. In the second leg in the round of 16 of the

, in a memorable game against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, Neres scored the second goal to give Ajax the lead on aggregate, and the Dutch side eventually won a by a margin of 5–3, thus knocking the three-time defending European champions out of the competition. On 31 March 2019, Neres scored the winning goal and picked up a penalty in the

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

clash against PSV, to win 3–1. He also scored an important equaliser against Juventus at home to secure hopes for Ajax's semi-final qualification in the first leg at home. Neres won his first

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

title as Ajax finished three points ahead of rivals PSV. Neres also won his first

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

when Ajax won 4–0 against Willem II in the final.

2019–2021: Stagnation and final seasons

Despite reported interest from the likes of

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

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

, Neres signed a new contract with Ajax on 7 August 2019 that runs through 2023. The deal added a further year to his prior deal that was set to expire in 2022. At the start of the 2020–21 season, Neres came back after his injury. On November 22, he scored his first goal in more than a year. Since Ajax acquired

Mohamed Daramy Mohamed Daramy (born 7 January 2002) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a winger and forward for French Ligue 1 club Reims and the Denmark national team. Club career F.C. Copenhagen Daramy joined Copenhagen from Hvidovre as a ...

and

Steven Berghuis Steven Berghuis (born 19 December 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Netherlands national team. He can play as either a winger or attacking midfielder. Berghuis made his debut for the Netherland ...

as wingers at the beginning of the season, competition for Neres increased, as a result of which he was often no longer included in the starting lineup.

Shakhtar Donetsk

On 11 January 2022 it was reported that Neres was sold to

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League'') ...

side

for a reported fee of €15 million, which can potentially run up to €17 million with bonuses. On 14 January, Ajax confirmed that the transfer had been completed. On 24 February 2022 following the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, a video was shared online of various Brazilian footballers pleading for help from the Brazilian government to help them flee the country. On 1 March 2022 it was reported that the Brazilian players had successfully made it to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, from where they travelled home.

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

president

Aleksander Čeferin Aleksander Čeferin (, born 13 October 1967) is a Slovenian lawyer and football administrator. Between 2011 and 2016, he was president of the Football Association of Slovenia. Since September 2016, he has been the president of UEFA. Career Afte ...

was personally involved in helping to facilitate the return to safety.

Benfica

On 20 June 2022, Neres signed a five-year contract with

side Benfica, for a reported fee of €15.3 million. The net cost of the transaction was only €300,000, with both Benfica and Shakhtar settling an agreement for the latter's debt, due to the transfer of compatriot and former teammate Pedrinho, which whom Shakhtar had only paid €3 million of a total of €18 million. He made his debut for the club on 2 August, providing two assists to

Gonçalo Ramos Gonçalo Matias Ramos (; born 20 June 2001) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Primeira Liga club Benfica and the Portugal national team. Born in Olhão, Ramos came through Benfica's youth academy. He began pl ...

in the 4–1 home win over

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish muni ...

in the 1st leg of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. On August 23, Neres scored his first goal for the club and provided an assist in the 3–0 home win over

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...

in the 2nd leg of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League play-off round, helping his side qualify to the tournament. Seven days later, he scored his first Primeira Liga goal in a 3–2 home victory over

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

, reaching six goal contributions in six games.

International career

07 07 2019 Final da Copa América 2019 (48225428057) (cropped)

On 8 March 2019, Neres received his first senior team call-up by coach Tite for the

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team ( pt, Seleção Brasileira de Futebol), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' (‘Canary Squad’, after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the B ...

, replacing an injured

Vinícius Júnior Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior (born 12 July 2000), commonly known as Vinícius Júnior or Vini Jr. (), is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), winger for La Liga ...

, for the friendlies against Panama and the Czech Republic to be held later that month. Neres made his senior team debut against

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

on 26 March 2019, in the 63rd minute as a replacement for

Richarlison Richarlison de Andrade (born 10 May 1997), known mononymously as Richarlison (), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Tottenham Hotspur and the Brazil national team. He began his professional career with A ...

. In that game, he made an assist and produced a backheel which led to a goal, contributing to two goals in the 3–1 win against

Personal life

On 12 July 2020, Neres' girlfriend, German model Kira Winona, gave birth to their first child. Their daughter is named Hope Winona Neres.

Career statistics

Club

International

''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first.''

Honours

São Paulo *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Ajax *

: 2018–19,

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 ...

, 2021–22 *

: 2018–19,

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Brazil *

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

Individual *

Talent of the Month: October 2017 *

Eredivisie Player of the Month The Eredivisie Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Eredivisie player each month of the season. The Eredivisie Player of the Month award is based on statistics ( StatsPerform) and votes from footba ...

: April 2018 *

Squad of the Season: 2018–19

References

External links

Profile
at the S.L. Benfica website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neres, David 1997 births Living people Footballers from São Paulo Brazilian footballers Brazil under-20 international footballers Brazil youth international footballers Association football forwards Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players São Paulo FC players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players AFC Ajax players Jong Ajax players FC Shakhtar Donetsk players S.L. Benfica footballers Primeira Liga players Brazilian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Ukraine Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Brazil international footballers 2019 Copa América players Copa América-winning players