Rodrigo Junior Paula Silva (born 7 May 1988, in

Duque de Caxias Duque is a Spanish surname meaning "duke". People Notable people with the name include: * Jaime Enrique Duque Correa (1943–2013), Colombian Roman Catholic bishop * Andrés Duque (21st century), American activist * Carlos Duque (1930–2014), Pa ...

), also called Digão, is a Brazilian

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 ...

Club career

Fluminense

Digão played for Fluminense between 2009 and 2013. He made his debut for the club in a draw against Náutico. He started that match and played the whole 90 minutes. In his first season with the club, he featured eight times in league matches but did not score a goal. His first match for the 2010 season was against

Ceará Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...

. However, Fluminense lost it by a single goal. He played further three times for the club in league, against

Atlético Goianiense Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

, Atlético Mineiro and Vitória. He played ten times for the club in the 2011 season, without scoring a goal. During that season, he was ruled out of action for three months for sustaining an injury. On 2 November 2011, he signed a contract extension, keeping him at the club till December 2013. In the 2012 season, Digão started fourteen matches and played a total of seventeen league matches, scoring two goals. These goals were scored against

Figueirense Figueirense Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Figueirense, is a Brazilian professional club based in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina founded on 12 June 1921. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, the third tier of Brazilian ...

and Grêmio. On the continental level, he played three matches in the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

, which included two matches against

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

and the third against

Arsenal de Sarandi An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. On 2 June 2013, he scored a brace against Criciúma. In the 2013 season, he played the whole 90 minutes of twelve league matches and also featured four times for the side in

. On 5 June 2013, he renewed his contract with Fluminense, keeping him at the club till December 2015.

Al-Hilal

In December 2013, Digão signed for Saudi Arabian club

Al-Hilal Hilal or Al-Hilal may refer to: *Hilal ( ar, هلال, ''hilāl''), a crescent ** the crescent Moon visible after a new Moon, determining the beginning of a month in the Islamic calendar * Banu Hilal, a confederation of tribes of Arabia Arts ...

for £ 6.5 million, joining former Brazilian teammate Thiago Neves. He made his debut against Al Ahli. In his debut season with the Saudi club, he played eight league matches. In the

Asian Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

, he played fourteen times. His team reached the final but lost 1–0 to Australian club Western Sydney Wanderers in the first leg. In the second leg, the clubs drew as the Australian club was crowned winner.

Return to Brazil with Cruzeiro

In July 2017, Digão was signed by Brazilian giants Cruzeiro, once again joining his former teammate Thiago Neves, who played a part in the negotiations, along with former teammates Dedé and Rafael Sóbis, who were also part of Cruzeiro's squad. Digão signed a three-year deal with the Brazilian team. This marked the defense-man return to the Brazilian Serie A after over four years playing for Middle Eastern clubs.

Club statistics

Honours

Club

;Fluminense * Taça Guanabara: 2012 * Rio de Janeiro State League:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

;Al-Hilal *

Kings Cup __NOTOC__ King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...

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 ...

Saudi Super Cup The Saudi Super Cup ( ar, كأس السوبر السعودي) is an annual super cup football match organised by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. Founded in 2013 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2022� ...

* Saudi Crown Prince Cup: 2015–16 ;Buriram United *

Thai League 1 The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from August ...

: 2021–22 * Thai FA Cup: 2021–22

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Digao 1988 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Fluminense FC players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Al Hilal SFC players Sharjah FC players Buriram United F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Footballers from Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro Men's association football central defenders Saudi Pro League players UAE Pro League players