Juan Guilherme Nunes Jesus (; born 10 June 1991), usually known as Juan Jesus or simply Juan or Juje, 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 defender for club

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. He has also represented the Brazil national team.

Club career

Internacional

In 2007, Juan Jesus joined the youth team of

Sport Club 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 Campeonato ...

. He made his debut on the first team in 2010, winning the

2010 Copa Libertadores The 2010 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2010 Copa Santander Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 51st edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, CONMEBOL's premier international club tournament. The tournament began on ...

, and in December 2011, the club sold him for about R$9.26 million (reported €3.8million fee); 65% of the economic rights of Juan went to his agent, Giuliano Bertolucci and 35% to third-party owner

DIS Esporte D.I.S. Esporte e Organização de Eventos LTDA. is a private football investment fund. It was set up by Rio Grande do Sul native Delcir Sonda and Idi Sonda. They operate one of the São Paulo state supermarket chains, Sonda. DIS was the strategic ...

. The owners of the registration rights of Juan, used a Brazilian club Coimbra Esporte Clube as middleman club.

Internazionale

On 30 January 2012, Juan Jesus joined

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 Cop ...

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 ...

. Inter disclosed the fee was €4M, but extra bonus clause was also reported. He made his first

appearance for Inter on 13 May 2012, in the 3–1 away loss against

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after coming on as a last-minute substitute for

Diego Milito Diego Alberto Milito (born 12 June 1979) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently a sports manager. Milito began his club career in Argentina with Racing Club in 1999, and later moved to Italian ...

. During the 2012–13 season, Juan Jesus emerged as part of Inter's first choice starting XI, featuring alongside Andrea Ranocchia and

Walter Samuel Walter Adrián Samuel (; born Walter Adrián Luján; 23 March 1978) is an Argentine former professional footballer. Samuel has been regarded as one of the best centre-backs of his generation, and as one of football's toughest defenders, with ...

in a 3–5–2 system. He scored his first goal on 19 May 2013 in a 2–5 home defeat against

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...

, the last match of the domestic season. He ended the year with 44 appearances in all competitions, including 31 in Serie A with Inter, who finished the season in a disappointing ninth place and failed to qualify for either next season's

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 competi ...

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. ...

. On 12 July 2013, Juan Jesus took the number 5 shirt after the departure of long-time player Dejan Stanković. In August 2013, he captained Inter for the first time in a friendly match against Real Madrid in the United States, which ended in a 3–0 loss. On 24 September 2013, Juan Jesus renewed his contract with Inter until 2018 with a reported wage of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

1.2 million per year. Juan Jesus made his 100th appearance for Inter on 4 February 2015 in a game against

in the quarter-finals of the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, which the ''Nerazzurri'' lost 1–0 away at

Stadio San Paolo Stadio Diego Armando Maradona (formerly known as Stadio San Paolo) is a stadium in the western Fuorigrotta suburb of Naples, Italy. It is the third largest football stadium in Italy, after Milan's San Siro and Rome's Stadio Olimpico, as well as ...

thanks to a late winner by

Gonzalo Higuaín Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín (; born 10 December 1987) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''El Pipita'' or ''Pipa'', Higuaín was a prolific striker, known for his eye for goal, strong physique, and o ...

Roma

On 14 July 2016, Juan Jesus joined

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

on loan for €2 million in loan fees and a conditional obligation to purchase for an additional €8 million if certain conditions were met before the end of the loan deal. The purchase obligation was activated during the 2016–17 season, meaning that Jesus would join Roma on a permanent deal in the summer transfer window.

Napoli

On 18 August 2021, Juan Jesus joined

on a season-long deal with an option to extend his contract for the 2022–23 season.

International career

After having played in the under-18 and under-19 national teams, in early 2010, Juan Jesus was selected to the under-20 team by its manager,

Ney Franco Ney Franco da Silveira Júnior (born 22 July 1966), known as Ney Franco, is a Brazilian football manager. Career Born in Vargem Alegre, Minas Gerais, Franco worked in Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro's youth categories before being named the ...

. In January 2011, he took part in the team's triumph at the

2011 South American U-20 Championship The 2011 South American Youth Championship ( es, Campeonato Sudamericano Sub-20 “Juventud de America” Perú 2011, pt, Campeonato Sul-Americano Sub-20 “Juventude da America” Peru 2011) was a football competition for U-20 national teams in ...

in Peru, playing all eight matches of the competition. In the same year, he participated in the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...

, where Brazil reached the final against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Juan played the entire match, helping his side to a 3–2 victory after extra time. Juan Jesus made his Brazilian first team debut against

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on 26 May 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–3 away victory. Juan Jesus started in the centre of defence, alongside captain

Thiago Silva Thiago Emiliano da Silva (born 22 September 1984) is a Brazilian professional Association Football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and captains the Brazil national football team, Brazil national team. Con ...

, in all of Brazil's matches at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, helping the nation to a silver medal. He was an unused substitute as Brazil defeated

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

2–0 to win the

2014 Superclásico de las Américas The 2014 Superclásico de las Américas – Copa Doctor Nicolás Leoz was the 3rd edition of the Superclásico de las Américas. The match was played at Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, China. This was the first time the competition had taken ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Since all his caps for Brazil were friendly matches, Juan did not rule out his chance to play for

Italy national football team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...

instead. However, it was reported that Juan did not have Italian citizenship (or citizenship of any European Union member), making him ineligible to Italy.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Internacional * Copa Libertadores: 2010 *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho Série A1 (Gaúcho Championship A1 Series or Série A1), officially named as Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF - Divisão Especial - Série A1 and commonly known as Campeonato Gaúcho or Gauchã ...

: 2011 * Recopa Sudamericana: 2011 Brazil *

South American Youth Championship The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American f ...

: 2011 *

: 2011 * Olympic Silver Medal:

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 gat ...

* Superclásico de las Américas:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

References

External links

Juan Jesus
at WhoScored.com

–

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 ...

competitive record
Official profile
at inter.it * {{DEFAULTSORT:Juan Jesus 1991 births Living people Association football defenders Association football fullbacks Brazilian footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Serie A players Sport Club Internacional players Inter Milan players A.S. Roma players S.S.C. Napoli players Expatriate footballers in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Brazil international footballers Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Brazil Olympic silver medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in football Brazil under-20 international footballers Brazil youth international footballers Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Footballers from Belo Horizonte