Leandro Damião da Silva dos Santos (; born 22 July 1989), known as Leandro Damião or simply Damião, 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 lea ...

who plays as a striker for Coritiba. He has been capped at international level by

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Club career

Early career

Damião began his career as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, playing for local teams in

Jardim Alegre Jardim Alegre is a municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Paraná This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Paraná (PR), located in the South Region of Brazil. P ...

, Paraná. Having failed a trial as a midfielder at Atlético Ibirama, he had a new opportunity as a striker and was signed by team. Known as Leandrão at the time, Damião was first loaned to in 2007, before playing the 2008 Campeonato Brasileiro Série C for Marcílio Dias; he would later join Cidade Azul in the same year. Back to Atlético Ibirama, he scored eight goals in the 2009 Campeonato Catarinense and was transferred to Internacional, initially for the under-20 team.

Internacional

At Internacional, he won three titles with the club's under-20 side and earned a call-up to the B team. He scored twice in his

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

debut and was then called up to the first team for their 2010 Copa Libertadores campaign. Damião won his first major title in August 2010 when he helped Internacional defeat

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

in the Copa Libertadores Finals. He scored the club's second goal in their second leg victory in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

to win the competition 5–3 on aggregate. His performances at the Porto Alegre club earned him a place in the

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team (), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' ("Canary Squad", after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Co ...

and praise from Ronaldo, also drawing the interest of European clubs. During the 2013 summer, he had offers from English side

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

and Italian club

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

. He was close to join the Italian side, but the deal fell through because "sponsorship contracts made it impossible". Even though the club bought Gonzalo Higuaín after failing to land the Brazilian striker, Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis later stated that Rafa Benítez wanted Damião instead of Higuaín.

Santos

After a season below standards with Internacional (only 13 goals in nearly 50 matches), Damião signed a five-year deal with fellow top-divisioner

Santos FC Santos Futebol Clube () is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a ''bairro'' in the city of Santos, São Paulo, Santos. It plays in the Campeonato Paulista, the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo's premier State football lea ...

in December, who paid a R$ 41 million fee, supported by investors, to bring Damião to Vila Belmiro. He was presented on 9 January of the following year. It was the highest fee ever paid by a Brazilian club to sign a national player, only behind the R$60.5 million that brought

Carlos Tevez Carlos Alberto Tevez (; né Martínez; born 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. A dynamic forward (association football), forward in his prime, Tevez ...

to Corinthians. Damião made his Santos debut on 6 February 2014, starting in a 2–1 away win over Linense, scoring a goal which was later disallowed due to offside. He scored his first goal for ''Peixe'' on the 20th, netting his side's first of a 2–1 away success over Atlético Sorocaba; eight days later he netted his second, the last of a 5–0 home thrashing of Bragantino. Despite scoring five goals in 13 appearances as Santos came second in the league, Damião was hugely criticised due to his lack of agility and pace, plus his inability to score on a regular basis. He only scored more than one goal with a Santos shirt on 30 November, netting both goals in a 2–0 home win against

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

Cruzeiro (loan)

On 29 December 2014, after lengthy negotiations, Damião was loaned to league champions Cruzeiro, in a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

-long deal, after a largely disappointing year at Santos. He was the top goalscorer of 2015 Campeonato Mineiro with nine goals, but had a disappointing

2015 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The 2015 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (officially the Brasileirão Chevrolet 2015 for sponsorship reasons) was the 59th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top-level of professional football in Brazil. After winning twice in a ro ...

with only four goals scored.

Battle in court

In 2015, Damião took legal action against Santos to terminate his contract after failing to receive payment for his image rights for three months and was granted the release of his contract in December 2015. The decision was overturned the following month, with the fee of 200 million ( reais for any national transfer and

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

s for any international) being activated if he were to sign for another club. On 7 January 2016, Damião was again declared a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, but on 26 January, after being on the verge of signing for Spanish club Real Betis for a fee of R$65 million. An agreement was reached between Damião and Santos on 30 January 2016, as the player was attempting to sign with

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

. On 1 February 2016, the Spanish club pulled out of the deal that would bring him on an 18-month loan, leaving the player as a free agent.

Betis

On 4 February 2016, after a turnover in the club's board which involved the president's resignation, Damião signed a six-month deal with Betis with a buyout clause set on €12 million. He made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

debut 23 days later, replacing Jorge Molina after 56 minutes of an eventual 2–2 draw against

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

at the

Estadio Benito Villamarín es:Estadio is the spanish language word for Stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered s ...

Flamengo (loan)

On 14 July 2016

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

signed Damião from Santos on a one-year loan deal.

Internacional (loan)

After his loan with Flamengo ended, Damião returned on loan to Internacional, who were at the time out of promotion spots in the 2017 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B. He scored 8 times in the competition and helped Internacional to return to the first division after finishing in second place. He stayed with Internacional in 2018, helping the team finish third in the

2018 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The 2018 (officially the Brasileirão Assaí 2018 for sponsorship reasons) was the 62nd season of the , the top level of professional football in Brazil, and the 15th edition in a double round-robin since its establishment in 2003. The season beg ...

and scoring 10 goals in the competition, just one less than teammate

Nico López Christa Päffgen (; 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988), known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, actress, and model. Nico had roles in several films, including Federico Fellini's ''La Dolce Vita'' (1960) and Andy Warhol's ' ...

. Damião scored a total of 19 goals in his second spell at Internacional, reaching a total of 109 goals scored for the club and becoming the team's 10th best all-time top scorer. On 11 December 2018, Internacional announced that Damião would not remain at the club after the player received an "irrefusable" offer from a Japanese club.

Kawasaki Frontale

On 14 December 2018,

Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club currently compete in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium i ...

announced the signing of Leandro Damião in a one-year contract for the 2019 season. On 10 March 2019 Damião scored his first goal for the club against Yokohama F. Marinos, also achieving a brace. He scored 13 goals in the 2020 J.League campaign and helped the Frontale to win the J.League title. On 1 January 2021, he assisted Kaoru Mitoma's match winning goal in a 1–0 victory over

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's home stadium is Panasonic Stadium Suita. They form a ...

in the final of the 2020 Emperor's Cup. On 8 July, he scored a hat-trick in an

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

match against

Daegu FC Daegu FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Daegu. The club was founded as a community club at the end of 2002, and made their K League 1 debut in 2003. Daegu has played mostly in the K League 1 but was relegated at the ...

. He became the J.League's joint top scorer in the 2021 J.League campaign with 23 goals, winning the J.League MVP Award.

International career

Damião was given his first call-up to the Brazil national team in March 2011 for the friendly against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

after

Alexandre Pato Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva (; born 2 September 1989), commonly known as Alexandre Pato () or just Pato, is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Pato began ...

withdrew from the squad due to injury. "I'm taking advantage of the circumstances to summon a player who has been playing well with Internacional and is young enough to play in the Olympics," said head coach

Mano Menezes Luiz Antônio Venker Menezes (born 11 June 1962), known as Mano Menezes, is a Brazilian professional football Coach (sport), coach, currently the head coach of Grêmio FBPA, Grêmio. Menezes managed the Brazil national football team, Brazil na ...

. He won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

in the match at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, which Brazil won 2–0. Damião scored his first goal for Brazil in a 1–0 friendly win against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

on 5 September at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...

. He also represented

at the 2012 Olympic football tournament in

, being the tournament's top scorer with six goals in five appearances as Brazil finished runners-up to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Damião goal.''

Honours

Internacional B * Copa FGF: 2009 Internacional *

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana (), also known as Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club Association football, football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1988. It ...

Flamengo *

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Kawasaki Frontale *

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

* J.League Cup:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Japanese Super Cup The , the for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-match association football competition in Japan organised by J.League and the Japan Football Association. This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the reigning J1 Leag ...

Brazil U23 *

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

Silver Medal:

Brazil *

Superclásico de las Américas The Superclassic of the Americas (, ), was an annual Exhibition game, friendly association football, football match between the national teams of Argentina national football team, Argentina and Brazil national football team, Brazil. Established ...

Individual *

top scorer:

Campeonato Mineiro The Campeonato Mineiro is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is run by the Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: bef ...

top scorer:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

* J.League top scorer:

* J.League MVP Award: 2021 * J.League Best XI: 2021 *Footballer of the Year in Japan: 2021

References

External links

Leandro Damião official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leandro Damiao 1989 births Living people Footballers from Paraná (state) Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazil men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Clube Atlético Hermann Aichinger players Clube Náutico Marcílio Dias players Clube Atlético Tubarão players SC Internacional players Santos FC players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Campeonato Brasileiro Série C players Real Betis players Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Brazil Olympic silver medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Japan CR Flamengo footballers Coritiba Foot Ball Club players La Liga players J1 League players Kawasaki Frontale players Copa Libertadores–winning players 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan