Leonardo da Silva Souza (born 18 March 1992), known simply as Leonardo, 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 for Maltese side

Balzan Balzan () is a municipality in the Northern Region, Malta, Northern Region of Malta, and together with Attard and Lija, forms part of the "Three villages of Malta, Three Villages" (). The village originally consisted of a group of small dwellin ...

. He operates as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

who can play on both flanks. Leonardo arrived to Europe at an early age, making his senior debuts with Cypriot club

Enosis Neon Paralimni Enosis Neon Paralimni Football Club (, ''Enosi Neon Paralimniou''; ), commonly referred to as ENP, is a Cypriot football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the first division, it holds home games at the Paralimni Municipal Stadium "Ta ...

in 2012. He subsequently moved to Ukrainian club

Metalurh Donetsk Football Club Metalurh Donetsk (, ) was a Ukrainian professional football club based in Donetsk that went bankrupt in July 2015. History Club predecessor Football came to the Donetsk region in the time of the Russian Empire when the industr ...

in early 2013. After six months there, Leonardo switched to Azerbaijani club Gabala. He changed clubs and countries again in August 2014, joining Russian club

Anzhi Makhachkala Football Club Anzhi Makhachkala (, ), known simply as FC Anji, was a Russian professional football club based in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala. Founded in 1991, the club last competed in the third-tier Russian Football National League 2. ...

. In the summer of 2016, Leonardo signed with Serbian club Partizan, helping them win the double in the 2016–17 season.

Career

Early years

A native of

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

, Leonardo started out at local club

Matsubara is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,811 in 57351 households and a population density of 7100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Matsubara is located in the center ...

. He later moved to Belgium and joined the youth team of

Beerschot Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen (), or simply Beerschot, is a Belgian professional football club located in Antwerp, that competes in the top tier Pro League after promotion from second tier in 2023–24 season. In 2013, KFCO Wil ...

. In April 2012, it was announced that Leonardo signed a three-year contract with Ukrainian club

Tavriya Simferopol Sports Club Tavriya () was a Ukrainian football club from Simferopol. Tavriya was a member of the Ukrainian Premier League from its founding and won the first Ukrainian Premier League 1992, Ukrainian Premier League making them one of three team ...

with an effective date of 1 July 2012. He eventually joined Cypriot side

only a few months later. After promising performances in Cyprus, Leonardo made a return to Ukraine and signed with

on a three-year deal in January 2013. However, due to player's third-party ownership with his agent Dmitry Selyuk, the Cypriot club did not receive any transfer fee.

Gabala

On 13 July 2013, Leonardo joined Azerbaijani club Gabala on a one-year deal. He scored seven league goals from 31 appearances in the 2013–14 season. They also finished as runners-up in the

Azerbaijan Cup The Azerbaijan Cup () is a major association football competition in Azerbaijan. In its original form, it started in 1936, when Azerbaijan was a republic of the Soviet Union and it was not disputed by Azerbaijani teams in the Soviet league pyramid ...

, losing on penalties to Neftçi after a 1–1 draw.

Anzhi Makhachkala

On 10 August 2014, Leonardo signed a two-year contract with Russian club

. He scored his first competitive goal for the club on his 23rd birthday, finding the back of the net in the 84th minute of a 5–1 home league victory over Yenisey Krasnoyarsk. On 10 May 2015, Leonardo scored twice in a 3–1 home win over

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...

. He scored a total of seven league goals in his debut season in the country, helping the club win promotion back to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

at the first time. On 22 August 2015, Leonardo scored his first RFPL goal in a 1–1 draw with Ural Yekaterinburg, converting a second-half penalty. However, the club eventually terminated his contract on 25 February 2016, due to the player's disciplinary record.

Partizan

In June 2016, it was announced that Leonardo agreed to join Serbian club Partizan on a three-year deal. He was officially presented two weeks later and assigned the number 42 shirt. On 24 July 2016, Leonardo made his competitive debut for Partizan, coming off the bench as a second-half substitute for

Miroslav Radović Miroslav Radović (; born 16 January 1984) is a Serbian former professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger. Radović started his career with Partizan, before joining Polish club Legia Warsa ...

in the goalless draw against

Bačka Bačka ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska (), is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary. ...

. He netted his first goal for the club on 20 August 2016, shortly after substituting Saša Ilić in an eventual 1–2 away loss to Spartak Subotica. Seven days later, Leonardo scored from a

direct free kick A free kick is a method of restarting play in association football. It is awarded after an infringement of the Laws of the Game (association football), laws by the opposing team. Direct and indirect free kicks Free kicks may be either dire ...

in a 4–0 home league win over Rad. On 17 September 2016, Leonardo scored the winning goal in the 89th minute of the Belgrade derby, giving his team a 1–0 win at home. He subsequently found the back of the net in the next four games, including a remarkable goal in a 1–0 away win over

Metalac Gornji Milanovac FK Metalac Gornji Milanovac () is a professional football club based in Gornji Milanovac, Serbia. They compete in the Serbian League West, the third tier of the national league system. History The club was founded as FK Radnik on 12 June 1961. Th ...

. By the end of the year, Leonardo scored six more league goals, including two braces in two home wins over

Napredak Kruševac Napredak, which translates from Serbo-Croatian as ''Progress'', may refer to: *HKD Napredak, cultural society of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina *FK Napredak Kruševac, Serbian football club *FK Napredak Aleksinac, Serbian football club *FK Napred ...

(3–2) in November, and Spartak Subotica (2–0) in December. On 18 April 2017, Leonardo scored a brace in the Belgrade derby, an eventual 3–1 away success. He ultimately collected the

domestic double The Double, in association football, is the achievement of winning a country's top tier division and its primary domestic cup competition in the same season. The lists in this article examine this definition of a double, while derivative sectio ...

in his debut season at Partizan. Due to his consistent performances in the process, Leonardo was named in the league's best eleven. On 11 July 2017, Leonardo netted his first goal in

UEFA competitions UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. Th ...

, giving Partizan a 2–0 home win over

Budućnost Podgorica Budućnost means "the future" in many Slavic languages, and it may also refer to: * SD Budućnost Podgorica, a sports society from Podgorica, Montenegro ** KK Budućnost Podgorica, a professional basketball club FK Budućnost may refer to: * FK B ...

in the first leg of the Champions League second qualifying round. On 3 August 2017, Leonardo was transferred to Saudi club Al-Ahli for a fee of €4 million. He signed a two-year deal with an option for two more seasons.

Al Wahda

In August 2018, Leonardo signed a two-year contract with Emirati club Al Wahda on a free transfer. He scored four goals to give his team a 4–3 home victory over

Al-Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipalities of Qatar, municipality in Qatar. Its primary settlement is the Al Rayyan (city), city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and is a part of the Do ...

in the fourth round of matches in

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...

of the

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 ...

Shabab Al-Ahli

On 31 August 2019, Shabab Al-Ahli has signed Leonardo on free transfer.

Personal life

Leonardo's older brother,

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

, is also a footballer. In January 2016, during a vacation in his homeland, Leonardo was involved in a fatal road traffic accident whilst intoxicated.

Career statistics

Honours

Gabala *

runner-up: 2013–14 Partizan *

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

: 2016–17 *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

: 2016–17 Al Wahda *

UAE Super Cup The UAE Super Cup () and Charity Champions Cup in the first edition (1989–90), is the curtain raiser of the United Arab Emirates football season. It is played between the previous season's UAE League, Pro-League winners and UAE President's Cup, P ...

: 2018 Individual *

top scorer: 2016–17 *

Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season The Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season is an annual award given to a set of 11 footballers in the top tier of Football in Serbia, Serbian football, the Serbian SuperLiga, SuperLiga, who are seen to be the best 11 players of the calendar season. S ...

: 2016–17 *

2019 AFC Champions League The 2019 AFC Champions League was the 38th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 17th under the current AFC Champions League title. Al-Hilal defeated Urawa Red Diamo ...

OPTA Best XI *

Fans' Best XI

References

External links