Leonardo "Léo" Cittadini (born 27 February 1994) 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 ...

who plays for

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

club

Shanghai Port The Port of Shanghai (), located in the vicinity of Shanghai, comprises a deep-sea port and a river port. The main port enterprise in Shanghai, the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), was established during the reconstitution of the S ...

, on loan from

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

Club career

Guarani

Born in

Rio Claro Rio Claro (Portuguese and Spanish for "clear river" or "clean river") may refer to: Cities *Rio Claro, Trinidad and Tobago, the largest town in southeastern Trinidad and Tobago *Rio Claro, Rio de Janeiro, a Brazilian municipality in the state of R ...

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 ...

, Cittadini started his career at Guarani, and was promoted to first team in 2010, under the management of

Vágner Mancini Vagner do Carmo Mancini (born 24 October 1966) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who is in charge of Brazilian Série A club América Mineiro. Playing career Born in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Mancini started his ca ...

. He made his first team debut on 30 March 2011, against Horizonte, for the season's

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de ...

. He was handed a starting spot on 1 May, against São José, providing an assist for Léo Paraíba's goal. However, in December, Cittadini had altercations with his club, claiming late payment of wages. In March 2012, half of the player's rights was sold to an agent, due to problems in the negotiation of a contract renewal.

Santos

On 7 July 2012, he signed a two-year contract with Santos, being assigned to youth team. There, he won the 2012 Campeonato Paulista U-20, beating

in the finals, and also won the 2013

Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior The Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior (or ''São Paulo Youth Football Cup'', in English), also known as Copa São Paulo de Juniores (''São Paulo Youth Cup'') and Copinha (''Little Cup''), is a cup competition played by Brazilian under-20 associ ...

. On 3 June 2013, he was promoted to Santos' first team alongside Walace. He made his debut on the 12th, replacing Pedro Castro in the 70th minute of a 1-0 home win against

Atlético Mineiro 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 ...

. On 24 July 2013, Cittadini scored his first professional goal, the last of a 2–0 away win against

CRAC ''Crac'' is a 1981 animated short film produced, written and directed by Frédéric Back. Plot The story follows the experiences of a rocking chair, from its creation from a tree through its time as a member of a Canadian farming family. Recept ...

for the season's

Ponte Preta (loan)

In April 2014 Cittadini joined Guarani's fierce rivals Ponte Preta on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut for the club on the 19th, playing the entire second half in a 1–1 home draw against

Icasa The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is an independent regulatory body of the South African government, established in 2000 by the ICASA Act to regulate both the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in the publ ...

. On 7 October Cittadini's loan was cancelled, and he subsequently returned to Santos.

Return from loan

After his return from loan, Cittadini was not utilized by managers

Enderson Moreira Enderson Alves Moreira (born 28 September 1971), known as Enderson Moreira, is a Brazilian football manager, currently in charge of Sport Recife. Managerial career Born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Moreira had a Physical Education graduation ...

and

Marcelo Fernandes Marcelo Faria Fernandes (; born 20 April 1974) is a Brazilian Association football, football Coach (sport), manager and former player who played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, central defender. He is the current interim head c ...

. After the arrival of

Dorival Júnior Dorival Silvestre Júnior (born 25 April 1962) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. Playing career Known only as Júnior during his playing days, he was born in Araraquara, São Paulo ...

he returned to action, being converted to a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

in the 2016 season; he also rejected a loan move to

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

in the process. On 10 April 2016 Cittadini scored his first goal after his return, netting his team's first in a 2–1

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional association football, football league in the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. Run b ...

home win against Audax. He was mainly used as a replacement to Lucas Lima afterwards, becoming a starter during the latter's participation in

Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario ( pt, Copa América Centenário, french: Coupe Amerique Centennaire, en, Centennial Cup America; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's association football tournament that was hosted by the ...

. On 6 November, after nearly two months without playing a single minute, he came off the bench to provide two assists in Santos' 2–1 away win against former club Ponte Preta; he ended up crying after the match was over. Cittadini made his

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 ...

debut on 18 May 2017, coming on as a late substitute for

Vitor Bueno Vitor Frezarin Bueno (born 5 September 1994) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Athletico Paranaense. Club career Botafogo-SP Born in Monte Alto, São Paulo, Bueno started his career at Monte Azul's ...

in a 1–1 away draw against

The Strongest Club The Strongest is a Bolivian professional football club based in La Paz, that currently plays in the Bolivian Primera División. Founded in 1908, their team colours are yellow and black. Although they have a home ground, Estadio Rafae ...

. During the 2018 campaign, under new manager

Jair Ventura Jair Zaksauskas Ribeiro Ventura (born 19 March 1979), known as Jair Ventura, is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a forward. Besides Brazil, he has played in France, Greece, and Gabon. Playing career Bo ...

, he overtook veterans

Emiliano Vecchio Emiliano Gabriel Vecchio (born 16 November 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Racing Club de Avellaneda as a midfielder. Club career Rosario Central Born in Rosario, Vecchio began his career at hometown professional clu ...

and

Renato Renatus is a first name of Latin origin which means " born again" (natus = born). In Italian, Portuguese and Spanish it exists in masculine and feminine forms: Renato and Renata. In French they have been translated to René and Renée. Renata is ...

and became a regular starter for the side. Despite Vecchio left the club, he lost the starting spot to

Diego Pituca Diego Cristiano Evaristo (born 1 August 1992), known as Diego Pituca or simply Pituca, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Japanese club Kashima Antlers. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also play as a left back. Club career Early car ...

and new signing Carlos Sánchez, being completely ostracized by new manager Cuca after refusing a contract renewal.

Athletico Paranaense

On 7 December 2018, Cittadini signed a three-year contract with

Athletico Paranaense Club Athletico Paranaense (commonly known as Athletico and formerly known as Atlético Paranaense) is a Brazilian football team from the city of Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná, founded on March 26, 1924. The team ...

, effective as of the following 1 January. Under manager

Tiago Nunes Tiago Retzlaff Nunes (born 15 February 1980) is a Brazilian football manager, currently in charge of Peruvian club Sporting Cristal. Career Born in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Nunes was a youth player at hometown side Riograndense; initial ...

, he became an important unit in the club's midfield, scoring a career-best six goals in the season.

Bahia

On 28 July 2023, Cittadini signed for

on a two-year contract with the option of a further year.

Shanghai Port (loan)

On 27 February 2024, Cittadini joined

club

on loan.

Career statistics

Honours

;Santos *

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 ...

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 ...

;Athletico Paranaense *

Campeonato Paranaense Campeonato Paranaense, which has been contested since 1915, is the top-flight football league of the state of Paraná, Brazil. Format The format has changed in 2014. 12 teams are together in a single group. They play against each other once, ...

: 2019,

2020 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 events, COVID- ...

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

* J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship:

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 ...

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

External links

Santos official profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cittadini, Leo 1994 births Living people People from Rio Claro, São Paulo Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Chinese Super League players Guarani FC players Santos FC players Associação Atlética Ponte Preta players Club Athletico Paranaense players Esporte Clube Bahia players Shanghai Port F.C. players Copa Sudamericana-winning players Footballers from São Paulo (state) Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in China Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in China