Rafaelson Bezerra Fernandes (, born 30 March 1997), known mononymously as Rafaelson and also as Nguyễn Xuân Son (), is a 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 the

V.League 1 The V.League 1 (), also called LPBank V.League 1 for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football league in Vietnam, controlled by the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF). It is contested by 14 clubs who play each ...

club

Thep Xanh Nam Dinh Nam Định Football Club (), currently known as Thép Xanh Nam Định due to sponsorship reasons, is a Vietnamese professional football club based in Nam Định City that competed in the V.League 1. History Before 1997, the club's kit always ...

. Born in Brazil, he represents the Vietnam national team. Rafaelson began his football career in his native Brazil. He went playing abroad from 2018 and had unsuccessful spells in Japan and Denmark. In 2020, he moved to Vietnam, signing for

Nam Định Nam Định () is the capital city of Nam Định province in the Red River Delta of the Northern Vietnam. History From August 18–20 of each year, there is a festival held in Nam Định called the Cố Trạch. This celebration honors Gener ...

. In this country, he blossomed as a goalscorer, finishing as

's top scorer in the

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 ...

and 2023–24. Rafaelson is a dual citizen of Brazil and Vietnam. After five years of residency in Vietnam, he was granted Vietnamese citizenship in September 2024. Later in the year, he featured in the

2024 ASEAN Championship The 2024 ASEAN Championship (officially the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 due to sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the ASEAN Championship (formerly the AFF Championship) association football, football tournament of nations affili ...

for

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and scored a brace in his debut against

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. Later, he finished as the top goalscorer of the tournament and assisted Vietnam in their win of the title; he went on to receive the best player award for his performances.

Early life

Rafaelson was born in a poor family in

Pirapemas Pirapemas is a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Maranhão This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Maranhão (MA), located in the Northeast Region of Br ...

. His father was a teacher and his mother was a farmer. At the age of 14, he moved alone to

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

, where he joined the youth academy of

Bahia Bahia () 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 (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

. After two years, he joined the youth side of Vitória.

Club career

Vitória

A Vitória youth graduate, Rafaelson was accused of faking his age in April 2015, a claim later dismissed by the club. He was promoted to the first team in September, by manager

Vagner Mancini Vagner do Carmo Mancini (born 24 October 1966) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the current head coach of Goiás. Playing career Born in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Mancini started ...

. Rafaelson made his professional debut on 5 September 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

in a 2–1 home loss 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 ...

for the Série B championship. His first goal came on 31 October, netting the last in a 3–2 home loss against Náutico. He contributed with seven appearances during the campaign, as his side achieved promotion to Série A. On 30 June 2016, Rafaelson made his top tier debut, replacing

Tiago Real Tiago Real do Prado (born 26 January 1989), known as Tiago Real, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a central midfielder. Career On 12 July 2022, Tiago Real joined Saudi Arabian club Hajer. On 9 September 2023, Real joined Al-Jubail. H ...

in a 3–2 home win against

Sport Recife Sport Club do Recife (), commonly known as Sport Recife or simply Sport, is a Brazilian sports club, located in Recife, Pernambuco. Founded in 1905, the club currently competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top tier of football i ...

Vegalta Sendai

In February 2018, Rafaelson joined Japanese club

Vegalta Sendai is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Sendai, Miyagi, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. They currently play in J2 League, the Japanese second tier of professional football. History Founded in 1988 as ''Tohoku Elect ...

on a loan deal. A month later, he made his first appearance for the team in the

J.League Cup The is a Japanese Association football, football (soccer) competition organised by J.League, the men's association football league in Japan. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since it ...

game against

Albirex Niigata is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. They currently play in J1 League after being promoted from J2 League as cha ...

, but suffered a serious injury in the match that required three months of recovery. In August 2018, his transfer to Vegalta Sendai was made permanent. However, in January 2019, he departed from the club after his contract expired, without having appeared in any league game.

Næstved

On 13 April 2019, Rafaelson moved to Denmark and joined

Næstved Næstved () is a town in Næstved Municipality, the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five Primary education, elemen ...

. He scored five goals after 24 league appearances for the team in two seasons.Næstved sender brasilianer til Vietnam
bold.dk, 12 January 2020

First spell at Nam Định

In December 2019, Rafaelson arrived in Vietnam. He went on a trial with

club

. After two friendly games, Nam Định head coach decided to sign him. Næstved announced on 12 January 2020, that they had sold Rafaelson to Vietnamese club in the

. In the last matchday of the 2020 V.League 1, he scored the only goal for Nam Định in a 1–1 against

Song Lam Nghe An Song Lam Nghe An Football Club (), simply known as Song Lam Nghe An or SLNA, is a professional V.League 1 football club playing at the Vinh Stadium in the city of Vinh, Nghe An province, Vietnam. This is a club that has won many titles from t ...

, thus help the club avoid relegation. After one season at Nam Định, he netted 9 goals for the club after 20 appearances. However, he departed the team after one season as they were unable to meet his salary increase demands.

SHB Đà Nẵng

Rafaelson joined

fellow

SHB Đà Nẵng SHB Đà Nẵng Football Club (), simply known as SHB Đà Nẵng, is a Vietnamese professional football club based in Da Nang that plays in V.League 1, the top tier in Vietnamese football, . The club was formerly known as Quang Nam-Da Nang () ...

for the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

. He scored six goals for the team after the first 12 games of the season, before the league was cancelled due to the effects of

COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam The COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The number of confirmed cases is the highest total in Southeast Asia, and the 13th highest in the world. Hanoi is the most affected locale with 1,649,654 ...

. Due to financial difficulties, SHB Đà Nẵng terminated Rafaelson's contract in September 2021.

Bình Định

In September 2021, Rafaelson moved to Topenland Bình Định as a free agent, signing a two-year contract. On 3 September 2022, he scored his first hattrick in

in to help his team defeat the league's leading team

Hanoi FC Hanoi Football Club (), officially named CLB Hà Nội, is a professional football club based in Hanoi, Vietnam. They play their home matches at Hang Day Stadium and compete in V.League 1, the top division in the Vietnamese football league sy ...

3–0. He later lead his team to the

2022 Vietnamese Cup The 2022 Vietnamese Cup () (known as the BaF Meat-National Cup 2022 for sponsorship reasons) was the 30th edition of the Vietnamese National Cup, the football knockout tournament of Vietnam organized by the Vietnam Football Federation. The tourn ...

final, scoring a hattrick in the semi-final game against Đông Á Thanh Hóa. In the 2023 season, Rafaelson became the league top scorer, netting a total of 16 goals and was named in the team of the season.

Return to Nam Định and dominance in V.League 1

On 28 August 2023, after his contract with Topenland Bình Định expired, Rafaelson made his return to

. Being paired with Hêndrio in the attack, he quickly became an influential goal scorer of the club. He registered 13 goals and 4 assists after the first half of the season, helping Nam Định top the league. On 26 May 2024, he scored five goals in a 5–2 victory against Đông Á Thanh Hóa, which tied the record for most goals scored by a single player in a single game in the V.League 1 history with Hoàng Anh Gia Lai's Nguyễn Đình Việt back in 2007. On 25 June 2024, Rafaelson netted a hat-trick in a 5–1 league win against Khánh Hòa, thus securing the first national league title for Nam Định since 1985. He finished the season as the league's top scorer with 31 goals, thus broke the record for most goals scored by a single player in a single V.League 1 season, previously held by

Lê Huỳnh Đức Lê Huỳnh Đức (born 20 April 1972) is a Vietnamese football manager and former footballer. He last managed V.League 1 club Becamex Bình Dương. Huỳnh Đức is a former member of the Vietnam national football team, with whom he earne ...

(25 goals). In addition to the top scorer award, Rafaelson was also given the

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

award and featured in the league's Team of the Season for the second season in a row. On 31 August 2024, Rafaelson scored a brace in the 2024 Vietnamese Super Cup final to contribute in Nam Định's 3–0 win against Đông Á Thanh Hóa, winning the trophy for the first time in the club's history. Shortly after the start of the 2024–25 season, he was granted Vietnamese passport and was registered for the league as a local player. On 5 April 2025, he successfully recovered from his injury and returned back to his club, but as of April 2025 currently only participates in physical training with his club. It is expected that he will return to his club and his national team in September 2025.

International career

In November 2024,

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

authorized Nguyễn Xuân Son to represent the Vietnam national team after five years of residency in the country. He was named in Vietnam's preliminary squad for the

. He was later named in the final squad for the tournament.

2024 ASEAN Championship

Xuân Son made his debut for the Vietnam national team on 21 December 2024 where he scored two goals and made 2 assists in a 5–0 victory against

in the last group stage game in the

. He thus became the first Vietnamese naturalized player to score in an official game. In the first leg semi-final at

Jalan Besar Stadium Jalan Besar Stadium, officially the Jalan Besar ActiveSG Stadium, is a football stadium located in Kallang, Singapore. The stadium is part of the Jalan Besar Sports and Recreation Centre, a community sports facility that includes the stadium as ...

, he scored the second goal, securing a 2–0 victory for Vietnam against

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. In the second leg game at

Việt Trì Stadium Việt Trì Stadium is an association football stadium located in Việt Trì, Phú Thọ province, Vietnam. This stadium with a capacity of nearly 20.000 seats is located in the premises of the Sports Complex of Phú Thọ province. Currently, t ...

, Xuân Son netted another two goals, contributing significantly to Vietnam's 3–1 win. Xuân Son continued his scoring streak by adding two more goals in Vietnam's 2–1 win against

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

in the first leg of the ASEAN Championship final. During the second leg of the final at

Rajamangala Stadium The Rajamangala National Stadium (; , ) is the national stadium of Thailand national football team. It is part of the Hua Mak Sports Complex, and is located in Hua Mak Subdistrict, Bang Kapi, Bangkok. Its official opening on 6 December 1998 co ...

, he broke his

fibula The fibula (: fibulae or fibulas) or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. ...

and

tibia The tibia (; : tibiae or tibias), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two Leg bones, bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outsi ...

bone and was substituted off and sent to the hospital in the 32nd minute. Later, Vietnam won the final with a 5–3 aggregate score against Thailand. With 7 goals scored during the ASEAN Championship campaign, Xuân Son won the Top scorer and Best player award. After a successful surgery, Xuân Son is expected to take an 8 month absence. According to doctors, it will take only two months for his bones to heal after surgery and an additional six months of rehabilitation and training. However, he will miss the first two matches of the final round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification.

Personal life

Rafaelson married Marcele Seippel in January 2018 and has two children. In August 2024, after five years of residency in Vietnam, Rafaelson applied for Vietnamese citizenship at the Nam Định Department of Justice, expressing his wish to represent the Vietnam national team in the future. A month later, on 20 September 2024, he officially obtained Vietnamese citizenship with the Vietnamese personal name ''Nguyễn Xuân Son''.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Vitória *

Campeonato Baiano The Campeonato Baiano (), also known as the Baianão (), is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Run by the Bahia Football Federation (FBF), it is the second-oldest state football championship o ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Topenland Bình Định *

Vietnamese Cup Vietnamese National Football Cup (), commonly recognized and branded as the National Cup (), is a Vietnamese football competition. It is one of the most important club competitions in Vietnam. The Vietnamese Cup was first held in 1992. Cảng S ...

runners-up:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Thép Xanh Nam Định *

: 2023–24, 2024–25 *

Vietnamese Super Cup Vietnamese National Football Super Cup (), also called the Thaco National Football Super Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is Vietnamese football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous V.League 1 season and the holders of th ...

: 2024 Vietnam *

ASEAN Championship The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's natio ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Individual *V.League 1 top scorer:

, 2023–24 *V.League 1 Team of the Season:

, 2023–24 *V.League 1 best player of the Year: 2023–24 *ASEAN Championship best player:

*ASEAN Championship top scorer:

All-Star XI:

*Third-class

Labor Order The Labor Order () is an award conferred or posthumously conferred by the Government of Vietnam on individuals and conferred on collectives that have recorded outstanding achievements in labor, creativity or national construction. There are thre ...

: 2025 *

Vietnamese Golden Ball Vietnamese Golden Ball (), also referred to as ''Vietnamese Footballer of the Year'', is an annual association football award for the best performances of Vietnamese footballer over the previous year. Presented since 1995 by Sài Gòn Giải Phó ...

Best Foreign Player: 2024 * Dedication Awards Sports Face of the year: 2025

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafaelson 1997 births Living people Footballers from Maranhão Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Danish 1st Division players V.League 1 players Esporte Clube Vitória players Vegalta Sendai players Næstved Boldklub players Nam Định F.C. players SHB Da Nang FC players Quy Nhon Binh Dinh FC players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Vietnam Expatriate men's footballers in Vietnam Naturalized citizens of Vietnam Naturalised association football players Vietnam men's international footballers