Anderson Luiz de Carvalho (born 19 July 1981), known as Nenê, 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 for Vasco da Gama. An

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, 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 #Cent ...

, he is mostly known for his crossing and

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

ability, also being a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

specialist. He played most of his professional career in Spain, representing four clubs and amassing

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

totals of 140 games and 23 goals over the course of four seasons, and France, where he appeared with

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

and

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

for 142

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

matches in four and a half campaigns (55 goals). Nenê won the 2013 national championship with PSG, also being chosen the league's best foreign player in 2010 while with Monaco. He also spent three months in England, with

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

Club career

Early career

Born in Jundiaí,

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 ...

, Nenê started playing professionally with local Etti Jundiaí at the age of 19. On 16 May 2002 he moved to

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

, on loan until December. Nenê made his Série A debut on 11 August 2002, starting and scoring the first in a 1–1 home draw against Grêmio. He finished the year with five league goals, but his club suffered relegation for the first time in its history. On 27 January 2003, Nenê signed for Santos still in the top division. Mainly a backup option to

Robinho Robson de Souza ( or , born 25 January 1984), known as Robinho (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. In 1999, at 15 years of age, Robinho was picked by Brazil legend Pelé as his heir apparent and, in 2002 ...

and

Ricardo Oliveira Ricardo José Dognella Lima de Oliveira (; born 6 May 1980) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Athletic. He represented São Paulo and Santos in two different spells, but also played in Spain, amassing La Liga ...

, he still scored three goals during the team's

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 ...

run, and also appeared in both legs of the finals as a substitute.

Spain

In 2003–04, Nenê moved to Spain, first with

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

– making his

debut on 14 September 2003 in a 0–4 away loss against Athletic Bilbao– and then

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friends Club, it ...

. With the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

side he put up two extraordinary individual seasons, with 21 goals in the league alone, playing his first year in the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

and achieving promotion. After being relegated from the top level with Alavés in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, Nenê met the same fate with RC Celta de Vigo, again appearing in all 38 league games and totalling nearly 3,000 minutes of action for the

Galicians Galicians ( gl, galegos, es, gallegos, link=no) are a Celtic-Romance ethnic group from Spain that is closely related to the Portuguese people and has its historic homeland is Galicia, in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. Two Romance la ...

Monaco

On 22 August 2007, Nenê was transferred to

AS Monaco FC Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fre ...

for an undisclosed fee. A year later, having already started with the French, he joined

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

in the last days of the summer

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...

on a one-year loan, with a buying option for the

Catalans Catalans (Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citize ...

at the season's end, which was finally not activated. Back with Monaco, Nenê began the new campaign in impressive scoring fashion, scoring nine goals in his first ten matches – this included a brace against

US Boulogne Union Sportive de Boulogne-sur-Mer Côte d'Opale (commonly referred to as US Boulogne or frequently, simply Boulogne) is a French association football club based in the commune of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The club was founded in 1898 and currently pl ...

in a 3–1 away victory, both from long-range free kicks, as he led the scoring charts for a lengthy period of time.

Paris Saint-Germain

On 11 July 2010, Nenê joined

in a deal believed to be around

€ 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 ...

5.5 million. "I'm very happy to have signed for Paris," the player told PSG's official website, adding: "Like PSG, I'm hoping to have a big league season and to pull something off in the

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. It ...

". He scored in his first official appearance, a 3–1 home win against

AS Saint-Étienne Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (), commonly known as A.S.S.E. () or simply Saint-Étienne, is a professional football club based in Saint-Étienne in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. The club was founded in 1933 and competes in ...

, adding two on 11 September against newly promoted AC Arles-Avignon (4–0, home). Halfway through the season he had already registered 13 goals, making him the third-highest scorer only behind Moussa Sow and

Kevin Gameiro Kevin Dominique Gameiro (born 9 May 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club Strasbourg. He is a strong striker who is known for his clinical finishing, which compensates for his relatively light frame. ...

; his displays, free-kick ability and attacking flair earned him comparisons with

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional association football, footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deplo ...

, a compatriot who played at the

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin ...

earlier in the decade, but he only scored one more goal until the end of the campaign, with PSG finally finishing fourth. In the summer of 2011, Paris Saint-Germain were purchased by

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

i investors and bought several new players, including Jérémy Menez with whom Nenê had played at Monaco. The Brazilian began the season hesitantly, struggling to accept that he had lost his star status in the team with the arrival of

Javier Pastore Javier Matías Pastore (; born 20 June 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Qatar SC. Pastore began his club career with Talleres and then Huracán in his native Argentina before moving to Se ...

. On 29 October, however, he scored two goals (both

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

) in a 4–2 home win against Stade Malherbe Caen, putting his team three points clear at the top of the table. Nenê scored his first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

with PSG on 13 May 2012, netting all of the game's goals in the home fixture against

Stade Rennais F.C. Stade Rennais Football Club (), commonly referred to as Stade Rennais FC, Stade Rennais, Rennes, or simply SRFC, is a French professional football club based in Rennes, Brittany. They compete in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football, and pla ...

in only 18 minutes of play. He finished the campaign as the league's second top scorer, helping his side to the second place and direct

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

to the

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 competit ...

Al-Gharafa

On 15 January 2013, after having appeared in 112 official matches with PSG (but only nine in the league in the first half of the season), Nenê moved to Al-Gharafa SC in the Qatar Stars League. In March, he was suspended for nine games and fined €67,000 for fighting with Houssine Kharja, being eventually released in late January of the following year.

West Ham United

On 18 February 2015,

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

Nenê signed for

until the end of the campaign. He made his debut ten days later in a 1–3 home defeat by

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

by coming on as a 61st minute substitute for

Alex Song Alexandre Dimitri Song Billong (born 9 September 1987), better known as Alex Song, is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for Djiboutian side Arta/Solar7 as a central or defensive midfielder. He can also play as a central defender. ...

, and was released at the end of the season following an unsuccessful stint at the Hammers.

São Paulo

On 26 January 2018, the 36-year-old Nenê agreed to a two-year contract with

. In an interview held the previous December, he claimed to have been a supporter of the club as a child. He scored his first goal for his new team on 7 February, in a 1–0 win over

Bragantino Red Bull Bragantino, commonly known as Bragantino, is a Brazilian football club based in Bragança Paulista, São Paulo. It competes in the Série A, the top tier of the Brazilian football league system, as well as in the Campeonato Paulista ...

for the

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 ...

Fluminense

After being released, on 15 July 2019 Nenê joined

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

until the end of the 2020 season. In the first two months of that year, he scored seven goals across all competitions.

Personal life / Sponsorship

In October 2012, Nenê was named an ambassador in France for the game FIFA 13, alongside

Karim Benzema Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains La Liga club Real Madrid. A creative and prolific forward, Benzema is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time. ...

and

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

. In 2010, he signed a deal with

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

. Each year, Nenê organised with fellow footballer

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. A prolific goalscorer and renowned ...

a charity match in his hometown of Jundiaí, with the purpose of raising money for food for families in need.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Paulista * Campeonato Brasileiro Série C: 2001 *

Campeonato Paulista Série A2 Campeonato Paulista Série A2 is the second level of the São Paulo state professional football championship, one of the Brazilian state championships. This tournament is played by 16 teams, in which the two best teams are promoted to Série A1 ...

: 2001 Paris Saint-Germain *

: 2012–13 Vasco da Gama *

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Port., Rio de Janeiro State Championship), was started in 1906 and is the annual football championship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, B ...

: 2016 Fluminense *

Taça Rio Taça Rio, or Rio Trophy, is an annual Rio de Janeiro football tournament. It is the second stage competition of the Campeonato Carioca, the state football championship in Rio de Janeiro. It has been organized since 1982 by the Rio de Janeiro ...

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- ...

Individual

*Ligue 1 Best Foreign Player: 2009–10 *Ligue 1 Top Scorer: 2011–12 (joint) * UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2010–11, 2011–12 *Campeonato Carioca Best Player: 2016 *Campeonato Carioca Team of the Year:

References

External links

* * *
French League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nene 1981 births Living people Footballers from São Paulo (state) Naturalised citizens of Spain Brazilian footballers Association football wingers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série C players Paulista Futebol Clube players Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players Santos FC players CR Vasco da Gama players São Paulo FC players Fluminense FC players La Liga players Segunda División players RCD Mallorca players Deportivo Alavés players RC Celta de Vigo players RCD Espanyol footballers Ligue 1 players AS Monaco FC players Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players Qatar Stars League players Al-Gharafa SC players Premier League players West Ham United F.C. players Brazilian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Monaco Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate footballers in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England