Rodrigo José Lima dos Santos (born 11 May 1983), known as Lima, is a Brazilian former

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 played as a striker. He spent the better part of his professional career in Portugal, amassing

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

totals of 176 matches and 86 goals over six seasons, representing mainly

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

and Benfica and winning six major titles with the latter club, notably the treble in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Club career

Early years

Born in

Monte Alegre, Pará Monte Alegre, Pará is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Pará in the Northern Region, Brazil, Northern region of Brazil. It is located along the Amazon River in northern Brazil. Near this area along the Am ...

, Lima played for nine clubs in his country, without settling at any. In the 2008 edition of the Série A he did not manage to score for

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 ...

, who ranked in 15th position. In the middle of 2009, after failing to sign with Ukrainian side

FC Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv, also known as Football Club Metalist Kharkov or FC Metalist Kharkov ( ), is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2023– ...

, Lima moved to Portugal with

C.F. Os Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses (), commonly known as Os Belenenses or simply Belenenses, is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 19,856 ...

, scoring regularly for the

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

team but also suffering relegation from the

Braga

Afterwards, Lima joined another club in the country,

S.C. Braga Sporting Clube de Braga (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. Best known for the men's professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese foo ...

– which was filled with several of his compatriots – signing a three-year contract. On 24 August 2010, after coming on as a substitute, he netted a

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 Wick ...

against

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

in the second leg of the

third qualifying round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, in a 4–3 away win (5–3 on aggregate). Lima was crowned Portuguese League top scorer at the end of the 2011–12 campaign with 20 league goals – joint with

S.L. Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...

Óscar Cardozo Óscar René Cardozo Marín (; born 20 May 1983), best known as Tacuara (Guarani language, Guarani for Guadua), is a Paraguayan professional association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Club Liberta ...

– as the

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

side finished third and returned to the Champions League. Highlights included three against

Gil Vicente FC Gil Vicente Futebol Clube (), commonly known as Gil Vicente, founded in 1924, is a Portuguese professional football club that plays in Barcelos. It plays their home matches at the Estádio Cidade de Barcelos. It competes in the Primeira Liga, the ...

(3–0 away win), braces against F.C. Paços de Ferreira (5–2, home) and

Vitória de Setúbal Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

(3–0 at home), and a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

equaliser at Benfica (1–1); he also scored two against eventual champions

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

, but in a 2–3 defeat at the

Estádio do Dragão The Estádio do Dragão (; ') is an all-seater football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the third-largest football stadium in Portugal. Designed by Portugue ...

Benfica

On 31 August 2012, the very last day of the summer

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, Lima signed a four-year contract with Benfica, in a deal that saw

Michel Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

move in the opposite direction. He wasted no time on making an impact, also taking long time incumbent striker Cardozo's starting place, and found the net in his first two official games, once against

Académica de Coimbra The Associação Académica de Coimbra (AAC) is the students' union of the University of Coimbra (UC). Founded in Coimbra on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal. It is also the biggest Portuguese students' union belongin ...

in a 2–2 away draw and twice in a 2–1 victory over Paços de Ferreira (also away). He added a third in the Champions League 1–2 group stage loss at

FC Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet Top League, Soviet championships (second only to FC Dynamo Kyiv, Dynamo Kyiv) and 10 Russian Premier League, Russian champ ...

, ending the season with 30 goals as his team's top scorer in the league. On 26 January 2013, Lima scored his eighth league goal of the campaign, helping to a 2–1 win at former club Braga. On 30 March he netted his first hat-trick in the Portuguese League, helping to a 6–1 home demolition of

Rio Ave FC Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlant ...

. Lima took his 2013–14 tally to 20 all competitions comprised on 20 April 2014, scoring both of Benfica's goals as they defeated

S.C. Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense (), commonly known as Olhanense, is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its Association football, football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Algarve Football Association Portuguese Di ...

2–0 at home and clinched their 33rd national championship. He also found the net the following game, a 2–1 win over

Juventus FC Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

in the first leg of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

semi-finals also at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, Ben ...

, where he broke the tie in the 84th minute; his 21 goals in the season helped the team win the three main domestic competitions, in a historic treble. Lima scored his first goal of the 2014–15 campaign against Moreirense F.C. on 21 September 2014, ending a 12-match stretch without goals. On 14 December he netted in a 2–0 win at Porto, and, on 15 February of the following year, he contributed with a brace to help beat Setúbal at home 3–0. He netted another two in a home defeat of F.C. Penafiel on 9 May (4–0), as Benfica again won the league, adding the Portuguese League Cup and the Supercup.

Al-Ahli

On 24 July 2015, Al-Ahli Club announced the signing of Lima for two seasons, in a transfer fee worth €7 million. In February 2017, the 33-year-old left the club. On 21 January 2019, Lima announced his retirement due to injury problems.

Career statistics

:Sources:

Honours

Club

Paysandu *

Campeonato Paraense The Campeonato Paraense, nicknamed Parazão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Pará. It is run by the Pará Football Federation (FPF). List of champions Amateur era Professional era Titles by c ...

: 2005 Avaí *

Campeonato Catarinense The Campeonato Catarinense is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. It is run by the Santa Catarina Football Federation (FCF). History The Catarinense has had different names throughout ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Braga *

runner-up:

2010–11 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 ...

Benfica *

: 2013–14, 2014–15 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

: 2013–14 *

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

: 2013–14, 2014–15 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

runner-up:

2012–13 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 ...

, 2013–14 Al-Ahli *

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

: 2015–16 *

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 ...

: 2016 *

UAE League Cup The UAE League Cup () is a knockout tournament for clubs in the UAE Pro-League. The first edition of the tournament was played in the 2008–09 Etisalat Emirates Cup, 2008–2009 season. In the 2008–09 season, UAE League Cup replaced the UAE Fed ...

: 2016–17 *

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 ...

runner-up:

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 ...

Individual

* Bola de Prata: 2011–12 *

SJPF Player of the Month The SJPF Player of the Month (often called Portuguese League Player of the Month) is an association football award that recognizes the best Primeira Liga, Portuguese League player each month of the season and is conceived by the SJPF (syndicate of ...

: February 2012, March 2013, April 2014

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lima 1983 births Living people Footballers from Pará Naturalised citizens of Portugal Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Paysandu Sport Club players Iraty Sport Club players J. Malucelli Futebol players Paraná Clube players Clube Atlético Juventus players Santos FC players Avaí FC players Primeira Liga players Segunda Divisão players F.C. Vizela players C.F. Os Belenenses players S.C. Braga players S.L. Benfica footballers UAE Pro League players Shabab Al Ahli Club players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen