Lucas Rafael Araújo Lima (born 9 July 1990) 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 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. ...

for

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 ...

Club career

Inter de Limeira

Born in

Marília Marília () is a Brazilian municipality in the midwestern region of the state of São Paulo. Its distance from the state capital São Paulo is by highway, by railway and in a straight line. It is located at an altitude of 675 meters. The popul ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Lucas Lima finished his formation with

Inter de Limeira Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * Inter Playa del Carmen, a Mexican club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a F ...

, joining their youth setup in 2009, after being released by Rio Preto and América-SP. He was promoted to the former's main squad in 2010. Lucas Lima made his senior debut on 16 May 2010, starting in a 2–1 home win against Brasilis. He scored his first senior goal on 30 May 2010, netting the second in a 3–0 away win against Palmeirinha. In August 2011 Lucas Lima had a trial at

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

, but nothing came of it.

Internacional

In July 2012, Lucas Lima joined

SC Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional, Inter de Porto Alegre, a cidade do Grêmio or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the ...

, initially assigned with the under-23 squad. After being promoted to the first team, he made his debut for ''Colorado'' on 15 July, starting in a 0–0 home draw against

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 ...

. He appeared in 14 matches during the season, with only four starts, however.

Loan to Sport Recife

On 5 March 2013, Lucas Lima joined

on loan until the end of the season. He soon established himself as a starter, and appeared in 46 matches (36 in the league), scoring nine times.

Santos

On 7 February 2014, Lucas Lima signed a four-year deal with Santos, for a R$5 million fee. He made his debut for the club late in the month, in a 5–0 home routing over

Bragantino Red Bull 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 Série A1, the highest level ...

, and scored his first goal on 7 March, in a 5–2 away success against

Mogi Mirim Mogi Mirim is a municipality located in the eastern part of São Paulo State, in Brazil. The population is 93,650 (2020 est.) in an area of 498 km2. The elevation is 611 m. Mogi Mirim is around 65 km from Campinas, the biggest city in ...

. After the departure of Cícero to

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, th ...

, Lucas Lima became the club's first-choice, and scored his first Série A goal on 29 May, in a 2–0 away win against

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 ...

. He finished the campaign with 35 league appearances and three goals, being now a key unit for the club. Lucas Lima scored the decisive penalty for Santos in

2015 Campeonato Paulista The 2015 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1 (officially the 2015 Paulistão Itaipava for sponsorship reasons) was the 114th season of São Paulo's top professional football league. Format *In the first ...

final, netting the fourth in a 4–2

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

win over

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

. He was also included in the tournament's best eleven. He completed his 100th game for the club on 18 October of that year, starting in a 3–1 home win against

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

, and finished the year with four league goals in 30 appearances. Lucas Lima failed to maintain the high standards of the previous campaign during the 2016 season; hampered by injuries in the year's ''Paulistão'' (in which he was still elected Best player), the constant call ups to the national team also impeded his recovery at the club. He still scored 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 3–0 home win against rivals

on 26 June. After the departure of

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...

, Lucas Lima was assigned the number 10 jersey. He made his

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

debut on 9 March 2017, starting and assisting

Thiago Maia Thiago Maia Alencar (born 23 March 1997), known as Thiago Maia, is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club SC Internacional, Internacional. Club career Santos ...

's goal in a 1–1 away draw against

Sporting Cristal Club Sporting Cristal S.A., shortened to Sporting Cristal, is a Peruvian sports club located in the city of Lima, best known for its association football, soccer team. It was founded on 13 December 1955 in the Rímac District, Rímac district by e ...

; he was also elected the

Man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

. Despite playing regularly during the year, Lucas Lima only scored one league goal during the campaign (in a 2–0 home win against rivals

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...

); he was also the player with the highest number of bookable offences during the competition. After refusing the renewal offer from the club, he was separated from the first team on 21 November 2017.

Palmeiras

On 30 November 2017, Lucas Lima signed a pre-contract with Santos' rival Palmeiras, effective as of 1 January. He was regularly used during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, scoring six goals in 2018. On 18 April 2021, after losing space after the arrival of manager

Abel Ferreira Abel Fernando Moreira Ferreira (born 22 December 1978), known simply as Abel as a player, is a Portuguese football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Brazilian club Palmeiras. As a right-back, he played 234 Primeira Li ...

, Lucas Lima's manager

Alessio Sundas Alessio Sundas (born 2 December 1971) is an Italian entertainer. Early life and education Alessio Sundas was born in Italy. Sundas early education was at Linguistic High School after which he proceeded to CEPLAT where he earned a degree in Phy ...

, announced that the player was on its way to

Inter Miami Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (), commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. ...

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

's team playing in the America's

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

, but nothing came of it.

Loan to Fortaleza

On 25 August 2021, Lucas Lima was loaned to fellow top tier side

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

until the end of the year. The following 12 January, his loan was extended for a further season, meaning that he would not return to Palmeiras as his contract would expire at the end of the year.

Return to Santos

On 7 February 2023, Lucas Lima returned to Santos on a contract until the end of the

2023 Campeonato Paulista The 2023 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1 was the 122nd season of São Paulo's top professional football league. The competition was played from 15 January to 9 April 2023. Palmeiras won their 25th tit ...

. He made his re-debut for the club nine days later, starting in a 1–1

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

away draw against

Santo André Santo ('saint' in various languages) may refer to: People * Santo (given name) * Santo (surname) * El Santo, Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (1917–1984), Mexican wrestler and actor * Bob Santo or Santo, stage name of Ghanaian comedian John Evans Kwad ...

. On 1 May 2023, after establishing himself as a regular starter, Lucas Lima renewed with ''Peixe'' until April 2025.

Return to Sport Recife

On 1 February 2024, Santos announced the loan of Lucas Lima to Sport for the 2024 season. He was a regular starter for the club during the year, notably scoring a brace in the last fixture against former club Santos (2–1 home win), which ensured Sport's promotion to the top tier. On 15 January 2025, Lucas Lima officially rescinded his link with Santos, and signed a definitive contract with Sport until December 2026.

International career

On 13 August 2015, Lucas Lima was called up to Brazil national team by manager

Dunga Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (born 31 October 1963), known as Dunga (), is a Brazilian football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. Under his captaincy, Brazil won the 1994 FIFA World Cup and he lifte ...

for

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He made his full international debut for Brazil on 5 September, starting in a 1–0 win against Costa Rica at the Red Bull Arena in

Harrison, New Jersey Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, and is located from New York City. Once considered "the bee ...

. Lucas Lima scored his first goal for Brazil in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, securing a 1–1 tie. On 5 May 2016, he was named among the 23-man list for the

Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario (, , ; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's soccer tournament that was hosted by the United States in 2016. The competition was a celebration of the centennial of CONMEBOL and the Copa Am� ...

to be held in the United States. He came off the bench in matches against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

and

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, scoring the fifth goal in the 7–1 routing of the latter, and started the last match of the group stage, a 0–1 loss (and eventual elimination) against

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lucas Lima goal.''

Honours

Santos *

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 ...

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 ...

Palmeiras *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

*Campeonato Paulista:

2020 The year 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 even ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () 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 it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana (), also known as Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club Association football, football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1988. It ...

runner-up:

Fortaleza *

Copa do Nordeste Copa do Nordeste (English: ''Cup of the North-East''), also known as Campeonato do Nordeste (''English: Championship of the North-East'') or Copa Nordeste (English: ''Northeastern Cup'') is a Brazilian football competition among Northeastern re ...

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 ...

Campeonato Cearense The Campeonato Cearense is the professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Ceará. It is run by the Ceará Football Federation (FCF). In over a hundred years of competition, only 11 clubs have won the title. List of champio ...

Sport Recife *

Campeonato Pernambucano The Campeonato Pernambucano is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. It is run by the Pernambuco Football Federation (FPF). History The first edition of the Campeonato Pernambucano was played i ...

: 2024,

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Individual * Campeonato Pernambucano Best midfielder:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

* Campeonato Paulista Team of the Year:

Best Player:

top assist provider:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

* Best Central midfielder in Brazil:

* Best Right Winger in Brazil:

References

External links

Santos official profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lima, Lucas 1990 births Living people Footballers from Marília Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Brazil men's international footballers Copa Libertadores–winning players Copa América Centenario players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Associação Atlética Internacional (Limeira) players SC Internacional players Sport Club do Recife players Santos FC players SE Palmeiras players Fortaleza Esporte Clube players 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen