Leonardo Renan Simões de Lacerda (born 30 January 1988), commonly known as Léo, 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 lea ...

who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Club career

Grêmio

Born in

Contagem Contagem () is a city in the center of the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. It is only from the capital, Belo Horizonte, and forms part of a metropolitan area with a population of 4.8 million. Over time, the city's geographic boundaries were lo ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

, Léo joined Grêmio's youth setup at the age of 12. He made his first team – and Série A – debut on 25 July 2007, coming on as a first-half substitute for Itaqui in a 2–0 away win over Náutico. Léo scored his first professional goal for Grêmio on 16 September 2007, netting the winner in a 1–0 home success over rivals Internacional. He then became a regular starter for the side, and helped the club finish second in the 2008 Série A.

Palmeiras

On 18 December 2009, Léo moved to fellow top tier side Palmeiras on a five-year contract, with Maurício moving in the opposite direction on loan; Grêmio also saw R$ 6.5 million of a R$8 million debt being discounted on the move. He made his club debut the following 16 January, starting and scoring his team's second in a 5–1

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), ...

home routing of Mogi Mirim. Léo began the season as a starter, but was subsequently overtaken by Maurício Ramos and Edinho.

Cruzeiro

On 13 August 2010, Léo moved to Cruzeiro for a fee of R$1 million plus Leandro Amaro. Initially a backup to Edcarlos and Gil, he subsequently became a regular starter in the 2011 season onwards, when both left the club. Léo was also a part of the Cruzeiro squad which won two consecutive Série A titles in 2013 and 2014, aside from winning four

Campeonato Mineiro The Campeonato Mineiro is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is run by the Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: bef ...

titles. He struggled with injuries during the 2019 and 2020 campaigns, with his side suffering a first-ever relegation in the former. On 20 May 2021, after nearly eleven years and 401 matches with Cruzeiro, Léo left the club after rescinding his contract.

Club Statistics

Honours

;Grêmio *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

: 2007 ;Cruzeiro *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, 2014,

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 ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leo 1988 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Grêmio FBPA players SE Palmeiras players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Associação Chapecoense de Futebol players Footballers from Contagem 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen