Matheus Lima Magalhães (born 29 March 1992), known simply as Matheus, 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 a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

club

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

. Developed at

América Mineiro The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, he spent most of his career at

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 ...

in Portugal, making 365 appearances and winning the

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 ...

and the

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 ...

twice each.

Club career

América Mineiro

Born in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

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 ...

, Matheus joined

América Futebol Clube (MG) América Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as simply América Mineiro, is a Brazilian football team from the city of Belo Horizonte, capital city of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Founded in 1912, the club preserves its name and cre ...

's youth setup in 2008, aged 13. Ahead of the 2012 season, he was promoted to the first team after impressing in the 2011

Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-20 The Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-20 is the official Brazilian national football tournament for U-20 teams. The Rio Grande do Sul Football Association (FGF) created the competition in 2006 and since 2015 it is organized by the Brazilian Football C ...

. Matheus made his professional debut on 18 September 2012, coming on as a second-half substitute for field player Fábio Júnior as starter Neneca was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

, in a 2–0 away loss against

Clube Atlético Bragantino Red Bull Bragantino () is a Football in Brazil, Brazilian football club based in Bragança Paulista, São Paulo (state), São Paulo. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Série A, the top tier of the Brazilian football league syst ...

in the Série B. The following June, he was chosen as first choice by manager Paulo Comelli, and retained his position during the campaign.

Braga

On 4 July 2014, Matheus moved abroad and signed a five-year contract with Portuguese club

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 ...

. He made his

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 ...

debut on 27 September in a 3–0 home win over

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 ...

, and finished his first season as starter ahead of

Stanislav Kritsyuk Stanislav Vasilyevich Kritsyuk (; born 1 December 1990) is a Russian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Club career He made his Russian Premier League debut for FC Krasn ...

and compatriot

Victor Golas Victor Hugo Mateus Golas (born 27 December 1990) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Associação Atlética Internacional (Limeira). Club career Born in Arapongas, Paraná of Polish descent, Golas joined Sporting ...

after being delayed by bureaucratic problems. Matheus lost his starting spot to

José Marafona José Carlos Coentrão Marafona (born 8 May 1987) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Liga Portugal 2 club Paços de Ferreira. He made 111 Primeira Liga appearances for Moreirense, Paços de Ferreira and Braga, ...

in the following campaigns, missing the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

win over

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 ...

in 2016 after playing the earlier rounds. He made his continental debut in that same season's

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 ...

, appearing in 12 games and only receiving a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative co ...

in the quarter-final elimination away to

FC Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

on 14 April, after conceding a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

through a foul on Viktor Kovalenko. Matheus returned to the starting XI in 2017–18 after Marafona was injured, and on 15 March 2018 he renewed his contract until 2023. He played every minute of the campaign, in which his club finished fourth; only five other players in the league matched his feat, three of whom shared his position. Matheus suffered a severe

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury in late August 2018, after which

Tiago Sá Tiago Magalhães de Sá (born 11 January 1995) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Primeira Liga club Braga. Developed at Braga, where he was mainly a reserve and back-up, he made over 50 first-team appearance ...

had a run in the team. He returned to his starting role for the 2019–20 season, playing four matches in the

that year, including the 1–0 victory against Porto in the final on 25 January; he featured in as many games in the

2020–21 Taça de Portugal The 2020–21 Taça de Portugal (also known as Taça de Portugal Placard for sponsorship reasons) was the 81st edition of the Taça de Portugal, the premier knockout competition in Portuguese football. A total of 165 clubs compete in this edition, ...

which ended with a 2–0 defeat of

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 " ...

. In the following campaign's Europa League, Matheus made two saves in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

win over

FC Sheriff Tiraspol Fotbal Club Sheriff Tiraspol (), commonly known as Sheriff Tiraspol or simply Sheriff, is a professional football club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria, that plays in the Liga, the top tier ...

in the knockout round play-off on 24 February 2022, and days after the last-eight elimination by

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

in April he extended his contract to 2027. On 12 August, after a 3–0 win at nearby

F.C. Famalicão Futebol Clube de Famalicão, commonly known as Famalicão, is a Portuguese professional association football, football club from Vila Nova de Famalicão. Founded on 21 August 1931, its senior team currently plays in the Primeira Liga, the top tie ...

, he reached 250 appearances for 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 ...

club. He was sent off for them for the first time on 30 September for a foul on Porto's

Mehdi Taremi Mehdi Taremi (, ; born 18 July 1992) is an Iranian professional association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Serie A club Inter Milan and the Iran national football team, Iran national team. A late ...

, in an eventual 4–1 defeat. On 15 August 2023, Matheus surpassed compatriot

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

's record of 63 games for Braga in European competition, in a 4–1 away win over Serbia's

FK TSC FK TSC ( sr-Cyrl, ФК ТСЦ), commonly known as TSC, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bačka Topola. Its initial founding date in 1913 as Topolyai Sport Club makes it currently the second-oldest football club in the Serbian Supe ...

in 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 ...

. Eighteen days later, against Sporting, he made his 300th appearance and became the club's most experienced goalkeeper of all time. In January 2025, Matheus requested to leave. The following month, he was loaned to

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

side

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

until 30 June with the option for a permanent transfer afterwards. He made his debut for the club on 23 February, being named

Player 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 ...

in the 2–0 home defeat of

Go Ahead Eagles The Go Ahead Eagles are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer in the province of Overijssel. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in th ...

in the domestic league. On 30 March, he provided an assist in a 2–0 away victory against

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

Red Star

On 25 June 2025, Matheus joined

club

on a three-year deal, for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

1.2 million.

International career

After being naturalised as a Portuguese citizen in 2020, Matheus expressed a desire to play for their

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

Personal life

Matheus' older brother, Moisés, was also a footballer. A

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, he too started his career at América Mineiro. Matheus met and married his wife in

and had three children with her.

Career statistics

Honours

Braga *

: 2015–16,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

: 2019–20, 2023–24

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matheus 1992 births Living people Portuguese people of Brazilian descent Naturalised citizens of Portugal 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen Brazilian men's footballers Footballers from Belo Horizonte Men's association football goalkeepers Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players América Futebol Clube (MG) players Primeira Liga players S.C. Braga players Eredivisie players AFC Ajax players Serbian SuperLiga players Red Star Belgrade footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Serbia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia