Matheus Bonifácio Saldanha Marinho (born 19 August 1999), commonly known as Matheus Saldanha, 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for Hungarian club

Ferencváros Ferencváros (, ) is the 9th district of Budapest (), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The developmen ...

Club career

Born in

Uberaba Uberaba () is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Highlands at an elevation of 823 metres (2,700 ft) above sea level on the Uberaba River, and is situated 418 kilometres (260 mi) from the state c ...

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 ...

, Saldanha joined

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 ...

's youth setup in 2018, initially on loan from Audax. On 1 July 2019, after impressing with the under-20 side, he was bought outright and signed a permanent three-year contract. Saldanha was promoted to the first team for the 2020 season, and made his senior debut on 22 January of that year by starting in a 1–1

Campeonato Baiano The Campeonato Baiano (), also known as the Baianão (), is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Run by the Bahia Football Federation (FBF), it is the second-oldest state football championship o ...

away draw against Juazeirense. He scored his first senior goal on 9 February, netting his team's second in a 3–1 away win against

Jacobina Jacobina is a city in the Centro Norte Baiano mesoregion of Bahia. It was founded July 28, 1722 and the population is 82,590. The town is surrounded by mountains, hills, lakes, rivers, springs, and waterfalls. Located in the northwest region o ...

. Saldanha made his Série A on 12 August 2020, coming on as a second-half substitute for Rossi in a 1–0 home win against

Coritiba Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as heCoxa, is a Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. Founded in 1909 by German immigrants, it is the olde ...

. His first goal in the category occurred on 16 September, as he scored his team's second in a 2–3 away loss against

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 ...

. In 2021, Saldanha joined to J2 club,

JEF United Chiba , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chiba, capital of Chiba Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football. History Furukawa Electric SC (19 ...

on loan transfer. One year later, he was announcement officially permanently transfer to JEF United Chiba has been confirmed after a season as loan player from EC Bahia. In 2022, Saldanha loaned again to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

club,

Chengdu Rongcheng Chengdu Rongcheng Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Chengdu, Sichuan, that competes in . Chengdu Rongcheng plays its home matches at the Phoenix Hill Football Stadium, located within Jinniu District. The club's f ...

for during mid 2022 season. He leave from the club after a half season at Chengdu expiration contract. He returned to JEF United Chiba for the 2023 season.

Partizan

On 28 July 2023, Saldanha signed a four-year contract with Serbian club Partizan for a reported fee of €1.3 million. Just one day later, Saldanha scored a goal on his debut in a 3–3 draw

away Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a British film directed by David Blair * ''Away'' (2019 film), a Latvian animated silent film by Gints Zilbalodis * Away (2025 film), a drama film by Gerard Oms * ''Away'' (TV series ...

TSC TSC may refer to: Organizations * Taiwan Semiconductor Company Limited, a Taiwanese semiconductor company * Technology Service Corporation, a US engineering company * Terrorist Screening Center, a division of the National Security Branch of the U ...

. A week later, Saldanha scored his second goal in a 2–0 win over

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

. In the third qualifying round for the

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

, Saldanha scored one goal in the two-legged tie against

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

. On 27 August, Saldanha scored his third

SuperLiga Superliga (''super league'') may refer to: Sports Superliga can refer to different sports leagues: Association football *Albanian Superliga, the Albanian top-flight men's division * Argentine Superliga, the Argentine top-flight men's division *D ...

goal in a 3–1 win against Javor. In September and October, Saldanha continued his good form by scoring 6 goals and providing 3 assists. On 20 December 2023, Saldanha scored the winning goal in the 171st Eternal derby in a 2–1 win against arch rivals

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

. Saldanha scored against Red Star again at the

Rajko Mitić Stadium The Rajko Mitić Stadium (, ), previously known as Stadion Crvene zvezde (), also known as Marakana ( sr-Cyrl, Маракана), is a multi-use stadium in Belgrade, Serbia which has been the home ground of Crvena zvezda since 1963. The stadiu ...

on 9 March 2024, as Red Star and Partizan drew 2–2 in the 172nd Eternal derby. Saldanha finished the

2023–24 Serbian SuperLiga The 2023–24 Serbian SuperLiga (known as the Mozzart Bet SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons) is the 18th season of the Serbian SuperLiga, the top Association football, football league of Serbia. Red Star Belgrade, Red Star are the defending champ ...

having played 27 games and scored 17 goals, becoming its joint top scorer.

Ferencváros

On September 3, 2024, he signed a contract with the Hungarian club

. On 15 September 2024, he debuted with a goal in a 3–0 victory against

Budafoki MTE Budafoki Munkás Testedző Egyesület is a Hungarian football club from the town of Budafok, Budapest, Hungary. The club currently plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság II. History The club was founded in 1912 as Világosság Football Club. At that ...

in the

2024–25 Magyar Kupa The 2024–25 Magyar Kupa () was the 85th season of Hungary's annual knock-out cup football competition. MOL was the sponsor of the tournament, thus the sponsored name is MOL Magyar Kupa. The winners qualified for the 2025–26 UEFA Europa Leagu ...

. On 20 September 2024, he scored his first league goal in a 3–1 victory against

MTK Budapest Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre (Hungarian for "Hungarian Circle of Physical Practitioners") is a multi-sports club from Budapest, founded in 1888. It has sections for football, handball, basketball, volleyball, futsal, ice hockey, water polo, cycl ...

Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion () is a multi-purpose stadium in Józsefváros, Budapest, Hungary. The stadium was opened on 13 October 2016. It was renamed after the MTK Budapest FC, MTK Budapest and Hungary national football team, Hungary footballer ...

in the

2024–25 Nemzeti Bajnokság I The 2024–25 Nemzeti Bajnokság I (also known as 2024–25 OTP Bank Liga), also known as NB I, will be the 126th season of top-tier football in Hungary. The league was officially named ''OTP Bank Liga'' for sponsorship reasons. The fixtures were a ...

. On 29 September 2024, he scored a hat-trick against

Puskás Akadémia FC Puskás Akadémia Football Club is a professional football club based in Felcsút, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hungarian football. Puskás Akadémia have spent ten seasons in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, t ...

in the 2024-25 Nemzeti Bajnokság I at the

Groupama Arena Groupama, an abbreviation for Groupe des Assurances Mutuelles Agricoles (), is a French insurance group headquartered in Paris with operations in 10 countries. It is listed in the 2007 ICA Global 300 list of mutuals and cooperatives, rank ...

Career statistics

Honours

Bahia *

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 ...

Ferencváros *

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

: 2024–25 Individual *

Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season The Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season is an annual award given to a set of 11 footballers in the top tier of Football in Serbia, Serbian football, the Serbian SuperLiga, SuperLiga, who are seen to be the best 11 players of the calendar season. S ...

: 2023–24

References

External links

*
Bahia profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saldanha, Mateus 1999 births Living people Footballers from Uberaba Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Esporte Clube Bahia players J2 League players Chinese Super League players JEF United Chiba players Chengdu Rongcheng F.C. players Neftçi PFK players Azerbaijan Premier League players FK Partizan players Serbian SuperLiga players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan Expatriate men's footballers in Azerbaijan Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Expatriate men's footballers in Serbia 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen