Wendell Nascimento Borges (born 20 July 1993), commonly known as Wendell, 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

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

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 ...

club

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 ...

and the Brazil national team. He began his career with Iraty,

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná (state), Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is 388 km (241 miles) away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and f ...

and Paraná of the

Campeonato Paranaense The Campeonato Paranaense is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is run by the Paraná Football Federation (FPF). List of champions Notes * In 1924 Internacional and América merged in ...

and

Campeonato Brasileiro Série B The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (commonly referred to as the Brasileirão Série B, the Série B or the Brazilian Série B to distinguish it from the Italian and the Ecuadorian Serie B), and currently officially called Brasileirão Série B ...

before transferring to Grêmio in 2013, where he debuted in the

. In 2014 he signed for

Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. ...

of the German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

, playing 250 official games over seven years, a club record for a foreigner. He signed for Porto in 2021 for a fee of €4 million.

Club career

Early career

Born in

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 ...

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

, Wendell grew up in

Camaçari Camaçari is a city in Bahia, Brazil. It is located at . It is part of the Salvador, Bahia, Salvador Metropolitan Region (''Região Metropolitana de Salvador''), being the industrial city of the metropolis. Camaçari covers , and had an estimate ...

near

Salvador, Bahia Salvador () is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality and capital city of the Federative units of Brazil, state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognize ...

. At age 14, he began his career at Iraty in Paraná. Remaining in the same state, he played for

and

Paraná Clube Paraná Clube, commonly referred to as Paraná, is a Brazilian professional club based in Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 ...

, the latter on loan in 2012 for the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

. During Wendell's time at Londrina, he gained 4 kg in weight to supplement his light frame, and trained to improve his marking. He almost gave up his career after his father suffered a stroke in 2010, but was advised to continue by his mother. In June 2013, having been voted the best of his position in the

, Wendell was loaned to

club Grêmio for the rest of the calendar year. He made his top-flight debut on 11 September as a starter in a 2–0 win at Náutico, due to Alex Telles's injury, and totalled nine appearances as the club from

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

finished runners-up and qualified for the

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 ...

. After Telles was sold to Galatasaray, Grêmio signed Wendell to a permanent four-year contract, obtaining 65% of his economic rights. On 2 February 2014, he scored his only goal for the club as an equaliser in a 1–1 draw at Juventude in the

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 ...

, as his team finished runners-up.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 27 February 2014, Wendell signed a five-year deal at

of the German

, effective from July. He had been recommended to make the transfer by his Grêmio teammate Zé Roberto, who had spent several years at the club. He made his debut for the team on 15 August, replacing Sebastian Boenisch for the last 19 minutes of a 6–0 win away to sixth-tier SV Alemannia Waldalgesheim in the first round of the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

. His

debut came on 21 September, playing the entirety of a 1–4 defeat at

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

. On 13 March 2015 he scored his first goal for the club, opening a 4–0 home win over

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

. In 2016, Wendell extended his contract to 2021. With a year remaining of that deal, it was prolonged to 2022. He played in the 2020 DFB-Pokal final, being booked after 29 minutes for a foul on

Leon Goretzka Leon Christoph Goretzka (born 6 February 1995) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich and the Germany national football team, Germany national team. Starting ...

in a 4–2 loss to

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

winners

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional association foo ...

. He played 250 total games and scored eight goals during his time at the

BayArena BayArena () is a Association football, football stadium in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, which has been the home ground of Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen since 1958. History The stadium was originally known as ''Ulrich-Haber ...

, surpassing the club record for games by a foreigner held by Romanian Ioan Lupescu with 234.

Porto

On 19 August 2021, Wendell signed a four-year contract with

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 ...

club

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, for a reported fee of €4 million. He made his debut nine days later, replacing Chancel Mbemba in the 86th minute of a 3–0 home win over Arouca. On 2 October, Wendell scored his first goal for 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 ...

side, in a 2–1 home win over Paços de Ferreira. He was sent off on 7 December in a

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 ...

2–1 group stage loss at home to

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

for an arm in the face of

Matheus Cunha Matheus Santos Carneiro da Cunha (born 27 May 1999) is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the Brazil national ...

, only seven minutes after coming on as a substitute for Zaidu Sanusi. He finished his first season with a league and

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 ...

, though he started at left-back less often than the Nigerian. Wendell scored in a 4–0 home win over Vizela to help Porto advance to the knockout stages of 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 ...

on 16 December 2022, and on 28 January he assisted the opening goal by

Stephen Eustáquio Stephen Antunes Eustáquio ( ; born 21 December 1996) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Primeira Liga club Porto and vice-captains the Canada national team. After starting out at Nazarenos, he has spent mos ...

in a 2–0 win over

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

in the final at the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa. On the first day of the 2023–24 Primeira Liga, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 comeback win away to Moreirense, but was sent off in added time. It was his second consecutive red card, following one in the 2023 Taça de Portugal final victory over

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 ...

; he missed the 2023 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira as a result of that suspension. On 20 January 2024, Wendell scored twice in a 4–0 home win over Moreirense, adding another goal on 3 March in a 5–0 victory against title rivals Benfica in '' O Clássico''. He reflected that the latter match was the best moment of his first 100 games for Porto.

São Paulo

On 6 January 2025, Wendell signed a pre-contract with São Paulo FC, and was originally expected to arrive in July 2025. However, after the arrival of São Paulo players William Gomes and Moreira to Porto, Wendell's immediate release to the Brazilian club was agreed, being officially announced on 4 February.

International career

Wendell got his first call-up to the senior

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

side for

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

qualifiers against

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

in October 2016, replacing

Marcelo Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus (name), Marcellus. Marcelo may refer to: Given name *Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapist, and necrophile *Marcelo Arriagada (born 1973), Chile ...

. He did not make his debut until 23 March 2024, when he played in a 1–0 friendly win over

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Londrina *

do Interior:

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 ...

Porto *

: 2021–22 *

: 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24 *

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 ...

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 ...

: 2022–23 Brazil U20 *

Toulon Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a Association football, football tournament, which traditionally features invit ...

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 ...

Individual *Best

full-back:

Team of the Season: 2017–18

References

External links

Profile
at the FC Porto website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wendell Nascimento Borges 1993 births Living people Footballers from Fortaleza People from Camaçari Footballers from Bahia Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Iraty Sport Club players Londrina Esporte Clube players Paraná Clube players Grêmio FBPA players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players FC Porto players São Paulo FC players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Bundesliga players Primeira Liga players Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal 2024 Copa América players 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen