Brazilian footballer (born 1999)
Emerson Aparecido Leite de Souza Junior (born 14 January 1999), known as Emerson Royal or simply Emerson, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a full-back, wing-back or centre-back for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Brazil national team.
Early life
Emerson was born in São Paulo and was raised in Americana.[4] He got his nickname "Royal" as his uncle said he resembled the mascot of the Royal-branded gelatin dessert sold in Brazil.[5]
Club career
Ponte Preta
Emerson joined Ponte Preta's youth setup in 2014, after notably representing Palmeiras, São Paulo and Grêmio.[6][4] After appearing as an unused substitute in some matches of the 2016 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, he made his senior debut on 22 February 2017, replacing injured Artur in a 2–2 Campeonato Paulista away draw against Linense. Despite being booked and conceding a penalty, he was given his first start three days later, in a 1–0 home defeat of São Bernardo.[citation needed]
Emerson made his Série A debut on 5 November 2017, replacing injured John Kleber in a 2–0 loss at Bahia. He contributed with three league appearances during the campaign, as his side suffered relegation.[citation needed]
Promoted to the first team ahead of the 2018 season,[7] Emerson became a regular starter for Macaca, making 14 appearances in the 2018 Campeonato Paulista. On 2 April 2018, he scored his first professional goal, the winning one in the Campeonato Paulista do Interior final against Mirassol.[8]
Atlético Mineiro
On 27 April 2018, Emerson signed a five-year deal with Atlético Mineiro,[9] for a rumoured fee of R$5 million. As a part of the deal, Danilo Barcelos moved in the opposite direction on loan.[10]
Emerson made his debut for the club on 19 May 2018, shortly after turning 19, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win over rivals Cruzeiro.[11] Initially a backup to Patric, he ended the year with 23 league appearances. He scored his first goal in the top tier on 30 September, netting his team's third in a 5–2 home routing of Sport.[citation needed]
Real Betis and Barcelona
On 31 January 2019, Atlético announced the transfer of Emerson to Barcelona, effective as of July 2019, for €12.7 million.[12] The deal consisted of a joint financial operation between Barcelona and fellow La Liga side Real Betis, in which each club paid half of the transfer fee and retained a percentage of Emerson's economic rights. He was to become a Betis player in July 2019, with Barcelona holding the option of reacquiring him for €6 million in 2021.[13] Emerson initially joined Betis on loan from Atlético for the remainder of the 2018–19 season, during which period he made seven appearances for the club.[14] He then became a regular starter for the Andalusians, and scored his first goal abroad on 27 September 2019, but in a 1–5 loss to Villarreal. He scored 3 goals and added 6 assists that season in 34 appearances for Betis, only missing 3 La Liga games.
On 2 June 2021, Barcelona exercised their option to bring back Emerson for three seasons by paying Betis €9 million.[15][16]
Tottenham Hotspur
On the final day of the 2021 summer transfer window, Tottenham signed Emerson on a five-year deal for a reported £25.8 million transfer fee.[17] His debut was in the Premier League away to Crystal Palace which Tottenham lost 3–0 on 11 September.[18] On 3 April 2022, he scored his first goal for Tottenham in a 5–1 home win against Newcastle United.[19] On October 1, 2022, during the second half of Tottenham's Premier League away game against Arsenal, Royal received a straight red card for his tackle on Gabriel Martinelli. The team went on to lose 3–1 in the North London derby.[20] On 28 March 2023, the club announced he would undergo surgery on a knee injury he sustained on international duty with Brazil.[21] On August 13 2023, Emerson Royal scored a drilled shot from outside the box to secure a 2-2 draw against Brentford on the opening game of the 2023-2024 Premier League season. Due to a large amount of injuries at the club, Emerson filled in as a starter at left-back and centre-back as well as his natural right-back position throughout the first half of the season, widely impressing with his displays.[22] On January 22 2024, it was reported that Tottenham Hotspur had rejected a £20 million bid from Saudi club Al-Nassr for Emerson.[22]
International career
Emerson was called up to the Brazil under-20 team for the 2017 Toulon Tournament.[23] He was the first-choice right-back at the 2019 South American U-20 Championship and the 2019 Toulon Tournament, having won the latter with Brazil's under-23 side.[citation needed]
Emerson made his senior international debut for Brazil on 19 November 2019, coming off the bench in a 3–0 victory over South Korea.[24]
On 11 June 2021, Emerson was called up by manager Tite for the 2021 Copa América.[25] He made his tournament debut on 17 June, playing the last six minutes in a 4–0 thrashing of Peru in Brazil's second group match. Ten days later, he was given his first start as he played the full match in a 1–1 draw in their final group stage match against Ecuador. On 10 July, he played in the final, after coming on in the 76th minute in their 0–1 defeat against Argentina.[26]
