Matheus Pereira
Pereira scoring for 1. FC Nürnberg in 2019
Personal information
Full name Matheus Fellipe Costa Pereira[1]
Date of birth (1996-05-05) 5 May 1996 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth Belo Horizonte, Brazil[2]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team
 Cruzeiro
(on loan from Al Hilal)
Number 10
Youth career
2007–2010 Trafaria
2010–2015 Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Sporting CP B 42 (17)
2015–2020 Sporting CP 15 (1)
2017–2018 → Chaves (loan) 27 (7)
2018–2019 → 1. FC Nürnberg (loan) 19 (3)
2019–2020 → West Bromwich Albion (loan) 42 (8)
2020–2021 West Bromwich Albion 33 (11)
2021– Al Hilal 28 (2)
2023 → Al Wahda (loan) 10 (1)
2023– → Cruzeiro (loan) 18 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:21, 7 February 2024 (UTC)

Matheus Fellipe Costa Pereira (born 5 May 1996) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or right winger for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Cruzeiro, on loan from Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal.

Club career

Sporting CP

Born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Pereira moved to Portugal at a young age, joining Sporting CP's youth system at the age of 14. On 18 January 2014, whilst still a junior, he made his debut as a senior with the B team, coming on as a 46th-minute substitute for Cristian Ponde in a 1–1 away draw against C.D. Trofense in the Segunda Liga.[3] He scored his first goal in the competition on 7 March of the following year, contributing to a 4–3 home win over C.D. Tondela.[4]

Early into the 2015–16 season, Pereira was first called to the main squad by newly appointed manager Jorge Jesus.[5] His first competitive appearance took place on 1 October, as he started in a 1–1 draw at Beşiktaş J.K. in the UEFA Europa League.[6] Late in the same month he scored his first goals as a professional, helping defeat U.D. Vilafranquense in the Taça de Portugal (4–0, away)[7] and KF Skënderbeu Korçë in the Europa League (5–1, home),[8] being subsequently selected for the latter competition's team of the week.[9]

Pereira was loaned to fellow Primeira Liga club G.D. Chaves in the 2017–18 campaign.[10] He scored seven league goals during his spell (eight overall), helping them to a sixth-place finish.[11]

On 31 August 2018, the last day of the summer transfer window, Pereira joined 1. FC Nürnberg on loan until the end of the season[12][13] after criticising José Peseiro's choice of not selecting him to the first match against Moreirense F.C. on social media.[14] He made his Bundesliga debut 16 days later, playing 61 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against SV Werder Bremen.[15]

Pereira scored his first league goal on 30 March 2019, helping the hosts defeat FC Augsburg 3–0.[16] He was nominated for the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season award, but his team suffered relegation after finishing last.[17]

West Bromwich Albion

On 8 August 2019, Pereira joined West Bromwich Albion on an initial season-long loan with a view to a permanent move.[18] He scored his first goal in the Championship on 28 September, in a 2–0 away win against Queens Park Rangers.[19]

On 20 June 2020, after the player had appeared in the required number of matches, a buyout clause was triggered, obligating the club into Pereira’s purchase.[20] The following month, he won the Supporters’ Player of the Season award after collecting 65% of the votes.[21]

Despite the buyout clause being met months earlier, it took until 17 August 2020 for Pereira to be officially announced as an Albion player, eventually signing a four-year contract.[22] To ensure the player’s focus remained on the field, the board decided to leave the negotiations until after the season had ended.[23]

Pereira made his Premier League debut on 13 September 2020, playing the entire 0–3 home loss against Leicester City.[24] He scored his first goal six days later, through a direct free kick in a 5–2 away defeat to Everton.[25]

On 3 April 2021, Pereira scored a brace in first-half stoppage time in an eventual 5–2 win at Chelsea; this sealed Albion's first victory at Stamford Bridge since 1978, and handed Thomas Tuchel his first loss as the opposition's head coach.[26] On 9 May, his tenth goal of the season – becoming the first club player to get on double digits since Saido Berahino in 2014–15 – amounted to nothing because his team lost 3–1 at Arsenal and confirmed their relegation.[27]

On 1 August 2021, recently appointed manager Valérien Ismaël announced that Pereira would leave the club before the end of the transfer window, accusing him of "not being committed".[28] The following day, the latter released a statement on his social media accounts, confirming that he wished to leave but also expressing anger at the former's comments, branding them "disrespectful".[29]

Al Hilal

On 6 August 2021, Pereira agreed to a deal with Al Hilal SFC for an undisclosed fee.[30] He scored his first goal for the club the following 6 February, in a 6–1 rout of Al Jazira Club in the second round of the FIFA Club World Cup.[31]

Pereira was loaned to Al Wahda FC of the UAE Pro League in January 2023, until June.[32] In July that year, also on loan, he joined Cruzeiro Esporte Clube.[33]

Career statistics

As of 7 February 2024[34]
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sporting CP B 2013–14 Segunda Liga 4 0 – – – – 4 0
2014–15 12 1 – – – – 12 1
2015–16 12 8 – – – – 12 8
2016–17 14 8 – – – – 14 8
Total 42 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 42 17
Sporting CP 2015–16 Primeira Liga 8 0 2 2 3 0 5 3 – 18 5
2016–17 7 1 1 0 1 0 – – 9 1
Total 15 1 3 2 4 0 5 3 0 0 27 6
Chaves (loan) 2017–18 Primeira Liga 27 7 1 0 2 1 – – 30 8
Nürnberg (loan) 2018–19 Bundesliga 19 3 2 0 – – – 21 3
West Bromwich Albion (loan) 2019–20 Championship 42 8 0 0 1 0 – – 43 8
West Bromwich Albion 2020–21 Premier League 33 11 1 1 0 0 – – 34 12
Al Hilal 2020–21 Saudi Professional League – – – 4[a] 0 – 4 0
2021–22 21 2 2 0 – 3[a] 0 4[b] 1 30 3
2022–23 7 0 1 0 – 0 0 – 8 0
Total 28 2 3 0 – 7 0 4 1 42 3
Al Wahda (loan) 2022–23 UAE Pro League 10 1 0 0 0 0 – 1[c] 1 11 2
Cruzeiro 2023 Série A 15 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 15 1
2024 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 3 0 3 0
Total 15 1 0 0 0 0 8 3 3 0 18 1
Career total 229 50 10 3 7 1 12 3 5 2 251 59
  1. ^ a b Appearances in AFC Champions League
  2. ^ One appearance in Saudi Super Cup, three appearances and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup

Honours

Al Hilal

References

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: West Bromwich Albion" (PDF). English Football League. p. 75. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Matheus Pereira" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Trofense-Sporting B, 1–1: Equilíbrio dá empate" [Trofense-Sporting B, 1–1: Balance equals draw]. Record (in Portuguese). 18 January 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Sporting B vence Tondela com bis de Rubio" [Sporting B defeat Tondela with Rubio brace]. Record (in Portuguese). 7 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Matheus preserva estatuto" [Matheus preserves status]. Record (in Portuguese). 9 September 2015. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  6. ^ Cem Yılmaz, Çetin (1 October 2015). "Beşiktaş and Sporting share spoils in Istanbul". UEFA. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  7. ^ Bento, Helena (17 October 2015). "Sporting vence Vilafranquense por 4–0" [Sporting defeat Vilafranquense 4–0]. Expresso (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Sporting see off Skënderbeu in style". UEFA. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  9. ^ "UEFA Europa League team of the week". UEFA. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Sporting empresta Matheus Pereira ao Chaves" [Sporting loan Matheus Pereira to Chaves] (in Portuguese). Rádio Renascença. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  11. ^ Silva Reis, Paulo (15 August 2018). "SAD do Chaves está atenta a Matheus Pereira" [Chaves PLSC keeping an eye on Matheus Pereira]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Club holt Matheus Pereira aus Lissabon" [Club gets Matheus Pereira from Lisbon] (in German). 1. FC Nürnberg. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Nürnberg verpflichtet Misidjan und Matheus Pereira" [Nürnberg acquire Misidjan and Matheus Pereira] (in German). Kicker. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  14. ^ Frias, Rui (12 August 2018). "Insatisfação de Matheus Pereira levou resposta de Peseiro" [Matheus Pereira dissatisfaction got reply from Peseiro]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Joker Misidjan vermiest Sahin das Werder-Debüt" [Joker Misidjan spoils Sahin's Werder debut] (in German). Kicker. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  16. ^ "Nürnberg schlägt Augsburg 3:0 – die Hoffnung lebt" [Nürnberg beat Augsburg 3:0 – there's still hope] (in German). Bayerischer Rundfunk. 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Ozan Kabak ist der Rookie der Saison 2018/19" [Ozan Kabak is the 2018/19 season rookie] (in German). Bundesliga. May 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  18. ^ "Pereira signs for the Baggies". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  19. ^ "Queens Park Rangers 0–2 West Bromwich Albion". BBC Sport. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  20. ^ Chapman, Joseph (20 June 2020). "West Brom trigger Matheus Pereira clause to confirm permanent signing". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Pereira picks up Ideal Boilers Supporters' Player of the Season award". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  22. ^ "Pereira pens permanent deal at The Hawthorns". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  23. ^ Masi, Joseph (17 August 2020). "Matheus Pereira signs four year deal with West Brom". Express & Star. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  24. ^ Stone, Simon (13 September 2020). "West Bromwich Albion 0–3 Leicester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  25. ^ Rose, Gary (19 September 2020). "Everton 5–2 West Bromwich Albion: Dominic Calvert-Lewin scores hat-trick in big win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  26. ^ Chowdhury, Saj (3 April 2021). "Chelsea 2–5 West Brom: Baggies thump five past 10-man Blues". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  27. ^ Bysouth, Alex (9 May 2021). "Arsenal 3–1 West Bromwich Albion: Baggies relegated after defeat". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  28. ^ "Matheus Pereira dismisses claims he is 'not committed' to West Brom". The Independent. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  29. ^ Gurney, Rob; Scott, Ged (3 August 2021). "Matheus Pereira: West Brom boss Ismael not fazed by impending exit". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  30. ^ "Matheus Pereira joins Saudi club Al Hilal from West Brom". Sky Sports. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  31. ^ Duerden, John (6 February 2022). "Al-Hilal overwhelm Al-Jazira to set up FIFA Club World Cup semi-final against Chelsea". Arab News. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  32. ^ "الهلال يعير بيريرا إلى الوحدة الإماراتي" [Al-Hilal loan Pereira to Al Wahda]. Arriyadiyah (in Arabic). 22 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  33. ^ "Cruzeiro anuncia a contratação de Matheus Pereira" [Cruzeiro announce signing of Matheus Pereira] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  34. ^ a b "Matheus Pereira". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  35. ^ Duerden, John (7 January 2022). "Al-Hilal defeat Al-Faisaly to win Saudi Super Cup after dramatic penalty shootout". Arab News. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  36. ^ "Al Hilal power past Pohang Steelers to create history". Asian Football Confederation. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.

External links

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube – current squad
West Bromwich Albion F.C. – Player of the Year
Categories