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Léo Pereira (footballer, born 1996)

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Léo Pereira
Pereira with Brazil in 2026
Personal information
Full name Leonardo Pereira[1]
Date of birth (1996-01-31) 31 January 1996 (age 30)[1]
Place of birth Curitiba, Brazil
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position Centre back
Team information
Current team
 Flamengo
Number 4
Youth career
2010–2014 Atlético Paranaense
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2019 Atlético Paranaense 80 (7)
2015 → Guaratinguetá (loan) 8 (2)
2016 → Náutico (loan) 5 (0)
2017 → Orlando City B (loan) 8 (0)
2017 → Orlando City (loan) 10 (0)
2020– Flamengo 220 (15)
International career‡
2013 Brazil U17 4 (0)
2015 Brazil U20 8 (2)
2026– Brazil 4 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 4 November 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 6 June 2026

Leonardo Pereira (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈlɛ.u peˈɾejɾɐ]; born 31 January 1996) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Flamengo and the Brazil national team.

Club career

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Atlético Paranaense

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Born in Curitiba, Paraná, Léo Pereira finished his formation with Atlético Paranaense. He made his Série A debut on 3 May 2014, replacing Marcos Guilherme in a 2–3 home loss against Cruzeiro.[2] He went on to make a further thirteen league appearances in 2014.

Loans to Guaratinguetá and Náutico

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Pereira joined Guaratinguetá of Série C on loan in August 2015 where he made eight appearances before returning to Atlético in October 2015.[3] On 23 May 2016, he moved to Náutico also in a temporary deal.[4]

Loan to Orlando City

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On 14 March 2017, Pereira joined Orlando City B, the USL affiliate of Orlando City, on a season long loan. He was the first player to move between the two clubs since they became official partners the previous November.[5] After beginning the season with Orlando City B, he was called up to the first team in mid-April and made his MLS debut against San Jose Earthquakes on 17 May.[6]

Breakthrough

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Back to Atlético for the 2018 season, Pereira was initially a backup under head coach Fernando Diniz, before becoming a starter under Tiago Nunes and finishing the year with six goals.[7]

Flamengo

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On 28 January 2020, Flamengo signed Pereira from Athletico Paranaense in a €6.1m transfer.[8] On 27 January 2023, established as a first-choice, he extended his contract with the club until 31 December 2027.[9]

In an impressive 2025 campaign, Pereira emerged as one of the most utilized players in the squad, appearing in 63 matches with 62 starts. He scored six goals and providing one assist during the year, with 22 key passes and a 92% pass completion rate.[10]

International career

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Youth

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Pereira has made twelve appearances across two age levels for the Brazil national team. He received his first call up to the U17s when he was selected for the 2013 South American Under-17 Football Championship in April. He made two appearances in Argentina against Peru and Venezuela. His final U17 caps came in October and November when he was called up for the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. The first coming in the Group Stage against Honduras and the second in a quarter-final penalty shoot-out defeat to Mexico in which Pereira scored a spot-kick in the shoot-out.[3]

Two years later Pereira appeared in five of Brazil's 2015 South American Youth Football Championship matches, with two caps coming against Colombia and the other three coming against Uruguay, Paraguay and Peru who he also scored against. Later that year he played in three of Brazil's 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup matches. The first two came in the Group Stage against Hungary and North Korea, he scored a goal against the latter, and his last U20 World Cup cap was versus Senegal in a 5–0 semi-final win. Brazil subsequently made it to the final which they lost to Serbia, Pereira was an unused substitute.[3]

Senior

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After being included several times on the pre-lists for the national team, Pereira finally was called by Carlo Ancelotti for the main Brazil squad on 16 March 2026, for friendlies against France and Croatia, on the final months of preparation building up the squad prior to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[11] He made his full international debut ten days later, starting in a 2–1 loss against the former.[12]

On 18 May 2026, Pereira was included in Ancelotti's 26-man squad for the World Cup.[13]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 4 November 2026[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League State league[a] National cup[b] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Athletico Paranaense 2014 Série A 1407010——220
2015 002010——30
2018 1831320010[c]1—416
2019 26200718[d]03[e]0443
Total 58522291181301109
Guaratinguetá (loan) 2015 Série C 82————82
Náutico (loan) 2016 Série B 50————50
Orlando City B (loan) 2017 USL 80————80
Orlando City (loan) 2017 MLS 100—00——100
Flamengo 2020 Série A 131100406[d]01[f]0341
2021 19040507[d]000350
2022 13082908[d]01[g]0392
2023 32370804[d]12[h]0534
2024 280123907[d]1—564
2025 344802012[d]17[i]1636
2026 29230109[d]13[j]0453
Total 1681052538053414132520
Career total 2571774747171517146636
  1. ↑ Includes Campeonato Paranaense, Campeonato Carioca
  2. ↑ Includes Copa do Brasil
  3. ↑ Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Appearances in Copa Libertadores
  5. ↑ Two appearances in Recopa Sudamericana, one appearance in J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship
  6. ↑ Appearance in Recopa Sudamericana
  7. ↑ Appearance in Supercopa do Brasil
  8. ↑ One appearance in FIFA Club World Cup, on appearance in Supercopa do Brasil
  9. ↑ One appearance in Supercopa do Brasil, three appearances in FIFA Club World Cup, three appearances and one goal in FIFA Intercontinental Cup
  10. ↑ One appearance in Supercopa do Brasil, two appearances in Recopa Sudamericana

International

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As of match played 6 June 2026[15]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Brazil 202640
Total40

Honours

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Athletico Paranaense

Flamengo

Individual

References

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  1. 1 2 3 "FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2022™: List of Players: CR Flamengo" (PDF). FIFA. 7 February 2023. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  2. ↑ "Cruzeiro reage duas vezes e consegue virada para cima do Furacão" [Cruzeiro reacts twice and completes comeback over Furacão] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Léo Pereira on Soccerway". Soccerway. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Novamente apostando em jovens, Náutico contrata zagueiro Léo Pereira, de 20 anos" [Again betting on youngsters, Náutico sign centre-back Léo Pereira, aged 20] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Super Esportes. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "OCB Acquires Clube Atlético Paranaense Defender Léo Pereira on Loan". Orlando City. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Starting XI vs. San Jose". Orlando City. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  7. ↑ "Conheça a trajetória de Léo Pereira, um dos destaques do Athletico em 2018" [Know the trajectory of Léo Pereira, one of Athletico's spotlights in 2018] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Tribuna PR. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "Pablo Marí viaja para fechar com o Arsenal, e Flamengo acerta contratação de Léo Pereira, do Athletico". ge.globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 28 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "Flamengo renova contrato de Léo Pereira até o fim de 2027". ge.globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "Compare números de Vitão com principais zagueiros do Flamengo" (in Portuguese). Lance. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  11. ↑ "Brazil: Brentford's Igor Thiago and Bournemouth's Rayan receive first call-ups". BBC Sport. 16 March 2026. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "Léo Pereira compara estreia pela seleção aos jogos do Flamengo e responde como foi encarar Mbappé" [Léo Pereira compares debut in the national team to Flamengo matches and answers how it was to face Mbappé] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 28 March 2026. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Léo Pereira, do Flamengo, se joga na piscina ao saber de convocação para a Copa do Mundo; veja" [Léo Pereira, from Flamengo, throws himself in the pool after knowing he was called up to the World Cup; check it out] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 19 May 2026. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  14. ↑ Léo Pereira at Soccerway. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  15. ↑ Léo Pereira at National-Football-Teams.com
  16. ↑ "Flamengo reach final on the back of another de Arrascaeta masterclass". FIFA. 13 December 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  17. ↑ "Cruz Azul v CR Flamengo | FIFA Derby of the Americas | FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2025". FIFA. 10 December 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  18. ↑ "Gabi Leads Flamengo To Libertadores Title". CONMEBOL Libertadores. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Flamengo pip Palmeiras to claim Copa Libertadores title for fourth time". Flashscore. 29 November 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  20. ↑ Vickery, Tim (27 February 2020). "Flamengo's Recopa win over Independiente a stepping stone to more glory". ESPN. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  21. ↑ "Champions again: Flamengo clinch the 2025 Brasileirão title". OneFootball. 3 December 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  22. ↑ "Supercopa: em jogo doido, Flamengo vence o Palmeiras nos pênaltis". One Football (in Portuguese). 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  23. ↑ "Flamengo domina o Botafogo e é campeão da Supercopa Rei". ge.globo.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  24. ↑ "Flamengo domina seleção do Campeonato Carioca: veja a escalação, o craque e a revelação" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge.globo. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  25. ↑ Bezerra, Marcio Ferreira; Gramacho, Thiago Ghiotti (1 April 2018). "Estatísticas da Copa Libertadores da América 2017: Uma Análise da Correlação de Scouts dos Jogos da Fase Final". PODIUM Sport, Leisure and Tourism Review. 7 (1): 161–177. doi:10.5585/tlsr.v7i1.268. ISSN 2316-932X.
  26. ↑ "Vice-campeão, Fluminense domina seleção do Carioca 2026; veja os melhores" [Runners-up Fluminense dominate the 2026 Campeonato Carioca Team of the Tournament; see the best players] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 9 March 2026. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  27. ↑ "Seleção da Libertadores 2025: Conmebol divulga time com sete jogadores do Flamengo" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge.globo. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  28. ↑ "Bola de Prata: confira os vencedores da premiação da ESPN". Revista Veja (in Portuguese). 8 December 2025. Archived from the original on 8 December 2025.
  29. ↑ "Seleção do Brasileirão 2025: Flamengo e Cruzeiro dominam escalação; veja premiados". GloboEsporte (in Portuguese). 8 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  30. ↑ "De Messi y los dos uruguayos, a los seis campeones de Libertadores: el 11 ideal de América le responde a El País" (in Spanish). El País. 31 December 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
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