José Artur de Lima Junior

São Paulo

Artur came through the youth ranks at Bahia, Juventus-SC, and São Paulo before breaking into the São Paulo first team in 2016. He made his senior debut for the Tricolor on 19 June 2016, part of a 2–2 draw with Flamengo, and his performance was rated highly by the Brazilian press. However, Artur rarely made it off the bench during the rest of the Série A season, making just four total appearances, all of which were in the Campeonato Brasileiro.

Columbus Crew

After impressing against Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew SC in a preseason match, Artur signed on loan with the American side on 13 February 2017, receiving the number 7 shirt. He made his debut for the club on 4 March, a substitute appearance as part of a 1–1, season-opening draw with the Chicago Fire. Although Artur had initially appeared to be a depth signing for the Crew, sitting behind Wil Trapp, Mohammed Abu, and Tony Tchani on the depth chart, he quickly forced his way into the Columbus starting lineup. Artur missed time early in the year after undergoing surgery on his left wrist, but still would end up starting 24 times during the regular season. During the 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs, Artur made three appearances. During the first leg of the conference semifinals against New York City FC, he tallied his first career goal in the 58th minute of a 4–1 Crew victory. Artur and the Crew drew 0–0 with Toronto FC in the first leg of the conference final, but lost 1–0 in the second leg, with…

A strong, combative player, Artur has mainly been deployed as a defensive midfielder, and has been noted for his work ethic, strength, and leadership skills. Former Columbus Crew teammate Josh Williams stated, "To me, he’s just one of the best in the league at destroying stuff on defense, and those are guys that are normally one-sided. They’re defensive specialists. They’re basically destroyers. They seek and destroy. But Arty can seek and destroy and then start a counter for us."

As of 3 November 2024

Artur's brother, Norberto, is a fellow professional footballer who plays as a right back. After arriving to the United States in 2017, he began learning English from Eminem songs. In 2022, Artur became a United States citizen. Growing up, Artur admired Ronaldinho and Zinedine Zidane.