Luiz Gustavo

Early career

Born in Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo, Luiz Gustavo started his professional career at Corinthians Alagoano. In August 2007, he was loaned to German club 1899 Hoffenheim, then of the 2. Bundesliga. On 1 April 2008, Hoffenheim signed Luiz Gustavo on a permanent contract. He went on to play two and a half Bundesliga seasons for the club.

Bayern Munich

On 3 January 2011, Luiz Gustavo was signed by Bayern Munich. The amount of the transfer fee varies from €15–20 million, depending on different sources. Twelve days later, he made his debut for the Bavarian club, coming on as a second-half substitute in the 1–1 away draw with VfL Wolfsburg. He scored his first goal for the club on 26 February, the equaliser in the 1–3 home loss against Borussia Dortmund, by volleying in Franck Ribéry's cross. In his first full season at Bayern, he played 46 matches in total, with Bayern finishing runner-up in all three competitions which they contested. His only goal came on 13 August, an added-time strike which won a league match away to VfL Wolfsburg. On 12 May 2012, Luiz Gustavo was selected to start in the centre of midfield in the DFB-Pokal Final, but he was substituted at half-time for Thomas Müller as Bayern were beaten 5–2 by Dortmund. He missed their defeat a week later in the Champions League final, as he was booked in the second leg of their semi-final victory over Real Madrid. Luiz Gustavo began the 2012–13 season by featuring in Bayern's 2–1 win over…

Luiz Gustavo made his debut for Brazil on 10 August 2011, coming on as a second-half substitute in a friendly match against Germany. He was a member of Luiz Felipe Scolari's 23-man squad for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup on home soil, and played the full 90 minutes as Brazil defeated world champions Spain 3–0 in the final at the Estádio do Maracanã on 30 June. He scored his first goal for Brazil in a friendly match against Australia on 7 September, later that year. During the 2014 FIFA World Cup on home soil, and having played every minute up to that point, he was suspended for the quarter-final match against Colombia due to accumulation of yellow cards. He returned to the starting eleven for the next two games as the team finished fourth. Luiz Gustavo was initially called into Dunga's squad for the 2015 Copa América in Chile, but withdrew with a knee injury which required surgery, and was replaced by Fred.

Club

As of 20 March 2026

International

As of match played 29 May 2016

Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first.

Luiz Gustavo is a devout Catholic, commenting that he "read[s] the Bible a lot and pray[s] twice a day". He became engaged to his girlfriend Milene on 25 December 2010, while on holiday in Brazil. He cites his mother as a big source of inspiration for him because of her dream that he would one day succeed as a player, before her death when he was just 16 years old.