Nino

Elche

An extremely prolific goalscorer in the Segunda División, Nino was born in Vera, Province of Almería, and first appeared professionally with Elche CF, making his debut on 8 November 1998 in a 3–0 win over Real Murcia CF. In his first season with the club, 1998–99, he achieved promotion from Segunda División B, scoring a crucial last-minute goal against UD Melilla on 27 June. In the following campaign, Nino made his debut in the second division against Recreativo de Huelva, and eventually scored twice in 16 matches, going on to develop as an influential figure for the Province of Alicante team. He consolidated as a starter under the command of Jorge D'Alessandro, who gave him the nickname "bulldog". In 2000–01, Nino appeared in 40 out of 42 fixtures, including the first 34 consecutively, as a starter, finishing the season with 12 goals. He then scored Elche's first goal of 2001–02, against Levante UD. His first brace arrived on 18 November 2001 in the 2–1 away win over Gimnàstic de Tarragona, and his first hat-trick came on 17 March 2002 as the hosts defeated Xerez CD 4–0. Two weeks later, his two goals helped to beat the Luis Aragonés-led Atlético Madrid in a historic 5–1 victory at the Estadio Martínez Valero.

Levante, Tenerife and Osasuna

After having scored 20 goals during 2004–05, Nino made his La Liga debut two seasons later, joining neighbours Levante. However, he would only find the net once throughout the entire campaign, in a 2–1 loss at CA…

Nino is a product of the Sport Recife and Criciúma youth systems. On 18 February 2016, in a Campeonato Catarinense match against Camboriú, he made his debut for the main squad of the latter. On 20 May 2017, in a match against Oeste, he made his debut in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B. On 17 June 2018, in a match against Oeste, he scored his first goal for Criciúma. At the beginning of 2019, Nino moved to Fluminense on a loan deal. On 29 April, in a match against Goiás, he made his debut in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. On 18 May, in a match against Cruzeiro, Nino scored his first goal for Fluminense. At the end of the loan spell, the club exercised the option to purchase his transfer for 1.1 million euros. In 2023, he helped the club win the Copa Libertadores but would later score an own goal in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup final against Manchester City F.C. On 4 January 2024, Nino joined Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg on a four-and-a-half-year contract for a fee reported to be around €5 million. On 2 June 2024, Nino scored a late equalizer in the 2024 Russian Cup final which Zenit eventually won in added time.

On 17 June 2021, Nino was named in the Brazilian squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics. In August 2023, he received his first call-up to the Brazil national team by interim head coach Fernando Diniz, for two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Bolivia and Peru. He made his debut on 21 November 2023 in a World Cup qualifier 0–1 home loss against Argentina, he substituted Marquinhos at half-time. That was Brazil's first home loss in World Cup qualifiers in history.

As of match played 2 September 2026

Pichichi Trophy (Segunda División): 2008–09 Zarra Trophy (Segunda División): 2008–09

Fluminense

Taça Rio: 2020 Taça Guanabara: 2022, 2023 Campeonato Carioca: 2022, 2023 Copa Libertadores: 2023 Zenit Saint Petersburg

Russian Premier League: 2023–24, 2025–26 Russian Cup: 2023–24 Russian Super Cup: 2026 Brazil Olympic

Summer Olympics: 2020