Diego Carlos (footballer, born 1993)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Santosand the second or paternal family name is Silva.

Diego Carlos

Diego Carlos with Sevilla in 2020
Personal information
Full name	Diego Carlos Santos Silva [1]
Date of birth	(1993-03-15) 15 March 1993 (age 31) [2]
Place of birth	Barra Bonita, São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) [2]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Aston Villa
Number	3
Youth career
2009–2010	América-SP
2010–2012	Desportivo Brasil
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2013	Desportivo Brasil	0	(0)
2013–2014	São Paulo	0	(0)
2013–2014	→ Paulista (loan)	1	(0)
2014	→ Madureira (loan)	2	(0)
2014–2016	Estoril	31	(2)
2014–2015	→ Porto B (loan)	19	(0)
2016–2019	Nantes	97	(4)
2019–2022	Sevilla	102	(6)
2022–	Aston Villa	36	(0)
International career
2021	Brazil Olympic (O.P.)	7	(1)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Brazil Olympic Games 2020 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:08, 9 November 2024 (UTC)

Diego Carlos Santos Silva (born 15 March 1993), known as Diego Carlos, ^[3] is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Aston Villa.

Diego Carlos is an Olympic champion, winning gold with the Brazil football team at the 2020 Summer games.

Club career

Early career

Diego Carlos began his senior career with Desportivo Brasil. In September 2012, Diego Carlos signed for São Paulo, playing for their B-Team. ^[4]

He went on to sign for Paulista and Madureira for loan spells. ^{[5] [4]}

Estoril and Porto loan

On 2 July 2014, Diego Carlos signed for Portuguese club Estoril. He spent one year with their development team before going on loan to FC Porto B. ^[6] He went on to make 19 appearances with them in the Liga Portugal 2. After his loan move, Diego Carlos featured for Estoril in the Primeira Liga - scoring his first goal for the club on 25 October 2015. in a 2–2 draw against Rio Ave. ^[7]

Nantes

Diego Carlos with Nantes in 2018

In June 2016, it was announced Diego Carlos would join FC Nantes on a five-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Estoril was an estimated €2 million. ^[8] He made his debut for Nantes on 25 October 2016, in a 2–1 victory over Angers in the Coupe de la Ligue. ^[9] His first goal for the club came on 12 February 2017, in a 3–2 Ligue 1 victory over Marseille. ^[10]

On 14 January 2018, during a Ligue 1 match between Nantes and Paris Saint-Germain, referee Tony Chapron appeared to kick Diego Carlos following a collision before sending him off for a second bookable offence. ^[11] Chapron, who was suspended by the French Football Federation, admitted his mistake and asked for Diego Carlos' second yellow card to be rescinded. As a result, the French football league withdrew the second yellow card. ^[12]

Sevilla

On 31 May 2019, Spanish club Sevilla FC announced it had reached an agreement with Nantes for the transfer of Diego Carlos. ^[13] He made his debut in a 2–0 away victory over Espanyol. ^[14]

Diego Carlos was part of the club's successful 2019–20 UEFA Europa League campaign. In the run-up to the final, he conceded penalties in both of Sevilla's quarter-final and semi-final matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United, respectively and then also gave away a penalty early on in the final itself against Inter Milan on 21 August 2020. ^[15] He had a hand in the game-winning goal as his overhead kick was turned into the net by Romelu Lukaku. ^[16]

In the 2021–22 season, Sevilla went on to have one of the strongest defenses in La Liga and across Europe's top leagues, with Diego Carlos' leadership at centre-back being cited as one of the reasons for this. ^[17] Because of that, Diego Carlos began to attract the interest of several clubs across Europe, with English clubs Newcastle United and West Ham United reportedly attempting to sign him in the January transfer window of 2022. ^{[18] [19]}

Aston Villa

On 26 May 2022, English club Aston Villa announced they had reached an agreement with Sevilla for Diego Carlos' transfer. ^[20] The fee was undisclosed by the club but was reported to be £26 million. ^[21] Ahead of his first season with Aston Villa, he was named by manager Steven Gerrard as one of two vice-captains, alongside Emiliano Martínez. ^[22] On 6 August, he made his debut for the club in the Premier League in 2–0 away loss against Bournemouth. ^[23]

On 13 August 2022, Diego Carlos made his Villa Park debut in a 2–1 victory over Everton. In the same game, he ruptured his achilles tendon, which saw him requiring surgery. ^[24] He did not make his return to the field until 24 March 2023, in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Bristol Rovers. ^[25]

On 9 November 2023, Diego Carlos scored his first goal for Aston Villa, in a 2–1 victory over AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Europa Conference League. ^[26]

International career

On 3 November 2020, Diego Carlos received a late call-up to the Brazil squad for two 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Venezuela and Uruguay. ^[27]

On 17 June 2021, Diego Carlos was named to the Brazilian squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics. ^[28]

Career statistics

As of match played 9 November 2024 ^[29]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
São Paulo	2013	Série A	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	0	0
Paulista	2014	—			—		—		—		1 [c]	0	1	0
Madureira	2014	Série C	2	0	—		—		—		0	0	2	0
Porto B (loan)	2014–15	Segunda Liga	19	0	—		—		—		—		19	0
Estoril	2015–16	Primeira Liga	31	2	2	0	0	0	—		—		33	2
Nantes	2016–17	Ligue 1	34	2	2	0	3	0	—		—		39	2
	2017–18		28	1	1	0	0	0	—		—		29	1
	2018–19		35	1	3	0	2	0	—		—		40	1
	Total		97	4	6	0	5	0	—		—		108	4
Sevilla	2019–20	La Liga	35	2	2	0	—		8 [d]	0	—		45	2
	2020–21		33	1	4	0	—		8 [e]	0	1 [f]	0	46	1
	2021–22		34	3	3	0	—		8 [g]	0	—		45	3
	Total		102	6	9	0	—		24	0	1	0	136	6
Aston Villa	2022–23	Premier League	3	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		3	0
	2023–24		27	0	2	0	0	0	9 [h]	1	—		38	1
	2024–25		6	0	0	0	1	0	4 [e]	0	—		11	0
	Total		36	0	2	0	1	0	13	1	—		52	1
Career total			287	12	19	0	6	0	37	1	2	0	351	13

1. Includes Taça de Portugal, Coupe de France, Copa del Rey, FA Cup
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue
3. Appearance in Campeonato Paulista
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
6. Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
7. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
8. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Sevilla

• UEFA Europa League: 2019–20 ^[30]

Brazil Olympic

• Summer Olympics: 2020

References

1. "2022/23 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
2. "Diego Carlos: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
3. "DIEGO CARLOS - Football : la fiche de DIEGO CARLOS (Nantes)". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 3 June 2019.
4. Hazan, Marcelo (27 May 2022). "Reportagem: Quanto São Paulo receberá com venda de Diego Carlos ao Aston Villa". UOL Sport (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 4 August 2022.
5. "What Diego Carlos has said before about his future amid Newcastle transfer links". www.shieldsgazette.com. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
6. Smith, Jonathan (30 June 2022). "Sporting, Benfica and now Estoril! Introducing Portugal's newest talent factory | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
7. "Estoril vs. Rio Ave - 24 October 2015 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
8. "Le défenseur brésilien Diego Carlos signe à Nantes". L'Équipe (in French). 6 June 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
9. "Nantes vs. Angers - 25 October 2016 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
10. "FC NANTES / OM (3 / 2)". Ligue 1. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
11. "Ligue 1 referee Tony Chapron kicks Nantes player before sending him off". The Guardian. 14 January 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
12. "Nantes: Referee Tony Chapron admits mistake after Diego Carlos kick". BBC Sport. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
13. "Official: Sevilla sign Nantes centre-back Diego Carlos". Marca. 1 June 2019.
14. "Espanyol vs. Sevilla - 18 August 2019 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
15. "Diego Carlos continues his phenomenal EL penalty record". One Football. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
16. "Sevilla FC vs. Internazionale - Football Match Report - 21 August 2020 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
17. "Diego Carlos: Sevilla's Brazilian Leader in Defense". Breaking The Lines. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
18. Wright, Nick (19 January 2022). "Diego Carlos: Sevilla defender would be major upgrade for Newcastle despite questions over his decision-making". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
19. "Diego Carlos: Newcastle moving closer to deal for Sevilla man but face competition from London Premier League rival". Sky Sports. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
20. "Villa agree Diego Carlos deal". Aston Villa. 26 May 2022.
21. "Aston Villa agree £26m deal with Sevilla for Carlos". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
22. "Steven Gerrard: We need to push as hard as we can". Aston Villa Football Club. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
23. "Bournemouth marked their return to the Premier League with a confident opening-weekend victory over Aston Villa at the Vitality Stadium". BBC. 6 August 2022.
24. "Villa provide injury update on Diego Carlos". Aston Villa Football Club. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
25. "Aston Villa host Bristol Rovers in friendly". Aston Villa Football Club. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
26. "Aston Villa 2-1 AZ Alkmaar: Ollie Watkins' winner sees Villa come from behind to secure European victory". Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
27. "Felipe e Diego Carlos estão convocados para a Seleção Brasileira" (in Portuguese). CBF. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
28. "Seleção Olímpica é convocada para os Jogos Olímpicos de Tóquio 2020". CBF. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
29. "Diego Carlos". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
30. Wilkinson, Jack (21 August 2020). "Sevilla 3-2 Inter Milan: Sevilla edge five-goal thriller for sixth Europa League crown". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 August 2020.

External links

• Diego Carlos at Aston Villa F.C.
• Diego Carlos at Premier League
• Diego Carlos – UEFA competition record ( archive )
• Diego Carlos at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Diego Carlos at Soccerway
• Diego Carlos at Olympedia
• Diego Carlos at Olympics.com
• Diego Carlos at the Comitê Olímpico do Brasil (in Portuguese)