Douglas Luiz

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Soaresand the second or paternal family name is de Paulo.

Douglas Luiz

Douglas Luiz with Aston Villa in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Douglas Luiz Soares de Paulo [1]
Date of birth	(1998-05-09) 9 May 1998 (age 25) [2]
Place of birth	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) [2]
Position(s)	Central midfielder
Team information
Current team	Aston Villa
Number	6
Youth career
2013–2016	Vasco da Gama
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2017	Vasco da Gama	25	(3)
2017–2019	Manchester City	0	(0)
2017–2019	→ Girona (loan)	38	(0)
2019–	Aston Villa	171	(20)
International career‡
2016–2017	Brazil U20	7	(0)
2019–2021	Brazil U23	13	(2)
2019–	Brazil	13	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Brazil Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo Team Copa América Runner-up 2021 Brazil
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:51, 6 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:10, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Douglas Luiz Soares de Paulo (born 9 May 1998), known as Douglas Luiz, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Brazil national team.

Douglas Luiz is a product of the Vasco da Gama academy in Rio de Janeiro. He was signed at the age of 19 by Manchester City in 2017 but never played a competitive match during his time at the club due to work permit difficulties, being loaned out to La Liga side Girona twice. Aston Villa signed Luiz in July 2019. He is an Olympic champion, winning gold at the 2020 Summer Olympics men's football final.

Club career

Vasco da Gama

Douglas Luiz was born in Rio de Janeiro and joined Vasco da Gama's youth setup in 2013, aged 14, after being approved in a number of tests held in Itaguaí. ^[3] In July 2016, he was promoted to the first team by manager Jorginho due to Marcelo Mattos' injury. ^[4]

Douglas Luiz made his first team debut on 27 August 2016, coming on as a second-half substitute for Fellype Gabriel in a 2–2 away draw against Tupi for the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B championship. In his first start three days later, he scored his team's only goal in a 2–1 loss at Vila Nova.^{[ citation needed ]}

Douglas Luiz remained a starter for the Cruz-maltino until the end of the year, as his side achieved promotion to Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. In the meantime, he also extended his contract until 2019, on 26 September 2016. ^[5]

Douglas Luiz made his debut in the main category of Brazilian football on 14 May 2017, starting in a 4–0 away loss against Palmeiras. His first goal in the division occurred on 10 June, as he netted his team's second in a 2–1 home win against Sport.^{[ citation needed ]}

Manchester City

Douglas Luiz completed a move to Manchester City on 15 July 2017, signing a five-year contract. ^[6]

On 1 August, he was loaned to La Liga side Girona FC for his first season with the club. ^[7] Douglas Luiz made his debut for the Catalans on 26 August 2017, replacing Portu in a 1–0 home win against Málaga CF. ^[8]

On 31 August 2018, Douglas Luiz was again loaned to Girona due to the UK Home Office denying him a work permit. ^[9]

Aston Villa

Douglas Luiz signed for Aston Villa on 25 July 2019, subject to a work permit. ^[10] His work permit was granted, and he officially became an Aston Villa player on 7 August. ^[11] On 17 August, Douglas Luiz scored his first goal for Aston Villa against AFC Bournemouth; Villa would eventually lose the game 2–1. ^[12] In August 2022, Luiz scored directly from a corner in the third round of the 2022–23 EFL Cup against Bolton Wanderers, and repeated the feat the following week in a Premier League fixture against Arsenal. ^[13]

In October 2022, after rumoured transfer interest from Arsenal, following the end of the transfer window - Luiz agreed a new "long-term" contract with Aston Villa. ^{[14] [15]} On 23 May 2023, Luiz was voted both Supporter's Player of the Season and Player's Player of the Season at the club's end of season awards. ^[16]

International career

Douglas Luiz appeared for Brazil at the youth level at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship and the 2019 Toulon Tournament, winning the latter.

On 19 November 2019, he made his senior international debut in a friendly match against South Korea, which Brazil won 3–0. ^[17]

On 9 June 2021, Douglas Luiz was named to the Brazil squad for the 2021 Copa América. ^[18] Brazil finished the tournament as runners-up to Argentina. ^[19]

On 7 August 2021, Luiz won a gold medal as part of the Brazil football team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. ^[20]

Douglas Luiz was called up for 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Colombia and Argentina on 16 and 21 November 2023, respectively. ^[21]

Personal life

From 2021 to 2022, Douglas was in a relationship with Aston Villa forward Alisha Lehmann and reunited with her in 2024. ^[22]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 18 April 2024 ^[23]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			State league [lower-alpha 1]		National cup [lower-alpha 2]		League cup [lower-alpha 3]		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Vasco da Gama	2016	Série B	14	2	0	0	1	0	—		—		15	2
	2017	Série A	11	1	10	2	3	0	—		—		24	3
	Total		25	3	10	2	4	0	—		—		39	5
Manchester City	2017–18	Premier League	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Girona (loan)	2017–18	La Liga	15	0	—		2	0	—		—		17	0
	2018–19	La Liga	23	0	—		6	0	—		—		29	0
	Total		38	0	—		8	0	—		—		46	0
Aston Villa	2019–20	Premier League	36	3	—		0	0	6	0	—		42	3
	2020–21	Premier League	33	0	—		0	0	1	0	—		34	0
	2021–22	Premier League	34	2	—		1	0	0	0	—		35	2
	2022–23	Premier League	37	6	—		1	0	2	1	—		40	7
	2023–24	Premier League	31	9	—		3	0	1	0	12 [lower-alpha 4]	1	47	10
	Total		171	20	—		5	0	10	1	11	1	198	22
Career total			234	23	10	2	17	0	10	1	11	1	283	27

1. Includes Campeonato Carioca
2. Includes Copa do Brasil, Copa del Rey, FA Cup
3. Includes EFL Cup
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 26 March 2024 ^[24]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Brazil	2019	1	0
	2020	4	0
	2021	4	0
	2022	0	0
	2023	2	0
	2024	2	0
Total		13	0

Honours

Aston Villa

• EFL Cup runner-up: 2019–20 ^[25]

Brazil U23

• Olympics Gold Medal: 2020 ^[20]
• Toulon Tournament: 2019 ^[26]

Brazil

• Copa América runner-up: 2021 ^[19]

Individual

• Campeonato Carioca Team of the Year: 2017 ^[27]
• Toulon Tournament Best Player: 2019 ^[28]
• Toulon Tournament Best XI: 2019 ^[29]
• Aston Villa Supporter's Player of the Season: 2022–23 ^[16]
• Aston Villa Player's Player of the Season: 2022–23 ^[16]

References

1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
2. "Douglas Luiz: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
3. "Conheça a trajetória de Douglas Luiz no Vasco" [Know the path of Douglas Luiz at Vasco] (in Portuguese). NetVasco. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
4. "Peneira, tiroteio e esperança: a história de Douglas Luiz, promessa do Vasco" [Trial, gunfire and hope: the story of Douglas Luiz, prospect of Vasco] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
5. "Tratado como joia, Douglas Luiz renova com o Vasco até 2019" [Treated as a pearl, Douglas Luiz renews with Vasco until 2019] (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
6. "Man City sign Douglas Luiz". mancity.com. 15 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
7. "Douglas Luiz joins Girona on loan". Manchester City. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
8. "Alcalá derriba la puerta del Málaga y el Girona hace historia" [Alcalá breaks the door of Málaga and Girona make history] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
9. Robson, James (31 August 2018). "Manchester City's Douglas Luiz set for second Girona loan after work permit denied". London Evening Standard . Retrieved 31 August 2018.
10. "Transfer news: Douglas Luiz joins Aston Villa". Aston Villa F.C. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
11. "'Signed, sealed' The photograph Aston Villa fans have been craving". Birmingham Mail. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
12. "Aston Villa v Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 16 August 2019.
13. Tong, Kobe (31 August 2022). "Villa's Douglas Luiz scores yet another direct corner in Arsenal clash". GiveMeSport. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
14. Hill, Sam (14 October 2022). "BREAKING: Arsenal dealt transfer blow as Douglas Luiz signs new contract". Football.London. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
15. "Douglas Luiz signs new long-term contract". Aston Villa Football Club. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
16. "It's a double for Dougie. 🔥@DGOficial is your Supporters' Player of the Season for 2022/23! 👊". @AVFCOfficial on Twitter. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
17. "Brazil end five-game winless run by beating South korea". BBC Sport. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
18. "Tite define convocados da Seleção Brasileira para a Copa América 2021". CBF. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
19. Osborne, Chris (11 July 2021). "Messi wins first Copa America with Argentina". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
20. O'Connor, Phillips (7 August 2021). "Soccer-Brazil's Alves crowns trophy-laden career with Olympic gold". Reuters . Retrieved 14 August 2021.
21. "Fernando Diniz convoca Seleção Brasileira para jogos das Eliminatórias" [Fernando Diniz calls up the Seleção for qualifying matches]. cbf.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Brazilian Football Confederation. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
22. "Aston Villa players Alisha Lehmann and Douglas Luiz make their romance official". Marca. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
23. Douglas Luiz at Soccerway
24. "Douglas Luiz". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
25. McNulty, Phil (1 March 2020). "Aston Villa 1–2 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
26. "Festival International Espoirs Football Tournoi Maurice Revello Toulon".
27. "Com nove jogadores de Fla e Flu, Ferj divulga seleção do Campeonato Carioca". Globoesporte.com. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
28. "Récompenses de la dernière édition du Festival".
29. "Maurice Revello Tournament 2019 Best XI". Maurice Revello Tournament. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

External links

• Profile at the Aston Villa F.C. website
• Douglas Luiz – UEFA competition record ( archive )