Edmilson (footballer, born 1997)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is de Paulaand the second or paternal family name is Santos."Filho" is a generational suffix meaning "son", which is used for someone whose name is the same as their father, like "Jr." in English.

Edmilson

Personal information
Full name	Edmilson de Paula Santos Filho
Date of birth	(1997-04-19) 19 April 1997 (age 28)
Place of birth	Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Kairat
Number	26
Youth career
2015	União Mogi
2016–2017	Audax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019	Velo Clube	0	(0)
2019–2021	Marco	18	(15)
2021–2023	Länk Vilaverdense	55	(24)
2023–2025	Celje	47	(12)
2025–	Kairat	5	(3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14 September 2025

Edmilson de Paula Santos Filho (born 19 April 1997), simply known as Edmilson, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Kazakhstan Premier League club Kairat.

He spent his early senior career in Portugal, and was the joint top scorer in 2022–23 as Länk Vilaverdense won promotion from Liga 3. He then moved to Celje, winning the Slovenian PrvaLiga and the Slovenian Football Cup in his respective seasons.

Career

Early career

Born in Mogi das Cruzes in São Paulo state, Edmilson scored 12 goals in as many games for Marco in the Porto Football Association's premier district league, leading to a transfer to Vilaverdense of the third-tier Campeonato de Portugal in January 2021. ^[1] His first full season with the team from Vila Verde saw them promoted to Liga 3. ^[2] In 2022–23, he was the league's joint second top scorer with 12 goals from 26 games, adding another on 21 May 2023 in a 2–1 home win over S.C. Braga B in a successful playoff campaign. ^[3]

Celje

On 28 June 2023, Edmilson signed a two-year contract at NK Celje, runners-up of the previous season of the Slovenian PrvaLiga. ^[4] He made his debut on 27 July in his first game in continental competition, scoring in a 4–3 home loss to Vitória de Guimarães in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League; ^[5] his opponents were from the Minho Province, where his previous club was from. ^[6] He scored six times in his first league season, including a first-half hat-trick on 21 October in a 4–0 win at NK Rogaška, ^[7] as his team won the league. ^[8]

Edmilson scored another hat-trick on 30 October 2024 in an 8–0 win away to fifth-tier NK Hodoš in the last 32 of the Slovenian Football Cup. ^[9] On 19 December, he scored twice in a 3–2 home victory over The New Saints of Wales in the league phase of the Conference League. ^[10] Celje ended the season by winning the national cup, and Edmilson was released at the end of his contract. ^[11] He played 73 games over all competitions, and scored 19 goals. ^[12]

Kairat

On 13 June 2025, Edmilson signed a two-year contract with FC Kairat, champions of the Kazakhstan Premier League. ^[12] His club became the first of their nation to reach the UEFA Champions League league phase, in which they debuted with the competition's longest ever trip to Sporting CP in Portugal; he scored a consolation goal in a 4–1 loss. ^[13]

Career statistics

As of match played 18 September 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Velo Cube	2019	Campeonato Paulista Série A3	—		—		—		0	0	0	0
Marco	2019–20	Porto Football Association	6	3	—		—		—		6	3
	2020–21	Porto Football Association	12	12	—		—		—		12	12
	Total		18	15	—		—		—		18	15
Vilaverdense	2020–21	Campeonato de Portugal	4	2	0	0	—		—		4	2
	2021–22	Campeonato de Portugal	23	9	1	0	—		—		24	9
	2022–23	Liga 3	28	13	3	2	—		2 [a]	0	33	15
	Total		55	24	4	2	—		2	0	61	26
Celje	2023–24	Slovenian PrvaLiga	20	6	1	1	4 [b]	1	—		25	8
	2024–25	Slovenian PrvaLiga	27	6	3	3	19 [c]	2	—		49	11
	Total		47	12	4	4	23	3	—		74	19
Kairat	2025	Kazakhstan Premier League	5	3	0	0	8 [d]	1	—		13	4
Career total			125	54	8	6	31	4	0	0	166	64

1. Appearances in play-offs
2. Appearances in UEFA Conference League
3. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, fourteen appearances and two goals in UEFA Conference League
4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Celje

• Slovenian PrvaLiga: 2023–24 ^[8]
• Slovenian Football Cup: 2024–25 ^[11]

References

1. "Edmilson para o ataque do Vilaverdense" [Edmilson for Vilaverdense's attack]. Desportivo Vale do Homem (in Portuguese). 30 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
2. Seixas, João Baptista (7 July 2022). "Lank Vilaverdense já projeta estreia na Liga 3" [Länk Vilaverdense already planning Liga 3 debut]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 January 2025.
3. Vieira da Silva, Pedro (21 May 2023). "Lank Vilaverdense elimina SC Braga B e vai disputar play-off de subida à II Liga" [Länk Vilaverdense eliminate SC Braga B and will play promotion play-off to II Liga]. Diário do Minho (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 January 2025.
4. "Edmilson deixa Länk Vilaverdense e reforça adversário do V. Guimarães na Liga Conferência" [Edmilson leaves Länk Vilaverdense and bolsters V. Guimarães's Conference League opponent]. Record (in Portuguese). Rádio. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
5. "Vitória vence na visita ao Celje no acesso à Liga Conferência" [Vitória win away to Celje in Conference League qualification]. Público (in Portuguese). 27 July 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
6. Soares da Silva, Eduardo (27 July 2023). "Edmilson espera que o seu sonho seja maior do que a ambição do Vitória" [Edmilson hopes his dream can be bigger than Vitória's ambition] (in Portuguese). Rádio. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
7. "Uspešna Krznar in Zeljković, Šimundža ne, preobrat za Hadžića" [Krznar and Zeljković successful, Šimundža not, a turnaround for Hadžić] (in Slovenian). Siol. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
8. Okorn, Tomaž (14 May 2024). "Matjaž Rozman: Krznar je gospod, Iličić profesor, Oblak najboljši na svetu" [Matjaž Rozman: Krznar is a gentleman, Iličić is a professor, Oblak is the best in the world] (in Slovenian). Radiotelevizija Slovenija . Retrieved 30 January 2025.
9. "Petoligaš povsem nemočen proti aktualnemu slovenskemu prvaku: Celje na gostovanju v Hodošu zabilo kar osem zadetkov" [The fifth-league team is completely helpless against the current Slovenian champion: Celje scored eight goals on the road in Hodoš] (in Slovenian). Planet Nogomet. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
10. "Celje end The New Saints' European adventure". BBC Sport. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
11. Valant, Simon (16 June 2025). "Celjani pred začetkom priprav pripeljali štiri okrepitve, Edmilson odšel v Kazahstan" [Celje brought in four reinforcements before the start of preparations, Edmilson left for Kazakhstan] (in Slovenian). Celje.info. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
12. "Edmilson po slovesu od Celja ni bil dolgo brez kluba: Brazilski napadalec se je preselil v Kazahstan, v Evropi morda proti Olimpiji" [Edmilson was not without a club for long after saying goodbye to Celje: The Brazilian striker moved to Kazakhstan, possibly against Olimpia in Europe] (in Slovenian). Planet Nogomet. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
13. "Champions League roundup: Kairat Almaty's long journey to Lisbon goes unrewarded". The Guardian . Reuters. 18 September 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.