Igor Thiago

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Nascimentoand the second or paternal family name is Rodrigues.

Igor Thiago

Igor Thiago with Ludogorets Razgrad
Personal information
Full name	Igor Thiago Nascimento Rodrigues
Date of birth	(2001-06-26) 26 June 2001 (age 22)
Place of birth	Gama, Federal District, [1] Brazil
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Club Brugge
Number	99
Youth career
	Gremio Ocidental
	Verê
	Cruzeiro
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020–2022	Cruzeiro	60	(9)
2022	Ludogorets Razgrad II	4	(3)
2022–2023	Ludogorets Razgrad	34	(16)
2023–	Club Brugge	23	(16)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:02, 31 January 2024 (UTC)

Igor Thiago Nascimento Rodrigues (born 26 June 2001), known as Igor Thiago or just Thiago, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Belgian Pro League club Club Brugge. He will join Premier League club Brentford on 1 July 2024.

Early life

Born in Gama, a small city close to capital Brasilia Thiago was 13 years old when he lost his father, and supported his street-cleaner mother María Diva by working in construction as a bricklayer, odd-jobbing at fairs, and by handing out flyers. ^[2]

Not thinking about a career in the sport, his break in football came as a result of his brother being on the books of Gremio Ocidental. He started playing futsal and went through evaluations in several teams until a successful trial saw him accepted into the under-17 team of regional club Verê, from the interior of Paraná. Thiago later had the opportunity to join Cruzeiro's academy. But it was only when Vere offered him the chance to make the grade that his footballing career began to take shape. ^[3]

Thiago still helps to purchase sporting equipment for Gremio Ocidental for young players who dream of changing their families' lives through football.

Career

Cruzeiro

On 22 January 2020, Thiago made his professional debut as an 18-year-old when he started for Cruzeiro in their Campeonato Mineiro match against Boa Esporte Clube. ^[4]

Despite being in the first-team squad for two years, Thiago did not play for Cruzeiro in Brazil's Serie A, with his 64 appearances instead coming in Serie B, the Mineiro and the Brazilian Cup. ^{[5] [3]}

Ludogorets Razgrad

After a series of rumours, on 2 March 2022, Thiago finally signed with the Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad. ^[6] He joined the Ludogorets II to adapt better with the Bulgarian team and made his debut for the second team on 18 April in a league match against Litex Lovech, scoring his debut goal in the match. ^[7] A week later he scored two goals for the second team in the league match against Dobrudzha Dobrich. ^[8]

His good start for the second team granted him a call-up for the first team where he made his debut in a league match against CSKA Sofia with Igor Thiago coming on as a substitute and scoring his debut goal for the first team as well. ^[9]

While at Ludogorets, the club won back-to-back Bulgarian First League titles for 2021–22 and 2022–23, plus the 2023 Bulgarian Cup and 2022 Bulgarian Supercup, scoring 21 goals in 55 games.

Club Brugge

On 12 June 2023, Thiago signed for Belgian Pro League club Club Brugge on a four-year contract. ^[10] The €7.9 million fee received by Ludogorets was a record for a Bulgarian club. ^[11]

Having started in a 3-0 win over Aarhus in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers on 27 July 2023, Thiago scored in his first two league games for Club Brugge, a late equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw against Mechelen, ^[12] then netting the only goal in a 1-0 win at Westerlo to put Club near the top of the table early in the season. ^[13]

Scoring the opening goal in a 4-2 win over Charleroi on 16 September 2023 saw him reach six goals in all competitions, ^[14] but Thiago didn't score in Club's next nine games, finally breaking his duck in a 6-0 Belgian Cup victory at Beerschot on 1 November. ^[15] However, there were no more league goals until December of that year.

Netting a double in a 5-0 away win over Beşiktaş in the Conference League sparked a major goalscoring run from the Brazilian striker, ^[16] going on to fire 18 goals in his next 12 games across December 2023 and January 2024. Thiago was only shut out in one of those matches, against Mechelen where a header he scored was erroneously ruled out for offside. ^{[17] [18]} After that blank, Thiago scored in his next eight games. ^[19]

Brentford

On 14 February 2024, Brentford announced an agreement for the signing of Thiago on a five-year deal, to be effective as of 1 July 2024. ^[20] The fee was undisclosed by the club, but reported to be in the region of a club-record £30 million. ^[21]

In Belgian terms, this was a new Pro League record sale of €38 million. ^[22] The move was considered a big shock as Brentford had reached agreement with Club Brugge during the winter transfer window to sign Norwegian winger Antonio Nusa, but the move broke down due to a failed medical.

International career

Born in Brazil, Igor received Bulgarian passport in 2023, which made him available to play for both Brazil and Bulgaria. ^{[23] [24]} In January 2024 he received a call-up for Brazil U23, but declined it, despite the fact he said it would be a dream to represent Brazil on international level. ^[25]

Career statistics

As of 31 January 2024 ^[26]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			State league [lower-alpha 1]		National cup [lower-alpha 2]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cruzeiro	2020	Série B	18	0	6	3	3	0	—		0	0	27	3
	2021		25	4	4	0	0	0	—		0	0	29	4
	2022		0	0	7	2	1	1	—		0	0	8	3
	Total		43	4	17	5	4	1	0	0	0	0	64	10
Ludogorets Razgrad II	2021–22	Bulgarian Second League	4	3	–		–		–		–		4	3
Ludogorets Razgrad	2021–22	Bulgarian First League	2	1	–		0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
	2022–23		32	15	–		5	1	15	4	1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	53	20
	Total		34	16	0	0	5	1	15	4	1	0	55	21
Club Brugge	2023–24	Belgian Pro League	23	16	–		3	4	12 [lower-alpha 4]	6	–		38	26
Career total			104	39	17	5	12	6	27	10	2	0	161	60

1. Includes Campeonato Mineiro
2. Includes Copa do Brasil, Bulgarian Cup, Belgian Cup
3. Appearance in Bulgarian Supercup
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Ludogorets Razgrad

• Bulgarian First League: 2021–22, 2022–23
• Bulgarian Supercup: 2022
• Bulgarian Cup: 2022–23

References

1. Costa, Maic (29 August 2023). "Ex-Cruzeiro, Thiago superou infância difícil e hoje brilha na Europa". Trivela (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
2. "Igor Thiago, la primera venta de Ronaldo en Cruzeiro, destaca en el rival de Osasuna en la Conference (Igor Thiago, Ronaldo's first sale in Cruzeiro, stands out in Osasuna's rival in the Conference)". Marca (in Spanish). 30 August 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
3. "Igor Thiago: Who is the Club Brugge striker heading to the Premier League as Brentford's possible Ivan Toney replacement?". Sky Sports . 15 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
4. "Cruzeiro vs. Boa 2 - 0". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
5. "Ex-Cruzeiro, Thiago superou infância difícil e hoje brilha na Europa (Former Cruzeiro player Thiago overcame a difficult childhood and now shines in Europe)". Trivela (in Portuguese). 29 August 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
6. "Тиаго и Групер: Идваме в голям клуб". Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
7. "Лудогорец II загуби с 1:2 от Литекс (Ловеч)". Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
8. "Два гола на нов не спомогнаха на Лудогорец 2, Добруджа с витален успех". Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
9. "Лудогорец с шампионска победа над ЦСКА-София". Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
10. "Igor Thiago moves to Club Brugge". www.clubbrugge.be/en. 12 June 2023. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
11. "Лудогорец реализира рекорден трансфер" [Ludogorets realized a record transfer]. www.ludogorets.com (in Bulgarian). 12 June 2023. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
12. "Club Brugge laat meteen punten liggen tegen KV Mechelen, dat vloekt op de VAR én 1-2 laat liggen (Club Brugge immediately drops points against KV Mechelen, who criticise VAR and misses 2-1 win)". Sporza (in Dutch). 30 July 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
13. "Dominant Club Brugge bibbert in slot naar eerste seizoenszege op bezoek bij Westerlo (Dominant Club Brugge finally staggers towards its first victory of season at Westerlo)". Sporza (in Dutch). 6 August 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
14. "Wonderboy Antonio Nusa schenkt Club Brugge ultiem de overwinning na kat-en-muisspelletje met Charleroi (Wonderboy Antonio Nusa gives Club Brugge ultimate victory after cat-and-mouse game with Charleroi)". Sporza (in Dutch). 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
15. "Club Brugge bezorgt het Kiel een horroravond en smeert Beerschot een 0-6-pandoering aan (Club Brugge gives Kiel a horror evening and Beerschot a 6-0 pounding)". Sporza (in Dutch). 1 November 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
16. "Club Brugge speelt een absolute referentiematch en smeert Besiktas forfaitscore aan (A milestone match for Club Brugge, beating Besiktas by a forfeit score)". Sporza (in Dutch). 30 November 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
17. "Zegereeks Club Brugge wordt afgebroken door stug KV Mechelen (Club Brugge's winning streak is interrupted by tough KV Mechelen)". Sporza (in Dutch). 10 December 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
18. "KIJK. "Match wordt niet herspeeld": Referee Department licht blunder bij goal Thiago toe, Van Damme voorlopig geen VAR meer (WATCH. "Match will not be replayed": Referee Department explains blunder at Thiago goal, Van Damme no longer VAR for the time being)". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 11 December 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
19. "Plots is de twijfelspits de strafste van Europa: hoe valt de transformatie van Igor Thiago te verklaren? (Suddenly the peak of doubt is the strongest in Europe: how can Igor Thiago's transformation be explained?)". Sporza (in Dutch). 23 January 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
20. "Brentford Sign Forward Igor Thiago". Brentford FC. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
21. "Brentford announce £30m signing of Club Brugge striker Igor Thiago". The Guardian. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
22. "Het verhaal achter de (stiekeme) recordtransfer van Igor Thiago: "Zelfs Fabrizio Romano wist dit niet" (The story behind Igor Thiago's (secret) record transfer: "Even Fabrizio Romano didn't know this")". Sporza (in Dutch). 15 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
23. В Белгия: Тиаго може да е от изключителна полза за България
24. Гласят сензацията Игор Тиаго за национал на България
25. Игор Тиаго получи повиквателна от Бразилия и я отказа
26. Igor Thiago at Soccerway. Retrieved 8 November 2020.

External links

• Igor Thiago at Soccerway