Leonardo (footballer, born 1997)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Lopesand the second or paternal family name is de Souza.

Leonardo

Leonardo with Ulsan Hyundai, June 2022
Personal information
Full name	Leonardo Nascimento Lopes de Souza
Date of birth	(1997-05-28) 28 May 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Sorocaba, Brazil
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Zhejiang (on loan from Shandong Taishan)
Number	45
Youth career
2010–2012	Red Bull Brasil
2012–2014	Corinthians
2015–2016	Ituano
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2016	Ituano	0	(0)
2017	Santos	0	(0)
2017	→ Rio Verde (loan)	3	(0)
2018	Gainare Tottori	31	(24)
2019	Albirex Niigata	38	(28)
2020	Urawa Red Diamonds	28	(11)
2021–	Shandong Taishan	8	(1)
2021	→ Hebei (loan)	12	(1)
2022	→ Ulsan Hyundai (loan)	34	(11)
2023	→ Changchun Yatai (loan)	12	(10)
2023	→ Zhejiang (loan)	16	(9)
2024–	→ Zhejiang (loan)	29	(21)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 November 2024

Leonardo Nascimento Lopes de Souza (born 28 May 1997), known as Leonardo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Chinese Super League club Zhejiang on loan from Shandong Taishan.

Career

Leonardo grew in the Santos youth ranks and then he was loaned to the B-team, where he scored three goals in 16 games. ^[1] Gainare Tottori wanted to scout him, so GM Masayuki Okano and returning Fernandinho went to Brazil to see with their own eyes the striker and another player, Vitor Gabriel. In January 2018, the Tottori-based club signed both class '97 for their incoming 2018 season. ^[2]

After a top-scorer season with Albirex Niigata, scoring 28 goals in the 2019 J2 League, the Brazilian striker signed for Urawa Red Diamonds in the J1 League. ^[3]

Urawa Red Diamonds

Leonardo made his debut for Urawa in the club's match against Vegalta Sendai in the 2020 J.League Cup group stage on 16 February 2020. He scored twice in the first-half as Urawa won 5–2. ^[4] He made his league debut five days later and scored the club's second goal of a 3–2 away victory at Shonan Bellmare. ^[5]

Shandong Taishan

On 22 February 2021, Leonardo joined Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan. ^[6]

On 30 July 2021, Leonardo joined fellow Chinese Super League club Hebei F.C. on loan. ^[7]

On 24 February 2022, Leonardo joined K League 1 club Ulsan Hyundai on loan. ^[8]

Loan to Changchun Yatai

On 7 April 2023, Leonardo joined fellow Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai on loan. ^[9] On 30 April 2023, Leonardo scored his first goal for Yatai in a 1-1 home draw against Tianjin Jinmen Tiger. On 19 May 2023, Leonardo scored a hat trick in a 4-2 away win against Cangzhou Mighty Lions. ^[10] On 30 June 2023, Yatai announced that his loan was terminated prematurely. ^[11] He scored 10 goals from 12 league appearances for the club, making him top goalscorer of the 2023 Chinese Super League at the time of his departure.

Loans to Zhejiang

On 1 July 2023, Leonardo joined fellow Chinese Super League club Zhejiang on loan. ^[12] On 12 July 2023, Leonardo scored his first 2 goals for Zhejiang in a 2-2 away draw at his former club Changchun Yatai. ^[13]

On 7 February 2024, he was re-loaned to Zhejiang until the end of the 2024 season. ^[14]

Club statistics

As of 16 November 2023. ^{[15] [16]}

Club	Season	League			State League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ituano	2015	Paulista	—		0	0	—		—		—		6 [lower-alpha 1]	1	6	1
	2016	Série D	0	0	0	0	—		—		—		—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	—		—		—		6	1	6	1
Santos	2017	Série A	0	0	—		0	0	—		—		14 [lower-alpha 1]	2	14	2
Rio Verde (loan)	2017	Goiano	—		3	0	—		—		—		—		3	0
Gainare Tottori	2018	J3 League	31	24	—		2	0	—		—		—		33	24
Albirex Niigata	2019	J2 League	38	28	—		0	0	—		—		—		38	28
Urawa Red Diamonds	2020	J1 League	28	11	—		0	0	2	2	—		—		30	13
Shandong Taishan	2021	CSL	8	1	—		0	0	—		—		—		8	1
Hebei (loan)			12	1	—		0	0	—		—		—		12	1
Ulsan Hyundai (loan)	2022	K League 1	34	11	—		2	0	—		7	3	—		43	14
Changchun Yatai (loan)	2023	CSL	12	10	—		1	1	—		—		—		13	11
Zhejiang (loan)			16	9	–		1	1	–		3 [lower-alpha 2]	2	0	0	20	12
Career total			179	95	3	0	6	2	2	2	10	5	20	3	220	107

1. Appearance(s) in Copa Paulista
2. Appearances in AFC Champions League

Honours

Ulsan Hyundai

• K League 1: 2022

Individual

• J2 League top scorer: 2019 (28 goals) ^[17]
• J3 League top scorer: 2018 (24 goals) ^[18]

References

1. "［移籍］ガイナーレ鳥取、名門サントスから期待の若手FW獲得！ さらなるブラジル人補強も……｜theWORLD（ザ・ワールド）｜世界中のサッカーを楽しもう！". www.theworldmagazine.jp. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
2. "レオナルド選手 完全移籍加入のお知らせ". ガイナーレ鳥取 オフィシャルサイト. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
3. "レオナルド 選手 浦和レッズに完全移籍のお知らせ". Albirex (in Japanese). 25 December 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
4. "J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP GROUP STAGE 1st Sec". JLeague. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
5. "Shonan 2:3 Urawa". JLeague. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
6. "官方：浦和前锋莱昂纳多正式加盟山东泰山". Dongqiudi (in Chinese). 22 February 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
7. "河北队官宣席尔瓦＆莱昂纳多＆雷腾龙三人加盟". Sina Sport. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
8. "官方：山东泰山外援莱昂纳多加盟蔚山现代". Dongqiudi. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
9. "莱昂纳多、阿不都海米提、毕津浩等11名球员加盟长春亚泰" (in Chinese). dongqiudi. 7 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
10. "亚泰客场4-2沧州，莱昂纳多三射一传，谭龙替补传射建功" (in Chinese). dongqiudi. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
11. "长春亚泰官方：租借加盟的前锋莱昂纳多离队" (in Chinese). dongqiudi. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
12. "官宣 | 莱昂纳多租借加盟浙江队" (in Chinese). dongqiudi. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
13. "长春亚泰2-2浙江，严智宇破门，莱昂纳多梅开二度" (in Chinese). dongqiudi. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
14. "官宣｜莱昂纳多、孙国文、董春雨加盟，助力浙江征战新赛季" (in Chinese). dongqiudi. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
15. Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)", 7 February 2018, Japan, ISBN   978-4905411529 (p. 273 out of 289)
16. Leonardo at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
17. "MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE | 2022 Stats".
18. "MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE | 2022 Stats".

External links

• Leonardo at data.j-league.or.jp (in Japanese)
• Leonardo at www.jleague.jp (archived) (in Japanese)
• Leonardo at Gainare Tottori (in Japanese)