Wendell (footballer, born 1993)

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

Wendell

Wendell with Bayer Leverkusen in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Wendell Nascimento Borges
Date of birth	(1993-07-20) 20 July 1993 (age 30) [1]
Place of birth	Fortaleza, Brazil [1]
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) [2]
Position(s)	Left-back
Team information
Current team	Porto
Number	18
Youth career
0000–2011	Iraty
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011	Iraty	11	(0)
2012–2013	Londrina	40	(3)
2012	→ Paraná (loan)	15	(0)
2013–2014	Grêmio	24	(1)
2014–2021	Bayer Leverkusen	186	(7)
2021–	Porto	63	(6)
International career‡
2014	Brazil U20	4	(0)
2014–2016	Brazil U23	8	(0)
2024–	Brazil	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:15, 16 March 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024

Wendell Nascimento Borges (born 20 July 1993), ^[1] commonly known as Wendell, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Primeira Liga club Porto and the Brazil national team.

He began his career with Iraty, Londrina and Paraná of the Campeonato Paranaense and Campeonato Brasileiro Série B before transferring to Grêmio in 2013, where he debuted in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. In 2014 he signed for Bayer 04 Leverkusen of the German Bundesliga, playing 250 official games over seven years, a club record for a foreigner. He signed for Porto in 2021 for a fee of €4 million.

Club career

Early career

Born in Fortaleza, Ceará, Wendell grew up in Camaçari near Salvador, Bahia. ^[3] At age 14, he began his career at Iraty in Paraná. ^[4] Remaining in the same state, he played for Londrina and Paraná Clube, the latter on loan in 2012 for the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B season. ^[5] During Wendell's time at Londrina, he gained 4 kg in weight to supplement his light frame, and trained to improve his marking. He almost gave up his career after his father suffered a stroke in 2010, but was advised to continue by his mother. ^[3]

In June 2013, having been voted the best of his position in the Campeonato Paranaense, Wendell was loaned to Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Grêmio for the rest of the calendar year. ^[6] He made his top-flight debut on 11 September as a starter in a 2–0 win at Náutico, due to Alex Telles's injury, ^[7] and totalled nine appearances as the club from Porto Alegre finished runners-up and qualified for the Copa Libertadores. ^[8]

After Telles was sold to Galatasaray, Grêmio signed Wendell to a permanent four-year contract, obtaining 65% of his economic rights. ^[9] On 2 February 2014, he scored his only goal for the club as an equaliser in a 1–1 draw at Juventude in the Campeonato Gaúcho, ^[3] as his team finished runners-up.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 27 February 2014, Wendell signed a five-year deal at Bayer 04 Leverkusen of the German Bundesliga, effective from July. He had been recommended to make the transfer by his Grêmio teammate Zé Roberto, who had spent several years at the club. ^[10] He made his debut for the team on 15 August, replacing Sebastian Boenisch for the last 19 minutes of a 6–0 win away to sixth-tier SV Alemannia Waldalgesheim in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. ^[11] His Bundesliga debut came on 21 September, playing the entirety of a 1–4 defeat at VfL Wolfsburg. ^[12] On 13 March 2015 he scored his first goal for the club, opening a 4–0 home win over VfB Stuttgart. ^[13]

In 2016, Wendell extended his contract to 2021. ^[14] With a year remaining of that deal, it was prolonged to 2022. ^[15] He played in the 2020 DFB-Pokal final, being booked after 29 minutes for a foul on Leon Goretzka in a 4–2 loss to double winners FC Bayern Munich. ^[16] He played 250 total games and scored eight goals during his time at the BayArena, surpassing the club record for games by a foreigner held by Romanian Ioan Lupescu with 234. ^[17]

Porto

On 19 August 2021, Wendell signed a four-year contract with Primeira Liga club Porto, for a reported fee of €4 million. ^[18] He made his debut nine days later, replacing Chancel Mbemba in the 86th minute of a 3–0 home win over Arouca. ^[19] On 2 October, Wendell scored his first goal for the Estádio do Dragão side, in a 2–1 home win over Paços de Ferreira. ^[20] He was sent off on 7 December in a UEFA Champions League 2–1 group stage loss at home to Atlético Madrid for an arm in the face of Matheus Cunha, only seven minutes after coming on as a substitute for Zaidu Sanusi. ^[21] He finished his first season with a league and Taça de Portugal double, though he started at left-back less often than the Nigerian. ^[22]

Wendell scored in a 4–0 home win over Vizela to help Porto advance to the knockout stages of the Taça da Liga on 16 December 2022, ^[23] and on 28 January he assisted the opening goal by Stephen Eustáquio in a 2–0 win over Sporting CP in the final at the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa. ^[24] On the first day of the 2023–24 Primeira Liga, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 comeback win away to Moreirense, but was sent off in added time. It was his second consecutive red card, following one in the 2023 Taça de Portugal final victory over Braga; he missed the 2023 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira as a result of that suspension. ^[25]

On 20 January 2024, Wendell scored twice in a 4–0 home win over Moreirense, ^[26] adding another goal on 3 March in a 5–0 victory against title rivals Benfica in O Clássico . He reflected that the latter match was the best moment of his first 100 games for Porto. ^[27]

International career

Wendell got his first call-up to the senior Brazil side for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia and Venezuela in October 2016, replacing Marcelo. ^[28] He did not make his debut until 23 March 2024, when he played in a 1–0 friendly win over England at Wembley Stadium. ^[29]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 16 March 2024 ^[30]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Iraty	2011	—	—		1	0	—		—		11 [lower-alpha 1]	0	12	0
Londrina	2012	—	—		—		—		—		17 [lower-alpha 1]	2	17	2
	2013	Série D	—		—		—		—		23 [lower-alpha 1]	1	23	1
	Total		—		—		—		—		40	3	40	3
Paraná Clube (loan)	2012	Série B	15	0	—		—		—		—		15	0
Grêmio	2013	Série A	9	0	—		—		—		—		9	0
	2014	Série A	2	0	—		—		7 [lower-alpha 2]	0	13 [lower-alpha 3]	1	22	1
	Total		11	0	—		—		7	0	13	1	31	1
Bayer Leverkusen	2014–15	Bundesliga	26	1	3	0	—		5 [lower-alpha 4]	0	—		34	1
	2015–16	Bundesliga	28	0	4	0	—		12 [lower-alpha 5]	0	—		46	0
	2016–17	Bundesliga	32	2	1	0	—		5 [lower-alpha 4]	0	—		38	2
	2017–18	Bundesliga	26	2	4	1	—		—		—		30	3
	2018–19	Bundesliga	28	2	3	0	—		8 [lower-alpha 6]	0	—		39	2
	2019–20	Bundesliga	24	0	4	0	—		6 [lower-alpha 7]	0	—		34	0
	2020–21	Bundesliga	22	0	2	0	—		6 [lower-alpha 6]	0	—		30	0
	2021–22	Bundesliga	0	0	1	0	—		0	0	—		1	0
	Total		186	7	22	1	—		42	0	—		250	8
Porto	2021–22	Primeira Liga	19	1	4	0	0	0	4 [lower-alpha 4]	0	—		27	1
	2022–23	Primeira Liga	26	1	6	0	6	1	6 [lower-alpha 4]	0	0	0	44	2
	2023–24	Primeira Liga	18	4	2	0	1	0	5 [lower-alpha 4]	0	0	0	26	4
	Total		63	6	12	0	7	1	15	0	0	0	97	7
Career total			275	13	35	1	7	1	64	0	64	4	445	19

1. Appearance(s) in Campeonato Paranaense
2. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
3. Appearance(s) in Campeonato Gaúcho
4. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
5. Eight appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
6. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
7. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 26 March 2024 ^[30]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Brazil	2024	2	0
Total		2	0

Honours

Londrina

• Campeonato Paranaense do Interior: 2013

Porto

• Primeira Liga: 2021–22
• Taça de Portugal: 2021–22, 2022–23
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2022
• Taça da Liga: 2022–23

Brazil U20

• Toulon Tournament: 2014

Individual

• Best Campeonato Paranaense full-back: 2013 ^[31]
• Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2017–18 ^[32]

References

1. "Wendell". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
2. "Wendell, Wendell Nascimento Borges - Footballer | BDFutbol". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
3. Rizzatti, Lucas (4 May 2014). "Da peneira ao 1º gol: Wendell supera drama, ouve mãe e orgulha seu bairro" [From open trial to 1st goal: Wendell overcomes drama, listens to ihs mother and makes his neighbourhood proud] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
4. Carlos, António (3 March 2024). "«Sempre acreditei que Wendell poderia ir mais longe pelo potencial técnico que tem»" ["I always believed that Wendell could go further because of the technical potential that he has"]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 March 2024.
5. "Lateral do Londrina é emprestado para o Paraná Clube" [Londrina full-back is loaned to Paraná Clube] (in Portuguese). Bonde. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
6. "Grêmio contrata lateral-esquerdo Wendell, promessa do Londrina" [Grêmio sign left-back Wendell, Londrina gem] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
7. "Em estreia 'excelente', Wendell só sente 'frio na barriga' na entrevista" [On 'excellent' debut, Wendell only felt 'butterflies in his stomach' during the interview] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
8. Hammes, Tomás (30 December 2013). "Caçula do Grêmio, Wendell minimiza inexperiência: 'Não quer dizer nada'" [Grêmio's youngest, Wendell plays down inexperience: 'It doesn't mean anything'] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
9. Guichard, Diego (27 December 2013). "Grêmio acerta a compra de Wendell, que firmará contrato por quatro anos" [Grêmio edge closer to signing Wendell, who will sign a four-year contract] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
10. "Wendell a caminho do Leverkusen" [Wendell heading to Leverkusen] (in Portuguese). UEFA. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
11. "Tor-Gala von Kießling - Mainz mit nächster Blamage" [Kießling's goal-fest - Mainz with next disgrace]. Goal.com (in German). 15 August 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
12. "Match report from Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen". Sky Sports News . 21 September 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
13. "Bayer Levkn 4-0 VfB Stuttgart". BBC Sport. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
14. "Bellarabi, Wendell extend contracts at Leverkusen". Business Standard. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
15. "Lateral-esquerdo Wendell renova contrato com o Bayer Leverkusen até junho de 2022" [Left-back Wendell renews contract with Bayer Leverkusen until June 2022] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
16. Da Silva, Michael; Harding, Jonathan (4 July 2020). "German Cup final: Irresistible Bayern secure domestic double". Deutsche Welle . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
17. "Wendell deixa o Bayer Leverkusen e é anunciado como reforço do Porto". Lance! (in Portuguese). 19 August 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
18. "OFICIAL: Wendell no FC Porto até 2025" [OFFICIAL: Wendell at FC Porto until 2025]. Maisfutebol (in Portuguese). 19 August 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
19. "Lateral Wendell estreia pelo Porto e celebra vitória: "Feliz por ter começado minha história nesse clube"" [Full-back Wendell debuts for Porto and celebrates win: "Happy for having started my story in this club"]. Gazeta Esportiva (in Brazilian Portuguese). 28 August 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
20. "Wendell estreou-se a marcar pelo FC Porto e logo com este ″tiro″: ora veja" [Wendell scored his first goal for FC Porto with this "shot": watch] (in Portuguese). O Jogo. 2 October 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
21. Grez, Matias (8 December 2021). "Champions League: Atlético Madrid beats Porto in bad-tempered clash to qualify for last 16". CNN . Retrieved 11 April 2024.
22. Aresta, Luís (10 May 2022). "Diogo Boa Alma: "Zaidu respondeu bem a Wendell e à desconfiança dos adeptos"" [Diogo Boa Alma: "Zaidu responded well to Wendell and to the fans' mistrust"] (in Portuguese). Rádio Renascença . Retrieved 11 April 2024.
23. Morais, Pedro (16 December 2022). "Wendell: «Depois do jogo com o Mafra pusemos os pés no chão e ouvimos o mister»" [Wendell: "After the game with Mafra we put our feet back on the ground and listened to the manager"]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 April 2024.
24. "F. C. Porto vence Sporting e conquista Taça da Liga pela primeira vez" [F. C. Porto defeat Sporting and conquer the Taça da Liga for the first time]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). 28 January 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
25. Roseiro, Bruno (16 December 2023). "FC Porto consegue reviravolta frente ao Moreirense com golos de Toni Martínez e Wendell e entra a ganhar na Liga - como aconteceu" [FC Porto achieve comeback against Moreirense with goals from Toni Martínez and Wendell and start Liga in winning ways - how it happened]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 April 2024.
26. "Wendell com noite para recordar no Dragão: assim foi o 'bis' do brasileiro frente ao Moreirense" [Wendell with a night to remember in the Dragão: this was the Brazilian's 'brace' against Moreirense]. Record (in Portuguese). 20 January 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
27. "Wendell recorda goleada ao Benfica: "Sentimos tudo que é o FC Porto" [Wendell remembers thrashing of Benfica: "We felt everything that is FC Porto"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 11 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
28. "Wendell & Rafael Carioca called up by Tite to Brazil squad". goal.com. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
29. "VÍDEO: estreia vitoriosa de Wendell pelo Brasil diante da Inglaterra" [=VIDEO: Wendell's victorious debut for Brazil against England] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
30. "Wendell career statistics". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
31. Marinho Saldanha (5 June 2013). "Grêmio contrata melhor lateral esquerdo do Paranaense, que chega na 5ª" [Grêmio sign Paranaense's best full-back, who arrives on the 5th] (in Portuguese). UOL . Retrieved 4 November 2013.
32. "CONFIRMED 2017/18 Bundesliga FIFA 18 Team of the Season!". Bundesliga. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.

External links

• Association football portal
• Brazil portal

Media related to Wendell Nascimento Borges at Wikimedia Commons

• Profile at the FC Porto website
• Wendell at Sambafoot (archived)