David Martins

An investment fund and a 12-million-real fee: the deal that took David Martins from América-MG to Bahia was closed on 1 January 2025, after DE City bought his rights and sold them on to the City Football Group club. América-MG kept a percentage of any future sale. Bahia had announced the signing the previous December.

Martins came out of the Portuguesa academy in Rio de Janeiro, where he stayed until July 2022. América-MG took him that month on a development contract, and in 2023 he activated a professional deal. Between 2023 and 2025 he was a regular in the club's youth sides, playing 39 matches and scoring 12 goals across the U-17 and U-20 teams, and winning the Campeonato Mineiro at both age levels.

At Bahia he spent 2025 in the U-20 squad while training with the first team under Rogério Ceni, who saw him as an option in the position occupied by captain Everton Ribeiro. His senior football has come in small pieces. He made his Brasileirão debut in 2026, appearing as a substitute in three matches for a combined 25 minutes on the pitch. The state championship gave him more: nine appearances in the 2026 Baiano, with one assist.

Martins was part of the Bahia squad that won the Copa do Nordeste in 2025, and he has two Campeonato Baiano titles, in 2025 and 2026. He has not been called up by the senior Brazil side, and plays instead in the youth setups.