Leonardo Rodrigues dos Santos

Léo Santos came through Corinthians' academy and spent the better part of seven years in the club's system, from 2016 to 2023. Instead, his development happened away from Itaquera, through a string of loan spells that took him around Brazilian football: Fluminense in 2019, Ponte Preta in 2022, then Ferroviária and Ceará in quick succession during 2023.

He was on the books when Corinthians won the Brazilian championship in 2017 and again claimed the São Paulo state title in both 2017 and 2018. His only representative football came at youth level, where he made 12 appearances for Brazil's junior sides without scoring.

The move to Guarani in 2024 finally gave him a fresh club identity outside the Corinthians orbit: by August that year he had signed for Nacional in Portugal, taking his career abroad for the first time. At 186cm and right-footed, he fits the profile clubs look for at centre-back, and the switch to Madeira marked a clear break from the loan-heavy uncertainty that had defined his time in Brazil.