Luigi Hanri

Some strikers announce themselves with a trophy; Luighi Hanri Sousa Santos did it against Bahia, when Palmeiras handed the teenager his first-team debut on 7 July 2024 and let him show what he had been doing in the club's youth ranks. He had already built a case for himself there, winning both the São Paulo state and Brazilian national championships at under-17 and under-20 level with the club that raised him.

The international stage backed up the promise. At the 2023 Under-17 World Cup he played five matches and scored twice for Brazil, and two years later he carried that form into the Under-20 World Cup, adding two more goals in four appearances. The pattern of turning up at youth tournaments and scoring held.

At club level the transition to senior football was gradual rather than explosive: 35 appearances and four goals for Palmeiras by August 2026, wearing the number 31 shirt, with the team's São Paulo state title that year the one piece of team silverware to his name at that level. In July 2026, Palmeiras sent him on loan to New York City FC in MLS for the remainder of the season, with an option to buy.