Marcelo Freitas

Marcelo Freitas came through Portuguesa's own academy, joining at Under-13 level before the club later loaned him elsewhere and out again, and again he returned to Portuguesa in June 2025 to close the loop on a career that had taken him a long way from São Paulo state. From the youth ranks he passed through Desportiva Brasil, São Paulo, Grêmio and Figueirense before, in 2014, moving to Germany, where he spent five years across Dynamo Dresden, Inter Leipzig, FC Oberlausitz, Energie Cottbus and Chemnitzer FC.

It was at Energie Cottbus that Freitas built his most decorated spell abroad: the Regionalliga Nordost title in 2017-18, and the Brandenburg Cup in three straight seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19. A move to Portugal followed, and with Nacional he added a LigaPro title in 2019-20 before heading back to Brazil.

Back home, he won the Campeonato Paranaense with Londrina in 2021, then joined Chapecoense the following year. In 2023 he took his career to Romania with UTA Arad, staying into 2024, before a 2025 contract with the UAE's Hatta Club, where he scored nine goals. Brief spells at Ituano preceded his return to Portuguesa.

That homecoming was interrupted almost immediately: a muscle injury to his thigh in August 2025 sent him out on loan to Caxias until the end of 2026. At Portuguesa itself, he has scored twice.