Murilo Cerqueira Paim

Two months into his first spell at a big academy, aged around ten, Murilo Cerqueira went home. He had joined the Vasco da Gama youth system in 2007 and left it quickly, homesick. The route back took time: from 2012 to 2016 he came through the Cruzeiro youth setup, and in 2017 he was promoted to the senior squad, making his debut on 21 March 2017 against Joinville.

He stayed at Cruzeiro until 2019, then moved to Russia. On 18 June 2019 Lokomotiv Moscow signed the centre-back for a reported €2.5 million. He remained in Moscow until January 2022.

The return to Brazil came on 12 January 2022, when Palmeiras bought 80% of his economic rights for a reported $2.5 million. He wears number 26 there.

Brazil called on him at youth level before that. In 2016 he played three matches for the under-20 side and scored twice. In 2019 he made five appearances for the Olympic under-23 team without scoring.

The senior call came later, and only once: on 1 March 2024 head coach Dorival Júnior named him in a Brazil squad. He has not played an official match for the national team.

At 188 cm and right-footed, he is built for the middle of a back line — the physical profile that took him from Bahia to Minas Gerais, to Moscow, and back to São Paulo. No trophies with Palmeiras are on record so far.