Raphael Cavalcante Veiga

Raphael Veiga built his career at Palmeirense, but the loan spell away from it before Coritiba gave him his professional start. At Palmeiras, where he spent nine years from 2017, he became a fixture of the club's most successful modern era, winning the Copa Libertadores twice, in 2020 and 2021, and the Brazilian championship in 2022 and 2023. A loan to Atlético Paranaense in 2018 was a brief detour rather than a turning point, and he returned to Palmeiras to establish himself as one of the side's key attacking midfielders.

His form over that period drew recognition beyond the trophy cabinet. He was named to the Copa Libertadores team of the tournament in 2021, and picked up the Bola de Prata as one of the Brazilian championship's outstanding players in his position in both 2021 and 2023 — an award voted on by journalists covering the league. That consistency also earned him six caps for the Brazil national team.

In February 2026, after nearly a decade with Palmeiras, Veiga moved on loan to Club América in Mexico, taking the number 23 shirt. The deal included an option for the Mexican club to make the transfer permanent. It marked his first move outside Brazilian football since turning professional, and the first real test of whether his game translates to a different league after building his reputation almost entirely in one country's colours.