Marcos Leonardo

Marcos Leonardo made his senior debut for Santos in August 2020, having joined the club's youth academy in 2014, and worked his way into the first team. He finished as the club's top scorer in the Campeonato Paulista in both 2022 and 2023, a run that also brought him the Samba Gold award for Under-20 player of the year in 2023.

That form led Benfica to sign him in January 2024 for a fee in the region of €18 million. His stay in Lisbon proved brief: by September of the same year he had moved on again, this time to Al-Hilal Saudi FC for around €40 million.

At Al-Hilal, Leonardo has continued to add to his honours, winning the King's Cup with the club. On the international stage, he has represented Brazil at Under-16, Under-18, Under-20 and Under-23 level, and was a top scorer for his country at various age-group tournaments along the way.

Born in Itapetinga, Bahia, the right-footed forward stands 177 cm tall, the culmination of a rise that began on Santos's youth pitches barely a decade ago.