Lucas Maia

Lucas Maia arrived at Henan FC in January 2025 as a free transfer, though reports indicate the Chinese club paid a nominal fee to buy out his contract with Paysandu. What followed turned heads in Chinese football: a defender with a prolific scoring record, netting at least five goals by August and, according to some reports, reaching eleven league goals by mid-season. A brace against Dalian Yingbo and a goal against Qingdao Hainiu stood out among his contributions. He was a key figure as Henan reached the 2025 Chinese FA Cup Final, the first time in the club's history the team had gone that far, beating Chengdu Rongcheng on penalties in the semi-final before losing 0–3 to Beijing Guoan in the final on 6 December 2025.

Before that, Maia's career had taken him across several countries. Born in Porto Alegre, he came through Grêmio's youth ranks before starting out at Resende, where spells bookended a wandering path through Vejle Boldklub in Denmark and Birkirkara in Malta. A return to Brazil and a brief stop at São José preceded a move to Mexico, where he played for Cafetaleros de Chiapas and Cancún before settling at Puebla, first on loan and then permanently. His final stretch in Brazilian football, at Paysandu, brought the clearest silverware of his career: the 2024 Copa Verde and the 2024 Campeonato Paraense.

Maia has never been called up to the Brazil senior national team or any youth squad, his scoring exploits in China aside.