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Willian Arão

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Souza Arão and the second or paternal family name is Silva.

Willian Arão
Willian Arão with Fenerbahçe in 2023
Personal information
Full name Willian Souza Arão da Silva[1]
Date of birth (1992-03-12) 12 March 1992 (age 33)[2]
Place of birth São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Santos
Number 15
Youth career
2007 Grêmio Barueri
2008–2010 São Paulo
2010 Espanyol
2011–2012 Corinthians
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2015 Corinthians 17 (0)
2013 → Portuguesa (loan) 13 (0)
2014 → Chapecoense (loan) 15 (1)
2014 → Atlético Goianiense (loan) 13 (0)
2015 → Botafogo (loan) 54 (6)
2016–2022 Flamengo 277 (24)
2022–2023 Fenerbahçe 31 (0)
2023–2025 Panathinaikos 56 (4)
2025– Santos 0 (0)
International career‡
2017 Brazil 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 May 2025
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 January 2017

Willian Souza Arão da Silva (born 12 March 1992) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Santos. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also play as a centre-back.

Arão started his youth career playing for São Paulo and Corinthians, where he had his first professional experience, although Arão spend most of his following years playing on loan for different Brazilian clubs, including a very consistent 2015 season with Botafogo winning the 2015 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B.

In 2016 Arão was involved in a very complicated transfer to Flamengo with Botafogo complaining about the way their rivals approached the player. The situation is still to be solved in the Brazilian justice court.[3]

Club career

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Early career

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Born in São Paulo, Arão began his career in the youth sides of Grêmio Barueri at the age of 15.[4] He left for São Paulo FC in 2008, and became a part of the squad which won the 2010 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior.

Shortly after winning the Copinha, Arão was spotted by agent Mino Raiola, who brought him to Spanish side Espanyol.[5] He spent eight months at the club, and despite training with the main squad and with the B-team, he was unable to play due to bureaucratic problems.

Corinthians

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Arão celebrating the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup title with Corinthians

In November 2011, Arão moved to Corinthians.[6] After appearing with the main squad in a friendly against Flamengo, he made his professional debut on 15 April 2012, starting in a 2–1 Campeonato Paulista away win over Ponte Preta.[7]

A backup to Ralf and Paulinho, Arão was a part of both 2012 Copa Libertadores and 2012 FIFA Club World Cup squads, despite not featuring in both competitions; in the former, he replaced Adriano in the list for the quarterfinals, and in the latter, he was registered after Guilherme Andrade was signed after the allowed date by FIFA.[8]

Portuguesa (loan)

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On 6 August 2013, after being demoted to fourth-choice, Arão was loaned to fellow top tier side Portuguesa until the end of the year.[9] At the club he played a total of fifteen matches, including his first two continental appearances at 2013 Copa Sudamericana.

Chapecoense (loan)

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On 9 January 2014, Arão signed with Chapecoense a one-year loan deal.[10] Regularly used in the year's Campeonato Catarinense, he scored his first professional goal on 12 February, netting his side's second in a 3–2 home win over Atlético Hermann Aichinger.[11]

On 27 June 2014, after just two Série A matches, Arão's loan was cut short.[12]

Atlético Goianiense (loan)

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On 18 September 2014, after failing to make an appearance back at Corinthians, Arão was loaned to Série B side Atlético Goianiense until the end of the year.[13] He played a total of thirteen 2014 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B matches, twelve of those as starter.[14]

Botafogo

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On 10 January 2015, Arão joined Botafogo on loan until the end of 2015 season.[15][16] A regular starter, he scored seven goals in 58 appearances overall for the club; one of those goals was the winner in a 2–1 away success over ABC which sealed Botafogo's 2015 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B title.[17]

Renewal attempts and transfer issues

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On 27 November 2015, after media outlet GloboEsporte.com reported that Arão had a deal with Flamengo,[17] Botafogo exercised the R$ 400,000 buyout clause on his loan deal, and activated a permanent two-year contract.[18] Hours later, Arão sent back the sum to Botafogo,[19] and the club tried to pay the sum three days later, which was also returned; Botafogo later went to Court to secure the player's rights.[20]

As Arão owned 50% of his economic rights (thus being a "third-party ownership"), himself and his representatives considered the new regulation from FIFA (which took effect on 1 May 2015) banning third-party ownership and considering the contracts signed between January and April 2015 of a maximum of one year.[21] Despite Botafogo considering the contract was valid due to its register in the CBF and in the FERJ, and having the first instance on their favour, Arão was declared a free agent on 10 December 2015.[22]

Flamengo

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On 14 December 2015, Flamengo announced the signing of Arão on a three-year contract.[23] He instantly earned a first team spot being selected to the 2016 Bola de Prata.

On 28 December 2016, Arão signed another three-year contract with Flamengo until December 2019.[24] In 2018, he lost space in the first team and was linked to a move to Internacional[25] and Olympiacos, which never materialized. Flamengo and the Greek side agreed to a €2.5 million fee,[26] but the transfer was canceled a few days later after Arão failed to agree terms of his wages.[27]

On 24 December 2018, after regaining his starting spot, Arão further extended his link with Fla until 2021.[28] In the following campaign, he was moved to a more defensive midfield position by new head coach Jorge Jesus, becoming an important unit of the club's Carioca, Série A and Copa Libertadores wins.[29]

With head coach Rogério Ceni, during the 2020 season, Arão started to also feature as centre-back.[30]

Fenerbahçe

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On 14 July 2022, Arão moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing a two-year contract with an option for an additional year with Turkish club Fenerbahçe.[31] Reunited with former Flamengo head coach Jesus, he was a regular starter during his only season at the club.

Panathinaikos

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On 17 August 2023, after Jesus' departure from Fenerbachçe, Arão also left the club to join Greek side Panathinaikos on a two-year contract.[32] On 20 May 2025, after two seasons as a starter, the club announced his departure.[33]

Santos

[edit]

On 1 July 2025, Santos announced the signing of Arão until December 2026.[34]

International career

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On 19 January 2017 Arão was called up to the Brazil national team for the first time to play a friendly match against Colombia.[35][36] He made his full international debut six days later, starting in the 1–0 win at the Nilton Santos.

Career statistics

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Club

[edit]
As of 13 April 2025[37]
Club Season League State League[a] Cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Corinthians 2011 Série A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2012 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
2013 2 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 — 8 0
Total 10 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
Portuguesa (loan) 2013 Série A 13 0 — — 2[c] 0 — 15 0
Chapecoense (loan) 2014 Série A 2 0 13 1 1 0 — — 16 1
Atlético Goianiense (loan) 2014 Série B 13 0 — — — — 13 0
Botafogo (loan) 2015 Série B 35 5 19 1 4 1 — — 58 7
Flamengo 2016 Série A 37 4 15 3 4 0 2[c] 0 4[d] 0 62 7
2017 30 1 14 4 6 0 16[e] 4 1[d] 4 67 9
2018 23 2 3 0 3 0 3[f] 0 — 32 2
2019 35 2 12 2 3 1 12[f] 0 2[g] 0 64 5
2020 32 1 13 0 4 0 5[f] 1 3[h] 0 57 2
2021 30 1 7 0 6 0 11[f] 3 1[i] 0 55 4
2022 14 2 12 2 1 0 6[f] 1 1[i] 0 34 5
Total 201 13 76 11 27 1 55 9 12 4 371 38
Fenerbahçe 2022–23 Süper Lig 31 0 — 6 0 8[j] 1 — 45 1
Panathinaikos 2023–24 Super League Greece 32 3 — 6 0 7[k] 0 — 45 3
2024–25 24 1 — 1 0 14[l] 0 — 39 1
Total 56 4 0 0 7 0 21 0 0 0 84 4
Santos 2025 Série A 0 0 — — — — 0 0
Career total 361 22 115 13 45 2 86 10 12 0 619 47
  1. ^ Includes Campeonato Paulista, Campeonato Catarinense, Campeonato Carioca
  2. ^ Includes Copa do Brasil and Turkish Cup
  3. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
  4. ^ a b Appearances(s) in Primeira Liga
  5. ^ Six appearances and one goal in Copa Libertadores, ten appearances and three goals in Copa Sudamericana
  6. ^ a b c d e Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
  7. ^ Appearance(s) in FIFA Club World Cup
  8. ^ Two appearances in Recopa Sudamericana, one appearance in Supercopa do Brasil
  9. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Supercopa do Brasil
  10. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  11. ^ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  12. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Europa League, ten appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

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As of 25 January 2017.[38]
Team Season Apps Goals
Brazil 2017 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours

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Club

[edit]

Corinthians

Botafogo

Flamengo

Fenerbahçe

Panathinaikos

Individual

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ a b "FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019: List of Players: CR Flamengo" (PDF). FIFA. 5 December 2019. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Brazil - Willian Arão - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Justiça chama Flamengo, Botafogo e Arão para audiência de conciliação". globoesporte.com. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  4. ^ "23 Samurais – Willian Arão" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  5. ^ "Flamengo: Arão foi levado à Europa por superagente de Ibra e virou volante moderno com técnico do Tottenham" [Flamengo: Arão was brought to Europe by Ibra's superagent and became a modern defensive midfielder with Tottenham's manager] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  6. ^ "Corinthians se reforça com volante formado na base do São Paulo" [Corinthians is bolstered with defensive midfielder groomed in the youth sides of São Paulo] (in Brazilian Portuguese). JM Online. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Tite escala Timão com dez mudanças para enfrentar a Ponte" [Tite lines up Timão with ten changes to face Ponte] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  8. ^ "Convocado no fim para Libertadores e Mundial, Willian Arão admite ser um 'cara sortudo'" [Called up in the end for the Libertadores and the World Cup, Willian Arão admits being a 'lucky guy'] (in Brazilian Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  9. ^ "Portuguesa anuncia contratação do volante Willian Arão, do Corinthians" [Portuguesa announce signing of defensive midfielder Willian Arão, from Corinthians] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Chapecoense apresenta goleiro Sílvio e volantes Dedé e Willian Arão" [Chapecoense present goalkeeper Sílvio and defensive midfielders Dedé and Willian Arão] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ND+. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Willian Arão vibra com primeiro gol como profissional: 'Sensação única'" [Willian Arão celebrates first goal as a professional: 'Unique sensation'] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Volante Willian Arão é liberado por Chapecoense e retorna ao Corinthians" [Defensive midfielder Willian Arão is released by Chapecoense and returns to Corinthians] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 27 June 2014. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Atlético-GO contrata volante Willian Arão por empréstimo até o fim do ano" [Atlético-GO sign defensive midfielder Willian Arão on loan until the end of the year] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Em alta, Willian Arão se destaca com a arrancada do Atlético-GO na Série B" [On a high, Willian Arão becomes a spotlight with Atlético-GO's rise in the Série B] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Botafogo contrata o volante William Arão, ex-jogador do Corinthians" [Botafogo sign defensive midfielder Willian Arão, former Corinthians player] (in Brazilian Portuguese). O Dia. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  16. ^ "Diego Giaretta e Willian Arão chegam em busca de espaço no Botafogo" [Diego Giaretta and Willian Arão arrive seeking space at Botafogo] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  17. ^ a b "Autor do gol do título do Bota, Willian Arão tem acerto com Fla apalavrado" [Scorer of Bota's title goal, Willian Arão has a deal by word with Fla] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Botafogo paga R$ 400 mil a Willian Arão e renova com volante até 2017" [Botafogo pay R$ 400 thousand to Willian Arão and renew with defensive midfielder until 2017] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  19. ^ "Depósito gera mal-estar, clima azeda, e Arão devolve dinheiro ao Botafogo" [Deposit creates discomfort, situation grows sour, and Arão returns money to Botafogo] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  20. ^ "Toma lá, dá cá! Arão devolve dinheiro novamente, e Bota entra na Justiça" [Take it, give it! Arão returns the money again, and Bota goes to Court] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  21. ^ Pinheiro, Thiago (15 December 2015). "A Situação do Botafogo no Enrolado Caso do Willian Arão" [The situation of Botafogo in the tangled case of Willian Arão] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Justiça libera Willian Arão, e volante está livre para assinar com outro clube" [Court release Willian Arão, and defensive midfielder is free to sign with another club] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  23. ^ "Willian Arão é o novo reforço do Flamengo" [Willian Arão is the new addition of Flamengo] (in Brazilian Portuguese). CR Flamengo. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  24. ^ "Fla anuncia renovação com M. Araújo; Muralha e Arão ampliam contratos" [Fla announce renewal with M. Araújo; Muralha and Arão extend contracts] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 28 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  25. ^ "Sem espaço no Flamengo, volante Willian Arão entra na mira do Inter" [Without space at Flamengo, defensive midfielder Willian Arão becomes a target of Inter] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  26. ^ "Fora de jogo do Fla, Willian Arão é negociado com Olympiacos, da Grécia" [Out of Fla's match, Willian Arão is negotiated with Olympiacos, from Greece] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  27. ^ "Sem negócio: Olympiacos não atende exigências e desiste da contratação de Arão". globoesporte.com. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  28. ^ "Flamengo acerta renovação do volante Willian Arão por dois anos" [Flamengo agree renewal of defensive midfielder Willian Arão for two years] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Lance!. 24 December 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  29. ^ "'Willian Arão é o patinho bonito para mim', diz Jorge Jesus após goleada do Flamengo" ['Willian Arão is the beautiful duckling for me', says Jorge Jesus after Flamengo's routing] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Extra. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  30. ^ "Arão "vira" zagueiro com Ceni, se firma como coringa e acirra briga no Fla" [Arão "becomes" a stopper with Ceni, establishes himself as a wildcard and intensifies the dispute at Fla] (in Brazilian Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 4 April 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  31. ^ "Ailemize hoş geldin Willian Arao #SahneBizim" [Welcome to our family Willian Arão #StageOurs] (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe S.K. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  32. ^ "Παναθηναϊκός μεταγραφές: Ο Γουίλιαν Αράο επίσημα στα πράσινα" [Panathinaikos transfers: Willian Arão officially in the green] (in Greek). Sport24. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  33. ^ "Multicampeão pelo Flamengo fica livre após clube europeu anunciar saída" [Multi-champion for Flamengo becomes a free agent after European club announce departure] (in Brazilian Portuguese). CNN Brasil. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  34. ^ "Willian Arão é o novo reforço do Santos FC" [Willian Arão is the new addition of Santos FC] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Santos FC. 1 July 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  35. ^ "Com novidades, Tite resgata astros europeus e chama Muralha" [With news, Tite brings back European stars and calls up Muralha] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  36. ^ "Arão celebra 1ª chance na Seleção e lembra de ensinamentos de Tite" [Arão celebrates 1st chance in the national team and remembers Tite's teachings] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  37. ^ Willian Arão at Soccerway
  38. ^ Willian Arão at National-Football-Teams.com
  39. ^ Unwin, Will (23 November 2019). "Flamengo 2–1 River Plate: Copa Libertadores final – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  40. ^ "Supercopa: em jogo doido, Flamengo vence o Palmeiras nos pênaltis". One Football (in Portuguese). 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  41. ^ Vickery, Tim (27 February 2020). "Flamengo's Recopa win over Independiente a stepping stone to more glory". ESPN. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  42. ^ "Vasco lidera seleção do Carioca, que ainda traz Ribamar e Willian Arão". Globoesporte.com. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  43. ^ "Gabriel Jesus wins Bola de Prata award for best player in the Brasileirao". Sambafoot.
  44. ^ "Bola de Prata: veja como ficou a seleção do Campeonato Brasileiro 2019" (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  45. ^ "Veja os ganhadores da edição 2016 do Troféu Mesa Redonda - Gazeta Esportiva". www.gazetaesportiva.com. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  46. ^ "Acompanhe os melhores momentos do Troféu Mesa Redonda - Gazeta Esportiva". www.gazetaesportiva.com. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  47. ^ "Confira todos os ganhadores do Troféu Mesa Redonda 2021 - Gazeta Esportiva". www.gazetaesportiva.com. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  48. ^ "Este es el equipo de la temporada en la CONMEBOL". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 9 September 2023.
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