Douglas Luiz

Douglas Luiz Soares de Paulo (born 9 May 1998), known as Douglas Luiz, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Aston Villa and the Brazil national team.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Soares and the second or paternal family name is de Paulo.

Douglas Luiz
Douglas Luiz with Aston Villa in 2021
Personal information
Full name Douglas Luiz Soares de Paulo[1]
Date of birth (1998-05-09) 9 May 1998[2]
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Aston Villa
Number 6
Youth career
2013–2016 Vasco da Gama
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Vasco da Gama 25 (3)
2017–2019 Manchester City 0 (0)
2017–2019 → Girona (loan) 43 (0)
2019– Aston Villa 149 (16)
International career‡
2016–2017 Brazil U20 7 (0)
2019–2021 Brazil U23 13 (2)
2019– Brazil 9 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Brazil
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2020 TokyoTeam
Copa América
Runner-up2021 Brazil
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:37, 22 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:14, 30 March 2022 (UTC)

Douglas Luiz is a product of the Vasco da Gama academy in Rio de Janeiro. He was signed at the age of 19 by Manchester City in 2017 but never played a competitive match during his time at the club due to work permit difficulties, being loaned out to La Liga side Girona twice. Aston Villa signed Luiz in July 2019. He is an Olympic champion, winning gold at the 2020 Summer Olympics Men's Football Final.

Club career

Vasco da Gama

Douglas Luiz was born in Rio de Janeiro and joined Vasco da Gama's youth setup in 2013, aged 14, after being approved in a number of tests held in Itaguaí.[3] In July 2016, he was promoted to the first team by manager Jorginho due to Marcelo Mattos' injury.[4]

Douglas Luiz made his first team debut on 27 August 2016, coming on as a second-half substitute for Fellype Gabriel in a 2–2 away draw against Tupi for the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B championship. In his first start three days later, he scored his team's only goal in a 2–1 loss at Vila Nova.

Douglas Luiz remained a starter for the Cruz-maltino until the end of the year, as his side achieved promotion to Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. In the meantime, he also extended his contract until 2019, on 26 September 2016.[5]

Douglas Luiz made his debut in the main category of Brazilian football on 14 May 2017, starting in a 4–0 away loss against Palmeiras. His first goal in the division occurred on 10 June, as he netted his team's second in a 2–1 home win against Sport.

Manchester City

Douglas Luiz completed a move to Manchester City on 15 July 2017, signing a five-year contract.[6]

On 1 August, he was loaned to La Liga side Girona FC for his first season with the club.[7] Douglas Luiz made his debut for the Catalans on 26 August 2017, replacing Portu in a 1–0 home win against Málaga CF.[8]

On 31 August 2018, Douglas Luiz was again loaned to Girona due to the UK Home Office denying him a work permit.[9]

Aston Villa

Douglas Luiz signed for Aston Villa on 25 July 2019, subject to a work permit.[10] His work permit was granted, and he officially became an Aston Villa player on 7 August.[11] On 17 August, Douglas Luiz scored his first goal for Aston Villa against AFC Bournemouth; Villa would eventually lose the game 2–1.[12] In August 2022, Luiz scored directly from a corner in the third round of the 2022–23 EFL Cup against Bolton Wanderers, and repeated the feat the following week in a Premier League fixture against Arsenal.[13]

In October 2022, after rumoured transfer interest from Arsenal, following the end of the transfer window - Luiz agreed a new "long-term" contract with Aston Villa.[14][15] On 23 May 2023, Luiz was voted both Supporter's Player of the Season and Player's Player of the Season at the club's end of season awards.[16]

International career

Douglas Luiz appeared for Brazil at the youth level at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship and the 2019 Toulon Tournament, winning the latter.

On 19 November 2019, he made his senior international debut in a friendly match against South Korea, which Brazil won 3–0.[17]

On 9 June 2021, Douglas Luiz was named to the Brazil squad for the 2021 Copa América.[18] Brazil finished the tournament as runners-up to Argentina.[19]

On 7 August 2021, Luiz won a gold medal as part of the Brazil football team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[20]

Personal life

Douglas was in a relationship with Aston Villa Women forward Alisha Lehmann.[21]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 22 October 2023[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League State league[lower-alpha 1] National cup[lower-alpha 2] League cup[lower-alpha 3] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vasco da Gama 2016 Série B 1420010——152
2017 Série A 11110230——243
Total 25310240——395
Manchester City 2017–18 Premier League 00—00000000
Girona (loan) 2017–18 La Liga 150—20——170
2018–19 La Liga 230—60——290
Total 380—80——460
Aston Villa 2019–20 Premier League 363—0060—423
2020–21 Premier League 330—0010—340
2021–22 Premier League 342—1000—352
2022–23 Premier League 376—1021—407
2023–24 Premier League 95—00104[lower-alpha 4]1146
Total 14916—201014116518
Career total 212181021401014125023
  1. Includes Campeonato Carioca
  2. Includes Copa do Brasil, Copa del Rey, FA Cup
  3. Includes EFL Cup
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International
As of match played 14 October 2021[23]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Brazil 201910
202040
202140
Total90

Honours

Aston Villa

Brazil U23

Brazil

Individual

References
  1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  2. "Douglas Luiz: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  3. "Conheça a trajetória de Douglas Luiz no Vasco" [Know the path of Douglas Luiz at Vasco] (in Portuguese). NetVasco. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  4. "Peneira, tiroteio e esperança: a história de Douglas Luiz, promessa do Vasco" [Trial, gunfire and hope: the story of Douglas Luiz, prospect of Vasco] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  5. "Tratado como joia, Douglas Luiz renova com o Vasco até 2019" [Treated as a pearl, Douglas Luiz renews with Vasco until 2019] (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  6. "Man City sign Douglas Luiz". mancity.com. 15 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  7. "Douglas Luiz joins Girona on loan". Manchester City. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  8. "Alcalá derriba la puerta del Málaga y el Girona hace historia" [Alcalá breaks the door of Málaga and Girona make history] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  9. Robson, James (31 August 2018). "Manchester City's Douglas Luiz set for second Girona loan after work permit denied". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  10. "Transfer news: Douglas Luiz joins Aston Villa". Aston Villa F.C. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  11. "'Signed, sealed' The photograph Aston Villa fans have been craving". Birmingham Mail. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  12. "Aston Villa v Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 16 August 2019.
  13. Tong, Kobe (31 August 2022). "Villa's Douglas Luiz scores yet another direct corner in Arsenal clash". GiveMeSport. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  14. Hill, Sam (14 October 2022). "BREAKING: Arsenal dealt transfer blow as Douglas Luiz signs new contract". Football.London. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  15. "Douglas Luiz signs new long-term contract". Aston Villa Football Club. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  16. "It's a double for Dougie. 🔥@DGOficial is your Supporters' Player of the Season for 2022/23! 👊". @AVFCOfficial on Twitter. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  17. "Brazil end five-game winless run by beating South korea". BBC Sport. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  18. "Tite define convocados da Seleção Brasileira para a Copa América 2021". CBF. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  19. Osborne, Chris (11 July 2021). "Messi wins first Copa America with Argentina". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  20. O'Connor, Phillips (7 August 2021). "Soccer-Brazil's Alves crowns trophy-laden career with Olympic gold". Reuters. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  21. "Aston Villa players Alisha Lehmann and Douglas Luiz make their romance official". Marca. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  22. Douglas Luiz at Soccerway
  23. "Douglas Luiz". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  24. McNulty, Phil (1 March 2020). "Aston Villa 1–2 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  25. "Festival International Espoirs Football Tournoi Maurice Revello Toulon".
  26. "Com nove jogadores de Fla e Flu, Ferj divulga seleção do Campeonato Carioca". Globoesporte.com. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  27. "Récompenses de la dernière édition du Festival".
  28. "Maurice Revello Tournament 2019 Best XI". Maurice Revello Tournament. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
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