Cacá (footballer, born 1999)
Brazilian footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carlos de Menezes Júnior (born 25 April 1999), commonly known as Cacá, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Vitória, on loan from Corinthians.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carlos de Menezes Júnior[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 25 April 1999[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Visconde do Rio Branco, Minas Gerais, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Vitória (loan) | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2014–2019 | Cruzeiro | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2021 | Cruzeiro | 53 | (3) |
| 2021–2024 | Tokushima Vortis | 69 | (3) |
| 2023–2024 | → Athletico Paranaense (loan) | 19 | (2) |
| 2024 | → Corinthians (loan) | 26 | (4) |
| 2025– | Corinthians | 26 | (1) |
| 2026– | → Vitória (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 8 April 2026 | |||
Club career
Born in Visconde do Rio Branco, Minas Gerais, Cacá arrived at the youth setup of Cruzeiro in June 2014. Progressing through the youth ranks, he went on to captain the under-20 side in their Campeonato Mineiro under-20 triumph in 2018.[2]
Promoted to the first team in March 2018,[3] Cacá made his professional – and Série A debut on 14 October, playing the whole 90 minutes of a 2–0 away defeat against Vasco da Gama.[4] Three days later, he was an unused substitute in the second leg of the Copa do Brasil Finals, with his side defeating Corinthians by 2–1.[5]
Initially a backup to Dedé and Léo during the 2019 Campeonato Mineiro, Cacá started to feature more regularly during the league. He scored his first senior goal on 31 October of that year, netting the opener in a 2–0 away success over Botafogo,[6] and finished the campaign with 20 league appearances as his side suffered a first-ever relegation.
On 6 January 2020, Cacá renewed his contract with Cruzeiro until December 2022.[7]
On February 14, 2021, Cacá signed with J1 League side Tokushima Vortis.[8]
On 21 July 2023, Cacá moved on loan to Athletico Paranaense.[9]
On 7 March 2024, Cacá was loaned to Corinthians until the end of the season with an option to buy.[10]
On 26 February 2026, Cacá was announced on loan to a Vitória.[11]
Career statistics
- As of match played 6 June 2026[12]
| Club | Season | League | State league[a] | National cup[b] | League cup[c] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cruzeiro | 2018 | Série A | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2019 | Série A | 20 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||||||
| 2020 | Série B | 22 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 44 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 56 | 3 | |||||
| Tokushima Vortis | 2021 | J1 League | 26 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 2 | |||
| 2022 | J2 League | 33 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 2 | ||||
| 2023 | J2 League | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 69 | 3 | — | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | — | 79 | 4 | |||||
| Athletico Paranaense (loan) | 2023 | Série A | 19 | 2 | — | — | — | 1[d] | 0 | — | 20 | 2 | ||||
| Corinthians (loan) | 2024 | Série A | 26 | 4 | — | 4 | 2 | — | 9[e] | 0 | — | 39 | 6 | |||
| Corinthians | 2025 | Série A | 18 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 3[e] | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | ||
| 2026 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||||
| Total | 44 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 2 | — | 12 | 0 | — | 71 | 7 | ||||
| Vitória | 2026 | Série A | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9[f] | 0 | 33 | 2 |
| Career total | 198 | 14 | 17 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 259 | 18 | ||
- Includes Campeonato Mineiro, Campeonato Paulista
- Includes Copa do Brasil, Emperor's Cup
- Includes J.League Cup
- Appearance in Copa Libertadores
- Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
- Appearance in Copa do Nordeste
Honours
Cruzeiro
Corinthians
