Chay (footballer)
Brazilian footballer (born 1990)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chayene Medeiros Oliveira Santos (born 29 September 1990), commonly known as Chay, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Niteroiense.
|
Chay in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Chayene Medeiros Oliveira Santos | ||
| Date of birth | 29 September 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Maceió, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Niteroiense | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ?? | Bela Vista | ||
| 2008–2009 | Bonsucesso | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008 | Canto do Rio | 13 | (2) |
| 2009 | Songkhla | ||
| 2010–2011 | Muangthong United | ||
| 2010 | → Buriram (loan) | ||
| 2011 | → Songkhla (loan) | ? | (17) |
| 2012 | Esan United | ||
| 2013 | Kedah FA | ||
| 2017 | Bela Vista | 6 | (4) |
| 2018 | Mogi Mirim | 9 | (0) |
| 2018 | São Gonçalo EC | 18 | (6) |
| 2019 | Rio Branco-AC | 10 | (6) |
| 2019 | America-RJ | 19 | (3) |
| 2020–2021 | Portuguesa-RJ | 36 | (10) |
| 2021 | → Botafogo (loan) | 18 | (8) |
| 2021–2024 | Botafogo | 30 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Cruzeiro (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Ceará (loan) | 28 | (2) |
| 2024 | → Guarani (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2024 | → CRB (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2025 | Volta Redonda | 22 | (0) |
| 2026 | Portuguesa-RJ | 8 | (1) |
| 2026- | Niteroiense | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 August 2026 | |||
Early life
Named after the character from the Sergio Leone spaghetti western Once Upon a Time in the West, Chay was born in Maceió, Alagoas, and moved to Niterói, Rio de Janeiro at the age of 4. Upon arriving at the new city, he started a treatment for a number of allergies, and started in futsal after a recommendation from a doctor.[1]
Club career
Chay began his senior career with Canto do Rio in 2008, playing in the Campeonato Carioca Série C,[2] before joining Bonsucesso, where he featured mainly for the under-20 side. He then moved abroad to Thailand in 2009, where he notably scored 17 goals in the 2011 Thai Division 1 League for Songkhla.
In late 2011, back to Brazil during a holiday period, Chay was hit by a stray bullet.[1] In 2013, Chay switched to Malaysia and signed for Kedah FA, but was allegedly "unsettled" at the club;[3] he later returned to his home country and started to play seven-a-side football, featuring for the likes of Fluminense, Flamengo and Botafogo. In 2018, he was called up to the Brazil seven-a-side national team, winning the Copa América de Seleções and being named the best seven-a-side player in South America.[1]
Chay also returned to association football in 2017, with Bela Vista.[4] On 15 January 2018, he moved to Mogi Mirim,[5] but left the club after nine goalless appearances and signed for São Gonçalo EC on 22 May.[6]
On 16 January 2019, Chay was announced as new signing of Rio Branco-AC.[7] He returned to the Rio de Janeiro state on 23 April, after agreeing to a contract with America-RJ.[8]
Chay moved to Portuguesa-RJ for the 2020 season,[9] being a regular starter in the club's Campeonato Carioca and Série D campaigns. He was a spotlight in the 2021 Carioca after scoring five times in only thirteen matches.[10]
On 25 May 2021, Chay was announced at Série B side Botafogo,[11] He continued on loan until the end of the year. On 31 August, after scoring eight goals, he signed a permanent deal with the club until 2024; Portuguesa retained 50% of his economic rights.[12] During his time at Botafogo a fan wrote a song called "Eu vi o Chay", a parody of "I Will Survive", comparing Chay to legends of football such as Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Messi, and others.[13]
Career statistics
- As of 22 November 2024[14]
| Club | Season | League | State League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Canto do Rio | 2008 | Carioca Série C | — | 13 | 2 | — | — | — | 13 | 2 | ||||
| Bela Vista | 2017[15] | Carioca Série B2 | — | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | 6 | 4 | ||||
| Mogi Mirim | 2018 | Paulista A3 | — | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| São Gonçalo EC | 2018[16][17] | Carioca Série B1 | — | 18 | 6 | — | — | 5[a] | 2 | 23 | 8 | |||
| Rio Branco-AC | 2019[18] | Série D | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 6 | ||
| America-RJ | 2019 | Carioca Série B1 | — | 19 | 3 | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 20 | 3 | |||
| Portuguesa-RJ | 2020 | Série D | 8 | 1 | 15 | 4 | — | — | — | 23 | 5 | |||
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | — | — | — | 13 | 5 | |||||
| Subtotal | 8 | 1 | 28 | 9 | — | — | — | 36 | 10 | |||||
| Botafogo | 2021 | Série B | 31 | 8 | — | — | — | — | 31 | 8 | ||||
| 2022 | Série A | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| Subtotal | 43 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 50 | 8 | ||||
| Cruzeiro (loan) | 2022 | Série B | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||
| Ceará (loan) | 2023 | Série B | 22 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8[b] | 0 | 36 | 2 | |
| Guarani (loan) | 2024 | Série B | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 2 | |||
| CRB (loan) | 2024 | Série B | 14 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 97 | 11 | 120 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 235 | 43 | ||
- Appearance(s) in Copa do Nordeste
Honours
- Botafogo
- Cruzeiro
- Ceará