Douglas Santos (footballer, born 1994)
Brazilian footballer (born 1994)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Douglas dos Santos Justino de Melo (Russian: Дуглас До Сантос Жустино Де Мело;[2] born 22 March 1994), known as Douglas Santos or simply Douglas (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈdowglɐs ˈsɐ̃tʊs]), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg and the Brazil national team.
|
Douglas Santos with Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Douglas dos Santos Justino de Melo | ||
| Date of birth | 22 March 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | João Pessoa, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Left-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Zenit Saint Petersburg | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2012 | Náutico | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Náutico | 37 | (3) |
| 2013–2014 | Granada | 0 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | → Udinese (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Udinese | 0 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | → Atlético Mineiro (loan) | 33 | (1) |
| 2015–2016 | Atlético Mineiro | 40 | (1) |
| 2016–2019 | Hamburger SV | 80 | (2) |
| 2019– | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 190 | (7) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013–2014 | Brazil U20 | 10 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Brazil U23 | 10 | (0) |
| 2016– | Brazil | 5 | (0) |
Medal record | |||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 March 2026 | |||
Club career
Náutico
On 15 February 2012, Douglas Santos made his first team debut, in a 2–0 home win over Central.[3] On the 26th, he scored his first professional goal, the second of a 3–1 home win over Belo Jardim.[4]
On 18 July, he made his Série A debut, in a 3–0 home win over Ponte Preta.[5] On 10 October, he scored his first top flight goal, in a 1–2 away defeat against Ponte Preta.[6]
Granada and Udinese
On 12 July 2013, Douglas Santos signed a five-year deal with La Liga side Granada CF, for an undisclosed fee.[7] On 2 September, he joined Udinese Calcio in a season-long loan deal.[8]
Atlético Mineiro
On 12 August 2014, Douglas Santos was loaned to Atlético Mineiro for 12 months.[9]
On 20 July 2015, Galo signed Douglas Santos permanently for €3 million on a four-year contract.[10]
Hamburger SV
On 31 August 2016, Douglas Santos signed for German club Hamburger SV.[11]
Zenit Saint Petersburg
On 4 July 2019, Douglas Santos joined Russian Premier League side FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, signing a five-year contract.[12][13] On 3 September 2021, he extended his Zenit contract until the end of the 2025–26 season.[14] On 25 July 2024, he extended it for the 2026–27 season, with an option for 2027–28.[15]
International career
Brazil (2013–2016)
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A few months before featuring with the U-20's winning squad in the 2013 Toulon Tournament, Douglas Santos received a call-up for the full squad on 2 April 2013, for a match against Bolivia.[16] However, he did not leave the bench.[17]
On 13 August 2015, Douglas Santos returned to the senior team, for friendlies against Costa Rica and the United States.[18]
He also represented Brazil at the Rio Olympics winning the Olympic men's football tournament,[19][20] and at the Copa América Centenario in 2016, early on the same summer international window.
Russia (2025)
On 3 March 2025, Santos switched his allegiance to Russia and received a call-up for the friendly match against Zambia,[21] despite the fact that three days earlier he had been on the prelist of Brazil for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Colombia and Argentina.[22][23]
Return to Brazil (2025–present)
On 31 August 2025, Santos' request to change sports citizenship from Russian to Brazilian was approved by FIFA,[24] following his call up to the Brazil national team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches Chile and Bolivia in September 2025.[25]
Personal life
On 21 October 2024, Santos acquired Russian citizenship.[26]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 17 May 2026[27]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | State league[b] | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Náutico | 2012 | Série A | 22 | 1 | — | — | 3 | 1 | — | 25 | 2 | |||
| 2013 | Série A | — | 2 | 0 | — | 12 | 1 | — | 14 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 15 | 2 | — | 39 | 3 | ||||
| Udinese (loan) | 2013–14 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Atlético Mineiro[c] | 2014 | Série A | 13 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 1 | |||
| 2015 | Série A | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[d] | 1 | 9 | 0 | — | 48 | 1 | ||
| 2016 | Série A | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[d] | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1[e] | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| Total | 54 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 99 | 3 | ||
| Hamburger SV | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 1 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 2. Bundesliga | 33 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 38 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 80 | 2 | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | 88 | 3 | |||||
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2019–20 | Russian Premier League | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6[f] | 0 | — | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Russian Premier League | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5[f] | 0 | — | 1[g] | 0 | 34 | 3 | ||
| 2021–22 | Russian Premier League | 27 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7[h] | 0 | — | 1[g] | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | Russian Premier League | 28 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 1[g] | 0 | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Russian Premier League | 26 | 3 | 9 | 0 | — | — | 1[g] | 0 | 36 | 3 | |||
| 2024–25 | Russian Premier League | 30 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 1[g] | 0 | 38 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26 | Russian Premier League | 23 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 25 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 190 | 7 | 29 | 2 | 18 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 242 | 9 | |||
| Career total | 349 | 11 | 48 | 3 | 34 | 1 | 34 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 471 | 18 | ||
- Includes Copa do Brasil, DFB-Pokal, Russian Cup
- Includes Campeonato Pernambucano, Campeonato Mineiro
- On loan from Udinese between 12 August 2014 and 20 July 2015
- Appearances in Copa Libertadores
- Appearance in Primeira Liga
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in Russian Super Cup
- Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 31 March 2026[28]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 2016 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 0 | |
Honours
Atlético Mineiro
Zenit Saint Petersburg
- Russian Premier League: 2019–20,[29] 2020–21,[30] 2021–22,[31] 2022–23,[32] 2023–24,[33] 2025–26[34]
- Russian Cup: 2019–20,[35] 2023–24[36]
- Russian Super Cup: 2020,[37] 2021,[38] 2022,[39] 2023,[40] 2024[41]
Brazil
Brazil U20
- Toulon Tournament: 2013, 2014
- Valais Youth Cup: 2013
Individual
- Best Left-back in Brazil: 2015[42]
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2015[43]
- Russian Premier League Top assist provider: 2020–21
- Russian Premier League Left-back of the Season: 2020–21,[44] 2021–22[45]
- Russian Premier League Defender of the Season: 2022–23,[46] 2023–24.[47]
- Russian Premier League Team of the Season: 2022–23[48]
