Igor Jesus (footballer, born 2001)
Brazilian footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Igor Jesus Maciel da Cruz (born 25 February 2001), commonly known as Igor Jesus (Brazilian Portuguese: [iˈgoʁ ʒeˈzu(j)z]), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Nottingham Forest and the Brazil national team.
_(Igor_Jesus).jpg)
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Igor Jesus playing for Nottingham Forest in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Igor Jesus Maciel da Cruz[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 25 February 2001[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Cuiabá, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Nottingham Forest | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2015–2019 | Coritiba | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2020 | Coritiba | 56 | (7) |
| 2020–2024 | Shabab Al Ahli | 66 | (34) |
| 2024–2025 | Botafogo | 37 | (9) |
| 2025– | Nottingham Forest | 36 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2024– | Brazil | 5 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:03, 17 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 October 2025 | |||
Club career
Igor Jesus came through the youth ranks at Coritiba, having been at the clubs since he was 13 years old.[4] He was given a place in the senior side in 2019, and made his debut as a substitute on 23 January 2019, in the Campeonato Paranaense game against Maringá.[5] He scored his first senior goal on his first start for the team, in the same competition on 30 January 2019 against Athletico Paranaense.[6] On 18 March 2019 he signed a new contract, keeping his rights with Coritiba until the end of 2022.[4] He made his national league debut in the 2019 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B match against CRB on 20 May 2019.[7]
On 7 July 2024, following a spell abroad with Shabab Al Ahli, Igor Jesus returned home and signed a permanent deal with Botafogo.[8] He scored two goals for Botafogo during the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, one against Seattle Sounders and the decisive winner against Paris Saint-Germain, helping his team advance to the knockout stage.[9]
Before officially leaving Glorioso, Igor Jesus lamented his departure from the club with which he won the Libertadores and the 2024 Brazilian Championship. "I'm happy to be starting this great championship on the right foot, starting with a victory I'm really happy with the result. Thank God we got three good points, and it was very important. Now it's time to keep going; we have a very difficult game against PSG. We'll keep working hard this week so we can put in a great performance too," he told SporTV.[10]
On 5 July 2025, it was announced that Igor Jesus had signed with Premier League side Nottingham Forest on a four-year deal.[11] The transfer fee was a reported £10,000,000.[12] Later that month, on 16 July, the day that Botafogo drew 0–0 with Vitória at Estádio Nilton Santos, in the Brasileiro, Igor Jesus was honored by the club at half-time with a plaque.[13]
On 17 September 2025, Jesus scored his first goals for Nottingham Forest, netting a brace in a 3–2 defeat to Swansea City in the third round of the EFL Cup.[14] A week later, on 24 September, he netted another brace in a 2–2 away draw against Real Betis in the Europa League.[15]
International career
In October 2024, Igor Jesus received his first call up to the Brazil national team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification games against Chile and Peru.[16]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 17 May 2026[17]
| 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 | ||
| Coritiba | 2019 | Série B | 24 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 5 | |||
| 2020 | Série A | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 34 | 3 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 57 | 7 | |||||
| Shabab Al Ahli | 2020–21 | UAE Pro League | 24 | 12 | — | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 5[d] | 2 | 1[e] | 0 | 40 | 21 | |
| 2021–22 | UAE Pro League | 6 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 2 | ||||
| 2022–23 | UAE Pro League | 17 | 6 | — | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 6 | ||||
| 2023–24 | UAE Pro League | 19 | 14 | — | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 2[f] | 0 | 26 | 17 | ||
| Total | 66 | 34 | — | 8 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 92 | 46 | |||
| Botafogo | 2024 | Série A | 22 | 5 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 6[g] | 3 | 1[h] | 0 | 31 | 8 | ||
| 2025 | Série A | 10 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 5[g] | 2 | 7[i] | 2 | 28 | 9 | ||
| Total | 32 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 11 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 59 | 17 | |||
| Nottingham Forest | 2025–26 | Premier League | 36 | 6 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13[j] | 7 | — | 51 | 16 | ||
| Career total | 167 | 51 | 27 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 31 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 259 | 86 | ||
- Includes Campeonato Paranaense, Campeonato Carioca
- Includes Copa do Brasil, UAE President's Cup, FA Cup
- Includes UAE League Cup, EFL Cup
- Appearances in AFC Champions League
- Appearance in UAE Super Cup
- One appearance in UAE Super Cup, one appearance in Qatar-UAE Super Shield
- Appearances in Copa Libertadores
- Appearance in FIFA Intercontinental Cup
- One appearance in Supercopa do Brasil, two appearances in Recopa Sudamericana, four appearances and two goals in FIFA Club World Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 10 October 2025
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 2024 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 1 | |
Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 October 2024 | Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile | 1 |  Chile | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Shabab Al-Ahl
- UAE Pro League: 2022–23
- UAE President's Cup: 2020–21
- UAE League Cup: 2020–21
- UAE Super Cup: 2020, 2023[18]
Botafogo
