João Figueiredo (footballer)
Brazilian footballer (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo (born 27 May 1996) is a Brazilian professional footballer who currently plays as a forward for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim. He represented Malaysia at international level three times; however, he is currently serving a suspension from all football related activities after being sanctioned by FIFA in September 2025 for forging documents related to his Malaysian ancestry.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo | ||
| Date of birth | 27 May 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Johor Darul Ta'zim | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Atlético Mineiro | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Atlético Mineiro | 3 | (0) |
| 2017 | → Democrata (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Kauno Žalgiris | 39 | (14) |
| 2019–2020 | OFI | 34 | (11) |
| 2020–2022 | Al-Wasl | 23 | (10) |
| 2021–2022 | → Gaziantep (loan) | 34 | (8) |
| 2022–2023 | Gaziantep | 22 | (7) |
| 2023–2025 | İstanbul Başakşehir | 80 | (18) |
| 2025– | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 10 | (7) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2025 | Malaysia | 3 | (3) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 February 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 8 September 2025 | |||
Club career
Atlético Mineiro
João made his league debut for Atlético Mineiro against EC Vitória on 29 May 2016.[2]
Democrata
João scored on his league debut for Democrata against América Mineiro on 29 January 2017.[3]
Kauno Žalgiris
João made his league debut for Kauno Žalgiris against Atlantas on 29 April 2018, scoring in the 87th minute.[4]
OFI
On 2 August 2019, Super League club OFI officially announced the acquisition of Figueiredo on a three-year deal for a fee of €100,000.[5] He made his debut for the club against Panathinaikos on 31 August 2019.[6] João scored his first goal for the club against Asteras Tripolis on 29 September 2019, scoring in the 56th minute.[7] His goal against Lamia secured their place in the championship playoffs.[8]
On 4 July 2020, he completed an exquisite team effort and scored in a 2–2 home draw against PAOK.[9] He scored in the last game of the season, a 3–2 away defeat, against Panathinaikos, on 19 July 2020.[10]
Al Wasl
Figueiredo, on 21 September 2020, completed his transfer in Al Wasl, signing a three-year contract with the Dubai based team, in a €1 million deal.[11] He made his debut for the club against Baniyas on 16 October 2020.[12] He scored his first goal for the club against Kalba on 4 November 2020, scoring in the 8th minute.[13]
Gaziantep
On 6 June 2022, Figueiredo moved to Gaziantep on a permanent basis after playing there on loan previously and signed a three-year contract.[14] He made his debut for the club against Beşiktaş on 21 August 2021.[15] João scored his first goal for the club against Sivasspor on 18 September 2021, scoring in the 90th+2nd minute.[16]
İstanbul Başakşehir
On 17 February 2023, following Gaziantep's withdrawal from the 2022–23 season on account of the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake, Figueiredo signed for İstanbul Başakşehir on a three-and-a-half-year deal.[17] He made his debut for the club against Alanyaspor on 3 March 2023.[18] João scored his first goals for the club against Giresunspor on 24 April 2023, scoring in the 25th and 45th+2nd minute.[19]
Johor Darul T’azim
On 6 July 2025, Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta’zim announced the signing of Figueiredo.[20]
International career
Figueiredo received his first call-up to the Malaysia national team for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification match against Vietnam.[21] He made his international debut on 10 June 2025 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, scoring the opening goal in Malaysia’s 4–0 win, with his goal coming in the 48th minute following a run into the penalty area, with the shot deflecting off a defender before looping over the goalkeeper and into the net.[22] Prior to his international debut for Malaysia, Figueiredo had previously been invited to join a senior Brazil national team training camp in 2018. Although he did not feature in any official matches, the experience allowed him to train alongside several established players, including Gabriel Jesus.[23]
In September 2025, Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), Figueiredo, and six other Malaysian heritage players were sanctioned by FIFA due to falsification and forgery of documents regarding the seven players' eligibility to play for Malaysia in the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam. Each players were fined CHF 2,000 (around MYR 10,560) and were suspended from all football related activities for 12 months. FAM has confirmed it will file an appeal against FIFA's ruling.[24]
Personal life
FIFA recently launched an investigation through its Disciplinary Committee where it was found that Figueiredo's grandmother was born in Abre Campo, Brazil, not Johor, Malaysia, which meant Figueiredo had illegally played for Malaysia as he had no Malaysian ancestry.[25]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 31 May 2025[26]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Kauno Žalgiris | 2018 | A Lyga | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 4 |
| 2019 | A Lyga | 17 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 20 | 10 | |
| Total | 39 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 14 | ||
| OFI Crete | 2019–20 | Super League Greece | 33 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 12 |
| 2019–20 | Super League Greece | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 34 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 2 | ||
| Al Wasl | 2020–21 | UAE Pro League | 23 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 12 |
| Gaziantep | 2021–22 | Süper Lig | 34 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 10 |
| 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 22 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 9 | |
| Total | 56 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 19 | ||
| Başakşehir | 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 12 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 4 |
| 2023–24 | Süper Lig | 34 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 8 | |
| 2024–25 | Süper Lig | 34 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 11[c] | 2 | 48 | 12 | |
| Total | 80 | 18 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 102 | 24 | ||
| Career total | 232 | 68 | 30 | 11 | 14 | 2 | 276 | 81 | ||
- Includes Lithuanian Cup, Greek Cup, UAE League Cup, Turkish Cup
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 8 September 2025
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | 2025 | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 3 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list Malaysia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Figueiredo goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 June 2025 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Malaysia |  Vietnam | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 2 | 4 September 2025 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Malaysia |  Singapore | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 8 September 2025 | Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Johor, Malaysia |  Palestine | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Honours
Johor Darul Ta'zim