Léo Ceará
Brazilian footballer
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Leonardo de Sousa Pereira (born 3 February 1995), commonly known as Léo Ceará, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for J1 League club Kashima Antlers.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leonardo de Sousa Pereira | ||
| Date of birth | 3 February 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kashima Antlers | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2010 | São Francisco-BA | ||
| 2011–2015 | Vitória | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2021 | Vitória | 64 | (23) |
| 2016 | → FC Ryukyu (loan) | 23 | (2) |
| 2017 | → Campinense (loan) | 6 | (3) |
| 2017–2018 | → Confiança (loan) | 38 | (14) |
| 2019 | → CRB (loan) | 32 | (14) |
| 2021–2022 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 58 | (21) |
| 2023–2024 | Cerezo Osaka | 71 | (32) |
| 2025– | Kashima Antlers | 56 | (33) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 August 2026 | |||
Club career
Born in Fortaleza, Ceará, Léo Ceará joined Vitória's youth setup in 2011, from São Francisco-BA.[1] He made his first team debut on 23 January 2014, coming on as a late substitute for Alan Pinheiro in a 3–1 away win against Confiança, for the year's Copa do Nordeste.[2]
On 12 January 2016, after being rarely used, Léo Ceará was loaned to J3 League club FC Ryukyu for the season.[3] Upon returning, he joined Campinense also in a temporary deal in February 2017,[4] but moved to Confiança in May to play in the Série C.[5]
Léo Ceará's loan with Confiança was renewed for a further year on 27 December 2017,[6] and he subsequently scored 16 goals in all competitions for the club before being recalled by Vitória in August 2018.[7]
Léo Ceará made his Série A debut on 23 August 2018, starting in a 0–1 away loss against Flamengo.[8] He scored his first goal in the category three days later, netting the winner in a 1–0 home success over Atlético Mineiro,[9] and subsequently renewed his contract until 2020 on the 28th.[10]
On 15 May 2019, after the arrival of Neto Baiano, Léo Ceará was loaned to fellow Série B side CRB until December.[11] He returned to Vitória in January 2020 after scoring 14 league goals for CRB, being the club's top goalscorer and the third-best overall, but was demoted to the under-23 squad after failing to agree new terms over a new contract.[12]
Léo Ceará was only included back at Vitória's main squad in August 2020.[13]
Yokohama F. Marinos announced on 23 January 2021 that Léo Ceará will be joining the club on a full transfer pending a medical to be performed upon arrival Japan (delayed for an indefinite period due to coronavirus immigration restrictions).[14] He was included in the Vitória squad for the last time on 26 January 2021.[15] Ceará left the club in 2022 after two years at Yokohama F. Marinos.
On 27 December 2022, Ceará officially transferred to Cerezo Osaka for the upcoming 2023 season.[16]
After two seasons at Cerezo, on 6 January 2025 it was announced that Ceará would be transferring to fellow J1 League club Kashima Antlers for the 2025 season.[17]
Career statistics
- As of match played 14 June 2025[18]
| 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 | ||
| Vitória | 2014 | Série A | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1[d] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2015 | Série B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | Série A | 17 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 5 | ||||||
| 2019 | Série B | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 7[d] | 1 | 18 | 3 | |||
| 2020 | 33 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 5[d] | 2 | 42 | 20 | ||||
| Total | 55 | 21 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 13 | 3 | 82 | 28 | ||||
| FC Ryukyu (loan) | 2016[19] | J3 League | 23 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 23 | 2 | |||||
| Campinense (loan) | 2017 | Série D | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | — | — | — | 3[d] | 1 | 9 | 4 | |||
| Confiança (loan) | 2017 | Série C | 10 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | |||||
| 2018 | 17 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6[d] | 3 | 34 | 16 | ||||
| Total | 50 | 12 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 4 | 76 | 23 | ||||
| CRB (loan) | 2019 | Série B | 32 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | 32 | 14 | |||||
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 2021 | J1 League | 27 | 10 | — | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 32 | 13 | |||
| 2022 | 31 | 11 | — | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4[e] | 2 | — | 39 | 16 | ||||
| Total | 90 | 35 | — | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | 103 | 43 | ||||
| Cerezo Osaka | 2023 | J1 League | 33 | 12 | — | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 14 | |||
| 2024 | 38 | 21 | — | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 42 | 21 | |||||
| Total | 71 | 33 | — | 4 | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 83 | 35 | |||||
| Kashima Antlers | 2025 | J1 League | 34 | 21 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 21 | |||
| 2026 | J1 100 Year Vision League | 20 | 10 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 10 | ||||
| 2026–27 | J1 League | 1 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 2 | |||
| Total | 55 | 33 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 56 | 33 | |||||
| Career total | 321 | 135 | 26 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 7 | 400 | 162 | ||
- Includes Copa do Brasil, Emperor's Cup
- Includes J.League Cup
- Appearance(s) in Copa do Nordeste
- Appearances in AFC Champions League
Honours
Club
Yokohama F. Marinos
Kashima Antlers
Individual
- J1 League Monthly MVP: February/March 2025[22],
- J.League Top Scorer: 2025[23]
- J.League Best XI: 2025[24]
- J1 100 Year Vision League Top Scorer: 2026[25]
- J1 100 Year Vision League Regional Round East Best Eleven: 2026[26]