Murilo Cerqueira
Brazilian footballer (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Murilo Cerqueira Paim (born 27 March 1997) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Brazilian club Palmeiras.
|
Murilo playing for Palmeiras in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Murilo Cerqueira Paim[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 March 1997[1] | ||
| Place of birth | São Gonçalo dos Campos, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Palmeiras | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2016 | Cruzeiro | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2019 | Cruzeiro | 50 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 52 | (4) |
| 2022– | Palmeiras | 154 | (15) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016 | Brazil U20 | 3 | (2) |
| 2019–2020 | Brazil U23 | 5 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 November 2020 | |||
Club career
Cruzeiro
Cerqueira played for the Cruzeiro Youth Teams since 2012. In 2017, he was promoted to the senior team. On March 21, 2017 he made his professional debut for Cruzeiro in the match against Joinville Esporte Clube at the Primeira Liga.[2][3]
Lokomotiv
On 18 June 2019, Murilo signed a 5-year contract with the Russian Premier League club FC Lokomotiv Moscow.[4] On 12 May 2021, he scored the last goal in a 3–1 victory over PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara in the 2020–21 Russian Cup final.
Palmeiras
On 12 January 2022, Cerqueira signed a five-season contract with Série A club Palmeiras.[5]
International career
Cerqueira represented Brazil U20 at youth level. He was one of the sparring players for the Brazil 2016 Olympic team. He was also part of the Brazil U-23 team which won the 2019 Toulon Tournament. He was present for the 2020 Summer Olympics qualifying cycle, but ended up not being called up to the final list for the tournament.[6]
He was called up for the first time to the senior Brazil national team in March 2024 for friendlies against England and Spain, but remained on the bench in both games.[7]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 4 December 2025[8]
| Club | Season | League | State league | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cruzeiro | 2017 | Série A | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| 2018 | Série A | 9 | 0 | 10[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | Série A | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 34 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 57 | 0' | ||
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2019–20 | Russian Premier League | 25 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 5[e] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Russian Premier League | 22 | 4 | — | 2 | 1 | 5[e] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 30 | 5 | ||
| 2021–22 | Russian Premier League | 5 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3[g] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Total | 52 | 4 | — | 3 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 71 | 5 | |||
| Palmeiras | 2022 | Série A | 32 | 4 | 11[h] | 3 | 4 | 0 | 8[d] | 3 | 2[i] | 0 | 57 | 10 |
| 2023 | Série A | 25 | 3 | 14[h] | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7[d] | 0 | 1[j] | 0 | 49 | 5 | |
| 2024 | Série A | 25 | 1 | 14[h] | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5[d] | 0 | 1[j] | 0 | 48 | 2 | |
| 2025 | Série A | 20 | 1 | 13[h] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9[d] | 1 | 3[k] | 0 | 45 | 2 | |
| Total | 102 | 9 | 52 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 29 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 199 | 19 | ||
| Career total | 188 | 13 | 66 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 44 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 327 | 24 | ||
- Includes Copa do Brasil and Russian Cup
- Appearance(s) in Primeira Liga
- Appearance(s) in Campeonato Mineiro
- Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance(s) in Russian Super Cup
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance(s) in Campeonato Paulista
- Appearance(s) in Recopa Sudamericana
- Appearance(s) in Supercopa do Brasil
- Appearance(s) in FIFA Club World Cup
Honours
Cruzeiro
Lokomotiv Moscow
Palmeiras
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2022, 2023
- Supercopa do Brasil: 2023
- FIFA Club World Cup runner-up: 2021
Brazil U23
Individual
- Bola de Prata: 2022
- Best Centre back in Brazil: 2023[9]
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2022, 2023
- Campeonato Paulista Team of the Year: 2024[10]
