 Saldanha withNeftçi in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matheus Bonifácio Saldanha Marinho | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-08-18)18 August 1999 (age 26) | ||
| Place of birth | Uberaba, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al Wasl | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Santos | |||
| 2016–2019 | Audax | ||
| 2018–2019 | →Bahia (loan) | ||
| 2019 | Bahia | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2022 | Bahia | 29 | (3) |
| 2021 | →JEF United Chiba (loan) | 31 | (3) |
| 2022–2023 | JEF United Chiba | 16 | (1) |
| 2022 | →Chengdu Rongcheng (loan) | 19 | (3) |
| 2023 | →Neftçi (loan) | 17 | (5) |
| 2023–2024 | Partizan | 28 | (18) |
| 2024–2025 | Ferencváros | 22 | (10) |
| 2025– | Al Wasl | 5 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 26 September 2025 | |||
Matheus Bonifácio Saldanha Marinho (born 19 August 1999), commonly known asMatheus Saldanha, is a Brazilian professionalfootballer who plays as aforward for Emirati clubAl Wasl.
Born inUberaba, Minas Gerais, Saldanha joinedBahia's youth setup in 2018, initially on loan fromAudax.[1][citation needed] On 1 July 2019, after impressing with the under-20 side, he was bought outright and signed a permanent three-year contract.[2]
Saldanha was promoted to the first team for the 2020 season, and made his senior debut on 22 January of that year by starting in a 1–1Campeonato Baiano away draw againstJuazeirense.[3] He scored his first senior goal on 9 February, netting his team's second in a 3–1 away win againstJacobina.[4]
Saldanha made hisSérie A on 12 August 2020, coming on as a second-halfsubstitute forRossi in a 1–0 home win againstCoritiba.[5] His first goal in the category occurred on 16 September, as he scored his team's second in a 2–3 away loss againstCorinthians.[6]
In 2021, Saldanha joined to J2 club,JEF United Chiba on loan transfer. One year later, he was announcement officially permanently transfer to JEF United Chiba has been confirmed after a season as loan player from EC Bahia.
In 2022, Saldanha loaned again toChinese Super League club,Chengdu Rongcheng for during mid 2022 season. He leave from the club after a half season at Chengdu expiration contract.
He returned to JEF United Chiba for the 2023 season.[7]
On 28 July 2023, Saldanha signed a four-year contract with Serbian clubPartizan for a reported fee of €1.3 million. Just one day later, Saldanha scored a goal on his debut in a 3–3 drawaway atTSC.[8] A week later, Saldanha scored his second goal in a 2–0 win overVojvodina.[9] In the third qualifying round for theUEFA Europa Conference League, Saldanha scored one goal in the two-legged tie againstSabah.[10] On 27 August, Saldanha scored his thirdSuperLiga goal in a 3–1 win againstJavor.[11] In September and October, Saldanha continued his good form by scoring 6 goals and providing 3 assists. On 20 December 2023, Saldanha scored the winning goal in the 171stEternal derby in a 2–1 win against arch rivalsRed Star.[12] Saldanha scored against Red Star again at theRajko Mitić Stadium on 9 March 2024, as Red Star and Partizan drew 2–2 in the 172nd Eternal derby.[13] Saldanha finished the2023–24 Serbian SuperLiga having played 27 games and scored 17 goals, becoming its joint top scorer.
On 3 September 2024, he signed a contract with the Hungarian clubFerencváros.[14] On 15 September 2024, he debuted with a goal in a 3–0 victory againstBudafoki MTE in the2024–25 Magyar Kupa.[15] On 20 September 2024, he scored his first league goal in a 3–1 victory againstMTK Budapest atHidegkuti Nándor Stadion in the2024–25 Nemzeti Bajnokság I.[16]
On 29 September 2024, he scored a hat-trick againstPuskás Akadémia FC in the 2024-25 Nemzeti Bajnokság I at theGroupama Arena.[17][18]
On 11 July 2025, Saldanha signed to Emirati clubAl Wasl.[19]
| Club | Season | League | State league[a] | National cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bahia | 2020 | Série A | 17 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 34 | 3 |
| JEF United Chiba (loan) | 2021 | J2 League | 31 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 3 | |||
| JEF United Chiba | 2022 | J2 League | 16 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| Chengdu Rongcheng (loan) | 2022 | Chinese Super League | 19 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 3 | |||
| Neftçi (loan) | 2022–23 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 17 | 5 | — | 3 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 5 | |||
| Partizan | 2023–24 | Serbian Superliga | 27 | 17 | — | 3 | 0 | 4[e] | 1 | — | 34 | 18 | ||
| 2024–25 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 5[f] | 2 | — | 6 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 28 | 18 | — | 3 | 0 | 9 | 3 | — | 40 | 21 | ||||
| Ferencváros | 2024–25 | Nemzeti Bajnokság | 22 | 10 | — | 6 | 3 | 10[g] | 1 | — | 38 | 14 | ||
| Career total | 150 | 42 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 199 | 50 | ||
Bahia
Ferencváros
Individual
