Thiago Alcântara do Nascimento (Spanish:Alcántara; born 11 April 1991),[4] known asThiago Alcântara or mononymously asThiago (Spanish:[ˈtjaɣo];Brazilian Portuguese:[tʃiˈaɡu]),[5][6] is a former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder. He is the assistant manager ofLa Liga clubBarcelona.
Born in Italy to Brazilian parents and raised in Spain, he is the eldest child of former playerMazinho. Thiago joinedBarcelona aged 14, and made his debut for the first team in 2009. After winning honours including fourLa Liga titles, theUEFA Champions League and theFIFA Club World Cup for Barcelona, he was signed byBayern Munich for €25 million in 2013. In Germany, Thiago won 16 trophies, including theBundesliga seven times in a row, and theUEFA Champions League as part of acontinental treble in his final year at the club. In 2020, he signed for Liverpool in a transfer worth an initial £20 million. His time at Liverpool was plagued by several injury problems; however, he won theFA Cup in 2022. Thiago has been selected in the FIFPRO Men's World 11 in 2020.
Thiago was born inSan Pietro Vernotico, Italy, when his fatherMazinho (player for the Brazil national team from 1989 to 1994) was playing for nearbyU.S. Lecce. He started at the lower levels ofFlamengo in Brazil, and, at the age of five, moved to Spain with his father, and started playing withGalician team Ureca inNigrán. In 2001, he played withKelme CF when his father played forElche CF.[7][8] He returned to Flamengo aged 10 and, in 2005, once again moved back to Spain, signing withFC Barcelona.[9]
On 17 May 2009, aged 18, Thiago made his debut for the first team when he came on as a substitute forEiður Guðjohnsen in the 74th minute atRCD Mallorca for his only appearance of the season.[10] Barcelona, having already been declared champions ofLa Liga for the season, lost 1–2.[11]
On 20 February 2010, after coming on as a substitute forYaya Touré in the 76th minute, Thiago scored his first goal for Barcelona in a 4–0 home win againstRacing de Santander.[12] He scored his third goal againstReal Sociedad in a start on 29 April, although Barcelona lost 2–1.[13] He ended the 2010–11 season with 17 games, three goals, and three assists, and was an unused substitute as Barcelona won the2011 UEFA Champions League final againstManchester United atWembley Stadium.[14]
Thiago started the 2011–12 season with the first leg of the Spanish Supercopa match against rivalsReal Madrid, being substituted forXavi after 58 minutes, and was an unused substitute as they defeatedFC Porto for the2011 UEFA Super Cup. He then scored in Barcelona's first La Liga match of the season in a 5–0 home win againstVillarreal CF.[15] On 18 December, he started as Barcelona won 4–0 in theClub World Cup final atInternational Stadium Yokohama.[16] Thiago also netted Barcelona's fifth in a 7–0 win againstRayo Vallecano on 29 April from a close-range header.[17] He followed this with a dance withDani Alves then stopped byCarles Puyol.[18]
On 14 July 2013, Thiago signed a four-year deal withBundesliga clubBayern Munich, for a €25 million fee.[20] Bayern would pay €20 million to Barcelona directly with the remainder being covered by the proceeds of a friendly to be played between the two teams at some point in the following four years and by Thiago foregoing some money owed to him by Barcelona.[21] The transfer came despite a new contract that Barcelona had given Thiago in 2011 which set his release clause at €90 million.[22] Barcelona failed to fulfil clauses in the contract relating to the amount of playing time that Thiago received, and as a result his buy-out clause dropped to €18m.[22] Guardiola had made Thiago a priority signing.[23] Thiago made his Bayern debut in a 4–2 defeat toBorussia Dortmund in the2013 DFL-Supercup on 27 July.[24][25] He made his debut in the Bundesliga in a 0–1 win againstEintracht Frankfurt on 11 August 2013.[26]
On 21 December 2013, he scored his first competitive goal for Bayern Munich, in the2013 FIFA Club World Cup final againstRaja Casablanca of Morocco, sealing the 2–0 win for the German club.[27] On 29 January 2014, he scored his first Bundesliga goal, the scissor-kicked winner in stoppage time againstVfB Stuttgart which was voted the Goal of the Month.[28] He also had an assist toClaudio Pizarro for Bayern's first goal in the 2–1 win.[29] Four days later, in a match against Eintracht Frankfurt, he set a Bundesliga record with 185 touches of the ball.[30] On 23 February, in a 4–0 win overHannover 96, Thiago scored his second and last goal of the Bundesliga season.[31] His season ended due to a knee ligament tear against1899 Hoffenheim six days later,[32] although Bayern went on to win the league and cup. He finished the season with two goals in 16 Bundesliga matches,[33] two German Cup matches,[33] four Champions League matches,[33] a goal in twoFIFA Club World Cup,[10] and an appearance in the German Super Cup.[10]
Thiago at a training session in 2015
After over a year out injured, Thiago returned on 4 April 2015, replacingPhilipp Lahm for the last 21 minutes of a 1–0 win at Borussia Dortmund.[34] Four days later, he again replaced Lahm in aDFB-Pokal quarter-final atBayer Leverkusen, scoring the winning goal in thepenalty shootout after a goalless draw.[35] On 15 April, he scored in the team's Champions League quarter-final first leg away toFC Porto, albeit in a 1–3 defeat.[36] Six days later, he headed inJuan Bernat's cross for the opening goal of a 6–1 rout to overturn the first leg deficit against Porto, helping Bayern advance to the Champions League semi-finals.[37] On 26 April, afterVfL Wolfsburg lost toBorussia Mönchengladbach, Thiago won his second Bundesliga title for Bayern.[38] He finished the season with two goals in 13 appearances.[39]
On 27 August 2015, Thiago signed a new four-year contract with Bayern.[40] On 10 February 2016, he contributed a goal in 3–0 win overVfL Bochum in theDFB-Pokal quarter-final match.[41] He scored twice in a 5–0 home victory overWerder Bremen on 12 March.[42] On 17 March, Thiago scored a goal in a brilliant comeback againstJuventus as his side came from 2–0 down to gain a 4–2 victory in theChampions League round of sixteen tie.[43] He finished theseason with four goals and seven assists.[44] In addition to playing in the German Super Cup,[10] Thiago scored two goals in 27 Bundesliga matches,[45] a goal in five German Cup matches,[45] and a goal in nine Champions League matches.[45]
Thiago started the2016–17 season under new club managerCarlo Ancelotti by winning the2016 DFL-Supercup with a 2–0 victory against his club's rivalBorussia Dortmund on 15 August 2016.[46][47] On 21 September, he scored his first goal of theseason in a 3–0 victory overHertha BSC.[48] Thiago contributed one goal and one assist in a 3–0 victory overRB Leipzig and was namedMan of the match on 22 December.[49] On 16 February 2017, he scored two goals and provided one assist as Bayern defeatedArsenal with a 5–1 victory in the first leg of theChampions League round of sixteen tie.[50] On 28 April, he signed a new four-year contract until 2021.[51] He scored nine goals and had nine assists throughout the season.[52]
Thiago during aBundesliga game with Bayern in 2019
Because of an injury, Thiago could not play his club's first competitive match of theseason, in the2017 DFL-Supercup where Bayern won against Borussia Dortmund 5–4 onpenalties on 6 August 2017.[53][54] On 26 October, he scored an equalizing goal against RB Leipzig to make it 1–1 and later Bayern went on to win theDFB-Pokal second-round match 5–4 on penalties.[55] On 23 November, he was substituted in the 44th minute of the match as he suffered a serious muscle injury in his thigh in Bayern's 2–1 away victory overR.S.C. Anderlecht in theChampions League group stage match and was confirmed by his club managerJupp Heynckes that he will be out for a long period of time.[56][57] Thiago was back in the starting lineup and made his first appearance since his injury in November in a 2–1 away victory over VfL Wolfsburg on 17 February 2018.[58][59] On 4 April, he scored a header which secured Bayern Munich a 2–1 away victory overSevilla FC in the first leg of theirChampions League quarter-final tie.[60] He finished the season with seven goals in 31 appearances.[61]
He's a coach's dream. He's the heartbeat of our midfield, a player who can do everything with the ball.
—Niko Kovač on Thiago after the double-winning 2018–19 season.[62]
Thiago with Bayern in 2019
On 12 August 2018, Thiago played the first competitive match of theseason under the new club managerNiko Kovač and also scored a goal in a 5–0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt as Bayern won the2018 DFL-Supercup.[63] On 18 May 2019, Thiago won his sixth consecutive Bundesliga title as Bayern finished two points above Dortmund with 78 points. A week later, Thiago won his thirdDFB-Pokal as Bayern defeatedRB Leipzig 3–0 in the2019 DFB-Pokal final.[64]
On 18 September 2020,Premier League clubLiverpool signed Thiago on a four-year contract. With the player only having a year left on his Bayern contract, Liverpool were able to purchase Thiago for £20 million, with the potential for a further £5m in add-ons.[70][71] Thiago made his debut for Liverpool on 20 September, coming off the bench at half-time as the visitors won 2–0 againstChelsea atStamford Bridge.[72] With 75 successful passes, Thiago had the most passes completed by a player who played a maximum of 45 minutes in the Premier League sinceOpta started producing passing statistics in 2003. He has set the new record for most passes in 45 minutes as a substitute.[73] On 29 September, Liverpool confirmed Thiago had tested positive forCOVID-19.[74]
On 17 October 2020, Thiago played his second game for Liverpool in a 2–2 away league draw againstlocal rivalsEverton. He suffered a knee injury towards the end of the game asRicharlison made a tackle that would give him a straight red card after the challenge. Thiago ended up playing the last few minutes of the game. He would not play again for several months.[75] He returned to make a substitute appearance in Liverpool's 0–0 draw withNewcastle United on 30 December.[76] On 8 May 2021, Thiago scored his first goal for Liverpool to seal a 2–0 home league win overSouthampton.[77]
On 27 February 2022, Thiago was due to start the2022 EFL Cup final, but sustained an injury in the warm-up and was replaced byNaby Keïta. Liverpool went on to beatChelsea 11–10 on penalties after the match finished 0–0 after extra time.[79] On 19 April, Thiago earned a standing ovation from the spectators for his performance when he was replaced by Keïta in a 4–0 victory againstManchester United.[80] On 14 May 2022, Thiago started for Liverpool in the2022 FA Cup final, defeating Chelsea in a 6–5 victory on penalties after the game ended 0–0 in extra time.[81] Thiago scored his penalty, sending it past Chelsea goalkeeperEdouard Mendy, which in turn gave Thiago his second trophy since joining Liverpool. On 17 May 2022, Thiago was named Liverpool's player of the month for April 2022.[82] Liverpool narrowly missed out on the chance to achieve a historic quadruple, coming second in thePremier League and the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League but winning both theEFL Cup and theFA Cup.[83] His performances during the season earned him a place in the Premier LeaguePFA Team of the Year.[84]
On 30 July 2022, Thiago was part of the squad which won theFA Community Shield.[85] He played 28 times in all competitions in the2022–23 season but on 3 May 2023, several leading British media outlets reported he would miss the rest of the season after undergoing hip surgery.[86] At the end of the 2022–23 season, Liverpool just missed out on UEFA Champions League qualification.[87] He returned to the squad on 4 February 2024 as a substitute in the 85th minute in a 3–1 defeat againstArsenal after 284 days sidelined.[88][89] However, he suffered a muscle injury in this match.[89] On 17 May 2024, it was confirmed that he would leave Liverpool at the end of the season.[90]
On 7 July 2024, it was reported that Thiago would be retiring from professional football.[91][92] The following day, Thiago officially announced his retirement via social media.[93]
Thiago was named in Spain's 30-man provisional squad for the2014 World Cup on 13 May of that year.[98] However, two days later, he withdrew from the squad due to a knee ligament injury obtained while playing for Bayern in March. Bayern Chief ExecutiveKarl-Heinz Rummenigge said, "A young man who wanted to come back at the World Cup, and suddenly his dreams are burst. We will take care of him now and make sure he is fit at the start of the season."[99]
On 2 October 2015, with the team's place in the tournament already assured, Thiago was re-called by managerVicente del Bosque for the first time since his injury,[100] and ten days later featured in their 1–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying win away toUkraine. On 6 October 2017, he scored his first goal for his national team in the 26th minute against Albania in a World Cup qualifier.Álvaro Odriozola sent in a cross from the right side of the box and Thiago directed the ball into the bottom corner from close range with his head.[101]
Following his retirement in July 2024, Thiago temporarily joined the coaching staff of his former Bayern coachHansi Flick at his former clubBarcelona.[107] In August 2024, Thiago left his role as assistant coach at Barcelona.[108] He was reappointed as part of Hansi Flick’s staff on 11 September 2025.[109]
Thiago on the ball againstKristoffer Olsson for Spain against Sweden in 2019
Thiago was a highly creative and technically giftedplaymaker, with excellentdribbling skills and ball control, which allowed him to operate effectively in adeep-seated playmaking role as acentral midfielder, although he was also capable of playing in a more advanced role as anattacking midfielder. Called "an extraordinary player" byXavi in 2013,[62] Thiago was noted for his accurate distribution of the ball, as he possessed great passing technique and vision, and maintained a 90.2% pass success rate throughout the2016–17 Bundesliga season, higher than any other player in Germany.[110] Thiago was identified byNeymar on a potential list of the five players he believed may have been more technical than him.[111] Despite his reputation as a world class midfielder in the media, Thiago often struggled with injuries throughout his career.[112]
Thiago is the son of the Brazilian former footballer and1994 World Cup winnerMazinho.[113] His mother, Valéria Alcântara, was a former Brazilian volleyball player.[114][115][116] His younger brother,Rafinha, plays for the Brazil national team.[117]Rodrigo, who also played for Spain, is a lifelong friend and not a cousin as has been erroneously reported.[118]
On 27 June 2015, he married his girlfriend, Júlia Vigas, in a ceremony in Sant Climent de Peralta, Catalonia, Spain.[119][120]
Thiago (number 19) lining up with the Spanish team that won the2011 European Under-21 ChampionshipThiago celebrating winning the cup double in a trophy parade with Liverpool in 2022.
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