Rwan Philipe Rodrigues de Souza Cruz (born 20 May 2001), known as Rwan Seco, Rwan Cruz or just Rwan, is a Brazilian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad.

Club career

Early career

Born in Cajueiro Seco, a small neighborhood in

Jaboatão dos Guararapes Jaboatão dos Guararapes () is a Cities of Brazil, city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It is a part of the Recife Recife metropolitan area, metro area. The population was 706,867 according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistic ...

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the ...

, Rwan began his career at a local footballing school named Garoto do Futuro before joining Náutico's youth categories. One year later, he joined

Sport Recife Sport Club do Recife, (; known as Sport Recife or Sport, is a Brazilian sports club, located in the city of Recife, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Founded in 1905, the club currently plays in Série B. In football, the club has ...

as they offered a small funding assistance. Rwan left Sport in the end of 2018 and subsequently signed for

Figueirense Figueirense Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Figueirense, is a Brazilian professional club based in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina founded on 12 June 1921. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, the third tier of Brazilian f ...

, but spent nine months without playing at his new side due to a registration problem. He subsequently moved to Flamengo-SP, but returned to his hometown in March 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, and helped his father as a bricklayer.

Santos

In June 2020, Rwan agreed to join

Santos Santos may refer to: People *Santos (surname) *Santos (DJ) (born 1971), Italian DJ *Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Confederate general in the American Civil War *Santos Balmori Picazo (1899–1992), Spanish-Mexican painter * Santos (footballer, ...

on loan from Flamengo, being initially assigned to the under-20s. However, due to the club's transfer ban, he was registered only in the following May. Rwan spent the 2021 season playing for Santos' under-20 and under-23 sides, and signed a permanent three-year deal on 16 December of that year. He made his professional debut on 20 February 2022, coming on as a second-half substitute for Lucas Braga in a 0–3

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the FPF, the league is contested between 16 clubs and ty ...

home loss against

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

. Rwan scored his first senior goal on 23 February 2022, netting his team's third in a 3–0 away win over

Salgueiro Salgueiro is a city in Pernambuco, Brazil. It is located in the mesoregion of '' Sertão Pernambucano'' . Salgueiro covers an area of 1687 square kilometers and had in 2020 an estimated population of 61,249 inhabitants. It is the see city of th ...

, for the year's

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça d ...

Loan to Vasco da Gama

On 31 March 2023, Rwan was loaned to fellow top tier side

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

until the end of the year, with a buyout clause.

Ludogorets Razgrad

On 22 July 2023, Rwan was announced at Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad on loan for one year, with a buyout option. In January 2024, he signed a permanent contract with the club, with Nonato moving in the opposite direction.

Career statistics

References

External links

Santos FC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rwan Cruz 2001 births Living people People from Jaboatão dos Guararapes Footballers from Pernambuco Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Santos FC players CR Vasco da Gama players PFC Ludogorets Razgrad players 21st-century Brazilian people Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria