Arthur Mendonça Cabral (born 25 April 1998) is a Brazilian professional

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 lea ...

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) ** Smal ...

for

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

Club career

Ceará

Arthur Cabral, born in

Campina Grande Campina Grande is the second most populous Brazilian city in the State of Paraíba after João Pessoa, Paraíba, João Pessoa, the capital. It is considered to be the most important city of the Northeastern Brazilian subregion called ''agreste''. ...

Paraíba Paraíba ( , ; ) is a states of Brazil, state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba i ...

, Cabral joined

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

's youth setup in 2014. He made his first team debut on 22 July 2015, coming on as a late substitute and scoring a last-minute winner in a 2–1 away victory against Tupi, for the year's

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () 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 it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

. In October 2015, Cabral was loaned to

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

and returned to the youth setup. Back to Ceará in the following year, he spent some time in the under-20 squad before being definitely promoted to the first team in the 2017 season. Cabral contributed with four goals in 16 matches during the

2017 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B The Serie B of the Brazilian Championship 2017 was a football competition held in Brazil, equivalent to the second division. It was contested by 20 clubs, between 12 May and 25 November. The top four teams were promoted to Série A in 2018 and t ...

, as his side achieved promotion to Série A. On 7 March 2018, he scored a brace in a 3–0

Campeonato Cearense The Campeonato Cearense is the professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Ceará. It is run by the Ceará Football Federation (FCF). In over a hundred years of competition, only 11 clubs have won the title. List of champio ...

away win against Ferroviário-CE.

Palmeiras

On 30 November 2018,

officially signed Cabral for R$ 5,000,000 from Ceará. Here, he played three league matches, scoring one goal.

Basel

On 30 September 2019, Cabral was loaned to

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

in the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

for their 2019–20 season under manager

Marcel Koller Marcel Martin Koller (born 11 November 1960) is a Swiss professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Al Ahly in the Egyptian Premier League. Playing career Born in Zürich, Koller played his entire car ...

. He made his team debut in the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...

match on 15 September in the away game against lower tier

FC Meyrin Meyrin Football Club is a football team based in Meyrin in Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Ge ...

being substituted in after 74 minutes as Basel won 3–0 to progress to the next round. He played his first game in the

2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage The 2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage began on 19 September and ended on 12 December 2019. A total of 48 teams competed in the group stage to decide 24 of the 32 places in the knockout phase of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League. Draw The dra ...

on 19 September as Basel won 5–0 at home in the

St. Jakob-Park St. Jakob-Park () is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. "Joggeli", as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats. The capacity w ...

against Russian team

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

. He then made his domestic league debut on 22 September as Basel played a 1–1 draw with Young Boys in the

Stadion Wankdorf Wankdorf Stadium () is a football stadium in Bern, Switzerland. The second largest all-seater football stadium in Switzerland, it is the home ground of BSC Young Boys. It was also one of the venues for UEFA Euro 2008. History The present-da ...

. Cabral scored his first goal for his new club in the next league match one week later, on 25 September, as Basel won 4–0 at home against

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. During his next match just four days later, on 29 September, he scored two goals as Basel won 3–0 against

Luzern Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

. On 29 June 2020, the club announced that Cabral, whose loan had come to the end, was signed permanently. He scored his first hat-trick for his club on 8 August 2021 against

Servette Servette is a district of the city of Geneva, Switzerland. The district's name comes from the Latin word for forest, ''silva'', and means "little forest". Its name alludes to Servette's rural past, before Geneva grew beyond its walls and incorpora ...

, in fact he scored four goals as Basel won 5–1. He scored his first hat-trick at international level just two weeks later, on 19 August, in the

2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League The 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The final was played at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania, with Rom ...

play-off match as Basel won 3–1 at home against Swedish club

Hammarby IF Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differ ...

. FCB announced on 29 January 2022 that their top-scorer Cabral had transferred out to

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

. In his two and a half years with the club Cabral had a total of 118 appearances for Basel scoring a total of 75 goals. 77 of these games were in the Super League, 3 in the Swiss Cup, 26 in the European competitions and 12 were test matches. He scored 46 goals in the domestic league, 2 in the cup, 17 in the European competitions and the other 10 were scored during the tests.

Fiorentina

On 29 January 2022, Cabral joined

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

side

. He scored his first goal on 26 February 2022, in a 2–1 defeat against

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

. In the 2022–23 edition of the

UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...

, Cabral finished as the top scorer of the competition, alongside

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

Zeki Amdouni Mohamed Zeki Amdouni (born 4 December 2000) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for club Burnley, and the Switzerland national team. Club career Early years Amdouni is a youth product of Servette, ...

, with 7 goals. Fiorentina reached the tournament's

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, where they lost 2–1 to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. He also finished that season as the top scorer of his club in all competitions with 17 goals.

Benfica

On 10 August 2023,

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

club Benfica announced the signing of Cabral on a five-year contract, for a reported fee of €20 million + €5 million in add-ons. The striker's release clause was set at €100 million. Nine days later, Cabral made his debut for the

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

-based club, starting in a league match at home to

Estrela da Amadora Club Football Estrela Amadora SAD (), sometimes just Estrela da Amadora, is a Portuguese professional sports club (predominantly football) based in Amadora, northwest of Lisbon. The team is currently competing in the Primeira Liga, after winnin ...

; with the game tied 0–0, Cabral was replaced in the 78th minute by

Casper Tengstedt Casper Tengstedt (born 1 June 2000) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Eredivisie club Feyenoord. Club career After playing for Viborg Søndermarken and Viborg FF, he signed for FC Midtjylland in 2015. Te ...

, who scored the opener just one minute later; Benfica went on to win by 2–0. Cabral made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

debut on 3 October 2023, coming on as a substitute in the 79th minute of a 1–0 loss away at

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

, in the competition's

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. Cabral scored his first goal for Benfica on 20 October, in a 4–1 victory away at Campeonato de Portugal (Portuguese 4th division) side Lusitânia, in the 3rd round of the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

. Eleven days later, he came on as a second-half substitute and scored in a 2–0 victory away at Arouca, in the

of the

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

. On 8 December, after a 1–1 league draw to Farense at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, Ben ...

, Cabral was filmed showing his

middle finger The middle finger, long finger, second finger, third finger, toll finger or tall man is the third digit of the human hand, typically located between the index finger and the ring finger. It is typically the longest digit. In anatomy, it is al ...

to Benfica fans while driving out of the stadium. He apologized the following day. Four days after the incident, in Benfica's last Champions League

match, away at Red Bull Salzburg, Cabral came off the bench during the injury time period and, one minute later, scored an essential back-heel goal to seal a 3–1 victory which qualified the ''Eagles'' to the UEFA Europa League knock-out round play-offs. On 29 December 2023, Cabral scored his first Primeira Liga goal, the opener in a 3–0 home victory over Famalicão. A month later, he scored a

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...

goal in a 4–1 league victory away at

Botafogo

On 8 June 2025, Cabral returned to his native Brazil, signing a deal with reigning Série A and

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

champions

until the end of 2028.

International career

Youth

Cabral has represented Brazil at the U-23 level, playing in two friendly matches against Colombia and Chile in September 2019.

Senior

In October 2021, Cabral received his first call-up to the Brazilian senior team for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches as an injury replacement for

Matheus Cunha Matheus Santos Carneiro da Cunha (born 27 May 1999) is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the Brazil national ...

Career statistics

Honours

Ceará *

: 2017, 2018 Fiorentina *

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

runner-up:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

runner-up:

Benfica *

: 2024–25 *

runner-up: 2024–25 Individual * Swiss Super League Player of the Year:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Team of the Year:

, 2021–22 *

top scorer:

(joint)

References

External links

Profile
at the ACF Fiorentina website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabral, Arthur 1998 births Living people Footballers from Campina Grande Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Brazil men's youth international footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Swiss Super League players Serie A players Primeira Liga players Ceará Sporting Club players SE Palmeiras players FC Basel players ACF Fiorentina players S.L. Benfica footballers Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen