David Neres Campos (; born 3 March 1997) 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 winger for club

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

and the Brazil national team. Neres is a graduate of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

's youth system and was promoted to the first team in 2016. He joined

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

in January 2017. At Ajax, Neres established himself as one of the best young wingers in Europe, after winning a domestic double and being an instrumental part of Ajax's first

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 ...

semi-final appearance in 22 years, in a breakthrough 2018–19 season. The following seasons were marked by continuous injuries, resulting in Neres playing a limited number of games and declining in performances, leading him to move to

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

. Due to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

that occurred in February, he then transferred to Benfica four month later, where he won the domestic double in his debut season. After two years in the Portuguese club, he joined the Italian side Napoli, winning Serie A in his first season. After representing Brazil at various youth levels, Neres was called up to the full international team for the first time in March 2019, and was part of the squad that won the

2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and 7 Ju ...

Club career

São Paulo

Born in

, Neres joined

's youth setup in September 2007, aged ten. In February 2016, after being regularly used in that year's

U-20 Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Under-20 Libertadores ( Portuguese and Spanish: CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub 20) is the international association football club competition for teams that play in CONMEBOL leagues. It was created by Manuel Burga Seoane and the Peruvian ...

, he suffered a

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...

injury which kept him sidelined for months. Neres was promoted to the main squad by manager

Ricardo Gomes Ricardo Gomes Raymundo (born 13 December 1964) is a Brazilian retired professional footballer and manager. As a player, he played as a central defender, in a 14-year professional career, for Fluminense (six years), Benfica (four) and Par ...

in August 2016. He made his first team – and Série A debut – on 17 October, coming on as a second-half substitute for Robson in a 2–1 away win against

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, th ...

. On 22 October 2016 Neres scored his first goal, netting the last in a 2–0 home win against Ponte Preta. Fourteen days later he scored his second goal, netting the second in a 4–0 home routing of local rival Corinthians.

Ajax

On 30 January 2017, Neres moved to the Dutch club

for a reported fee of €12 million.

2016–2019: Breakthrough and European semi-final

Neres made his debut for

against

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to t ...

, on 26 February 2017. In that season, he managed to get 3 goals in 8 league matches. He also featured in an

team that went to the UEFA Europa League final that year. Neres managed to get 14 goals and 13 assists in 32 league matches, making him the most valuable player of Ajax that year, having scored the most goals and assists combined. Neres himself sees the game against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

, on 22 October 2017, as his breakthrough, where he racked up three assists in a 4–1 away win. file:Chelsea 4 Ajax 4 (49023198506) (cropped).jpg, 130px, Neres with

in 2019 In his third season, Neres scored his first official European goal against Standard Liège in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round, Champions League. In that year, Neres wasn't guaranteed a starting spot up until February. Because of this, there were rumours that Neres wanted to leave. In January, Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao F.C., Guangzhou Evergrande made a £36.9 million bid on Neres, but Ajax ultimately refused, because they wanted to keep the team together to win prizes that year and make it far in the

. In the second leg in the round of 16 of the

, in a memorable game against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, Neres scored the second goal to give Ajax the lead on aggregate, and the Dutch side eventually won the tie by a margin of 5–3, thus knocking the three-time defending European champions out of the competition. On 31 March 2019, Neres scored the winning goal and picked up a penalty in the

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

clash against PSV, to win 3–1. He also scored an important equaliser against Juventus at home to secure hopes for Ajax's semi-final qualification in the first leg at home. Neres won his first

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

title as Ajax finished three points ahead of rivals PSV. Neres also won his first

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

when Ajax won 4–0 against Willem II in the final.

2019–2021: Stagnation and final seasons

Despite reported interest from the likes of

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

, Neres signed a new contract with Ajax on 7 August 2019 that runs through 2023. The deal added a further year to his prior deal that was set to expire in 2022. At the start of the 2020–21 season, Neres came back after his injury. On 22 November, he scored his first goal in more than a year. Since Ajax acquired Mohamed Daramy and

Steven Berghuis Steven Berghuis (born 19 December 1991) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays for Eredivisie club AFC Ajax, Ajax and the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team. He can play as either a Forward ...

as wingers at the beginning of the season, competition for Neres increased, as a result of which he was often no longer included in the starting lineup.

Shakhtar Donetsk

On 11 January 2022 it was reported that Neres was sold to

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

side

for a reported fee of €15 million, which could potentially run up to €17 million with bonuses. On 14 January, Ajax confirmed that the transfer had been completed. On 24 February 2022 following the

, a video was shared online of various Brazilian men's footballers pleading for help from the Brazilian government to help them flee the country. On 1 March 2022 it was reported that the Brazilian players had successfully made it to

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, from where they travelled home.

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

president

Aleksander Čeferin Aleksander Čeferin (; born 13 October 1967) is a Slovenian lawyer and Association football, football administrator. Between 2011 and 2016, he was president of the Football Association of Slovenia. Since September 2016, he has been the List of pr ...

was personally involved in helping to facilitate the return to safety.

Benfica

On 20 June 2022, Neres signed a five-year contract with

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 ...

side Benfica, for a reported fee of €15.3 million. The net cost of the transaction was only €300,000, with both Benfica and Shakhtar settling an agreement for the latter's debt, due to the transfer of compatriot and former teammate Pedrinho, which whom Shakhtar had only paid €3 million of a total of €18 million. He made his debut for the club on 2 August, providing two assists to

Gonçalo Ramos Gonçalo Matias Ramos (; born 20 June 2001) is a Portuguese professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), striker for club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain and the Portugal national fo ...

in the 4–1 home win over

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region (), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform. The refo ...

in the 1st leg of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. On 23 August, Neres scored his first goal for the club and provided an assist in the 3–0 home win over

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

in the 2nd leg of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League play-off round, helping his side qualify to the tournament. Seven days later, he scored his first Primeira Liga goal in a 3–2 home victory over

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

, reaching six goal contributions in six games.

Napoli

On 21 August 2024, Neres signed with

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 ...

. On 6 October 2024 he came off the bench to score his first Napoli goal against Como.

International career

On 8 March 2019, Neres received his first senior team call-up by coach Tite for the

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team (), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' ("Canary Squad", after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Co ...

, replacing an injured

Vinícius Júnior Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior (; born 12 July 2000), commonly known as Vinícius Júnior or Vini Jr., is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for La Liga ...

, for the friendlies against Panama and the Czech Republic to be held later that month. Neres made his senior team debut against

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

on 26 March 2019, in the 63rd minute as a replacement for

Richarlison Richarlison de Andrade (born 10 May 1997), known simply as Richarlison (), is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur ...

. In that game, he made an assist and produced a backheel which led to a goal, contributing to two goals in the 3–1 win against

Personal life

On 12 July 2020, Neres' girlfriend, German model Kira Winona, gave birth to their first child. Their daughter is named Hope Winona Neres.

Career statistics

Club

International

''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first.''

Honours

São Paulo *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Ajax *

: 2018–19,

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 ...

, 2021–22 *

: 2018–19,

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Benfica *

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 ...

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Napoli *

: 2024–25 Brazil *

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

Individual * Eredivisie U21 Player of the Year: 2017–18 *

Talent of the Month: October 2017 * Eredivisie Player of the Month: April 2018 *

Squad of the Season: 2018–19

References

External links

Profile
at the SSC Napoli website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neres, David 1997 births Living people Footballers from São Paulo Brazilian men's footballers Brazil men's under-20 international footballers Brazil men's youth international footballers Men's association football wingers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Primeira Liga players Serie A players São Paulo FC players AFC Ajax players Jong Ajax players FC Shakhtar Donetsk players S.L. Benfica footballers SSC Napoli players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Brazil men's international footballers 2019 Copa América players Copa América–winning players 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen