Wenderson Rodrigues do Nascimento Galeno (born 21 October 1997), commonly known as Galeno, 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

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club Al-Ahli and the Brazil national team. After representing two Brazilian clubs, he has spent most of his career in Portugal, playing over 100 Primeira Liga games in two spells at Porto and for

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

, as well as loans at

Portimonense Portimonense Sporting Clube is a Portuguese sports club based in Portimão. Founded on 14 August 1914, it is most notable for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Liga Portugal 2, the second division of Portuguese football ...

and

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlant ...

. In the first quarter of 2025, he joined Saudi club Al-Ahli, where he won the

AFC Champions League Elite The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

in his debut season.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Barra do Corda Barra do Corda () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Maranhão in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of Brazil. Geography Climate Higher education *Logos Institute of Theology (''Ins ...

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

, Galeno joined Trindade's youth setup in 2014. He made his senior debut for the club on 10 February 2016, playing the last 29 minutes and scoring a brace in a 3–0 away defeat of Atlética Anapolina for the

Campeonato Goiano The Campeonato Goiano is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders th ...

championship. Galeno finished the

2016 Campeonato Goiano The 2016 Campeonato Goiano was the 73rd season of Goiás' top professional football league. The season began on 30 January, and will conclude in May. Teams * Anapolina *Anápolis * Aparecidense *Atlético Goianiense *CRAC *Goianésia *Goiás *Itum ...

with five goals in ten appearances, being named the Best Newcomer of the competition. In April 2016, he signed a contract with Grêmio Anápolis.

Porto

On 28 June 2016, Galeno moved abroad and joined

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

on a one-year loan deal, being initially assigned to the B-team in Segunda Liga. He made his professional debut on 7 August, starting in 2–1 away loss against

Desportivo das Aves Clube Desportivo das Aves (), commonly known as Desportivo das Aves, or simply as Aves, was a Portuguese football club based in Vila das Aves, Santo Tirso. The club was founded on 12 November 1930 and plays at the Estádio do Clube Desportivo ...

. Galeno scored his first goal abroad on 20 August 2016, netting the winner in a 2–1 away success over neighbours

Leixões The Port of Leixões (, ) is one of Portugal's major seaports, located 4 km north of the mouth of the Douro River, in Matosinhos municipality, near the city of Porto. Leixões Sport Club, commonly known simply as ''Leixões'', is Matosinh ...

. The following 16 May, after scoring 11 goals for the B's, he was bought outright by the Dragons, signing a five-year deal with a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

40 million release clause. Galeno made his first team – and

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 ...

– debut for Porto on 21 October 2017, coming on as a late substitute for

Moussa Marega Moussa Marega (born 14 April 1991) is a professional footballer who played as a second striker for Saudi Arabian club Al-Diriyah. Born in France, he plays for the Mali national team. He began his career in France, playing no higher than the C ...

in a 6–1 home routing of

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 ...

. Three days later he made his first start in the group stage 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 ...

, a goalless draw with Leixões also at the

Estádio do Dragão The Estádio do Dragão (; ') is an all-seater football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the third-largest football stadium in Portugal. Designed by Portugue ...

. On 23 January 2018, Galeno was presented at fellow top tier side

, on loan until June. He returned to Porto in July, after contributing with seven appearances, only one start. Galeno was loaned to another club in the main category on 11 July 2018,

, for the entire upcoming season. He made his European debut 15 days later away to

Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish professional football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the 42nd Infantry Regiment Reserve Battalion in Bi ...

in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

second qualifying round, and on 2 August scored twice in the first half of the second leg, a 4–4 home draw that saw his team eliminated. Galeno was a regular starter for the

Vila do Conde Vila do Conde (, ; "the Count's Town") is a municipality in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 79,533, in an area of 149.03 km2. The urbanized area of Vila do Conde, which includes the parishes of ...

side during the year, scoring eight goals in 35 appearances overall. His first goal in the top flight came on 26 August, opening a 1–1 draw at

Tondela Tondela () is a concelho, municipality in the Centro, Portugal, central Portugal, Portuguese subregion of Dão-Lafões. The population in 2011 was 28,946, in an area of 371.22 km2. History Local writer and intellectual Amadeu Ferraz de Carv ...

on the third matchday.

Braga

On 6 August 2019, Galeno joined

on a five-year deal. The transfer fee was €3.5 million to be paid in instalments, plus

value-added tax A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product's production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared wi ...

to take the fee to €4.3 million; the

buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

of €15 million meant that Porto retained 50% of his economic rights. Galeno scored his first goal in the third game of the league season, opening the score after six minutes in a 1–1 draw at

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

on 25 August 2019. On 3 November, he scored twice in as many minutes in a home game against neighbours Famalicão in a 2–2 draw. He played four games without scoring in the

2019–20 Taça da Liga The 2019–20 Taça da Liga was the thirteenth edition of the Taça da Liga (also known as Allianz Cup for sponsorship reasons), a football league cup competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional and contested exclusively ...

, including the 1–0 final win over his previous team Porto on 25 January. On 25 June 2020, he settled a 3–2 derby win over

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

at the

Estádio Municipal de Braga The Estádio Municipal de Braga (') is an All-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium located in Braga, Portugal, and the current home of S.C. Braga, Sporting Clube de Braga. It has a capacity of 30,286 spectators, maki ...

. On 23 May 2021, Galeno was named the man of the match after Braga defeated Benfica 2–0 in the

2021 Taça de Portugal Final 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, to claim the cup competition for the third time in club history. Galeno scored six goals in as many Europa League group games for Braga in 2021–22; this included two on 30 September in a 3–1 home win over Denmark's

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 his final game on 22 January 2022, he scored a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

to equalise in a 2–1 win at reigning champions Sporting.

Return to Porto

On 31 January 2022, Porto reached an agreement to purchase Galeno for €9 million from Braga, on a contract until the summer of 2026. The buyout clause was €50 million. His first goal for the club came on 13 March in a 4–0 home win over Tondela, three minutes after coming on for Vitinha. Later that year, on 4 October, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 2–0 victory over

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

. On 13 December 2023, he scored a brace in a 5–3 victory over

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 ...

which qualified his club to the Champions League knockout phase. On 15 January 2024, Galeno extended his contract with Porto until 2028, with a new release clause being set at €60 million. A month later, on 21 February, he scored a late goal to secure a 1–0 win over

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. Though, in the second leg on 12 March, he missed the final penalty in the

shoot-out A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

as Porto were eliminated from the tournament.

Al-Ahli

On 31 January 2025, Galeno joined the Saudi club Al-Ahli for reported transfer fee of €50m. In his debut season, he became a member of the squad that won the first-ever AFC Champions League Elite title, scoring a 35th-minute goal in a 2–0 win over Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale in the

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 ...

, which was held in Jeddah on 3 May 2025.

International career

On 11 March 2024, Galeno received his first call up to 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 ...

, ahead of friendlies against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. His debut came a fortnight later, as he came off the bench for

Rodrygo Rodrygo Silva de Goes (; born 9 January 2001), better known as Rodrygo, is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), right winger or Forward (association football), forward for La Lig ...

on the 82nd minute of the latter match, while the game was tied 2–2. In stoppage time, and after Spain had scored and put the scoreline at 3–2, Galeno suffered a foul inside the box, which

Lucas Paquetá Lucas Tolentino Coelho de Lima (born 27 August 1997), better known as Lucas Paquetá (), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays either as an attacking midfielder or winger for club West Ham United and the Brazil national team. Paq ...

converted to fix the final scoreline at 3–3.

Personal life

In March 2022, Galeno was

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

as a

Portuguese citizen The primary law governing nationality of Portugal is the Nationality Act, which came into force on 3 October 1981. Portugal is a member state of the European Union (EU) and all Portuguese nationals are EU citizens. They are entitled to free m ...

after five years of residence in the country.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Braga *

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 ...

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 ...

: 2019–20 Porto *

: 2017–18, 2021–22 *Taça de Portugal: 2021–22,

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 ...

, 2023–24 *Taça da Liga:

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 ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Al-Ahli *

: 2024–25 Individual *

Best Newcomer:

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 ...

LigaPro The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal Meu Super for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier ...

Player of the Month: September 2017 *

: Man of the Match *

top assist provider: 2019–20,

References

External links

Profile
at the FC Porto website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Galeno 1997 births Living people Footballers from Maranhão Men's association football wingers Brazilian men's footballers Brazil men's international footballers Trindade Atlético Clube players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Saudi Pro League players FC Porto B players FC Porto players Portimonense S.C. players Rio Ave F.C. players S.C. Braga players Al-Ahli Saudi FC players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Naturalised citizens of Portugal Sportspeople of Brazilian descent 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia AFC Champions League Elite–winning players