Igor Guilherme Barbosa da Paixão (; born 28 June 2000) 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 ...

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for club

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 ...

. Paixão graduated from the academy of

Coritiba Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as heCoxa, is a Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. Founded in 1909 by German immigrants, it is the olde ...

in 2019. After a loan move to

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná (state), Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is 388 km (241 miles) away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and f ...

, he became a key player for Coritiba before moving abroad to

in 2022. At Feyenoord, he won the

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 ...

, the

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 ...

and the

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 ...

and was named

Dutch Footballer of the Year The title Dutch Footballer of the Year ( Dutch: ''Voetballer van het Jaar'') has been awarded in the Netherlands since 1984. The award is determined by a poll of Dutch professional footballers playing in the First (Eredivisie) and Second (Eerste Di ...

. Paixão has represented Brazil at under-23 level.

Club career

Coritiba

Beginnings

Born in Curiaú, a

quilombola A ''quilombola'' () is an Afro-Brazilian resident of ''quilombo'' settlements first established by escaped slaves in Brazil. They are the descendants of Afro-Brazilian slaves who escaped from slave plantations that existed in Brazil until abol ...

neighborhood in

Macapá Macapá () is a city in Brazil with a population of 512,902 (2020 estimate), and is the capital of Amapá state in the country's North Region, Brazil, North Region, located on the northern channel of the Amazon Delta near its mouth on the Atlant ...

Amapá Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...

, Paixão joined

's youth setup in 2014, after a trial period. On 26 October 2018, he signed his first professional contract with the club. Paixão was promoted to the first team in January 2019, after playing in the 2019

Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior The Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior (or ''São Paulo Youth Football Cup'', in English), also known as Copa São Paulo de Juniores (''São Paulo Youth Cup'') and Copinha (''Little Cup''), is a cup competition played by Brazilian under-20 assoc ...

. He made his professional debut on 27 January, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Giovanni Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

in a 0–0

Campeonato Paranaense The Campeonato Paranaense is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is run by the Paraná Football Federation (FPF). List of champions Notes * In 1924 Internacional and América merged in ...

home draw against

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

. In April 2019, he was demoted back to the under-20 team by new manager

Umberto Louzer Umberto Lourenço Louzer Filho (born 24 February 1980) is a Brazilian football coach and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is the current head coach of Novorizontino. Playing career Known as Umberto during his playing day ...

. Paixão returned to the first team on 11 June 2019, replacing

Juan Alano Juan Matheus Alano Nascimento commonly known as Juan Alano (born 2 September 1996), is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder (association football)#Winger, winger for Gamba Osaka. Club career Intern ...

late into a 1–0 away win over Guarani, in the 2019 Série B. He featured in five further matches in the league, all of them as a substitute, as his side achieved promotion to the Série A.

Loan to Londrina

On 19 January 2020, Paixão was loaned out to Série C side

until the end of the season. He scored on his club debut just hours later, netting a last-minute winner in a 2–1 home success over PSTC. Paixão helped ''Tubarão'' in their promotion to the Série B, scoring three goals in the Série C, and returned to his parent club in January 2021.

Breakthrough

Upon returning, Paixão started to feature regularly for Coritiba under manager Gustavo Morínigo, and scored his first goal for the club on 28 March 2021, netting the opener in a 2–1 home win over Cascavel CR. He was also an undisputed starter in the 2021 Série B, scoring seven goals as his side returned to the top tier. On 7 February 2022, after already scoring four goals in the first five matches of the new campaign, Paixão renewed his contract until the end of 2024. He made his debut in the main category of Brazilian football on 10 April, starting in a 3–0 home win over

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

. Paixão scored his first goal in the top tier on 23 April 2022, netting his team's first in a 2–2 draw at

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

Feyenoord

On 17 August 2022, Paixão signed a five-year contract with

in the Netherlands. He made his debut for the club and in European club football on 8 September 2022 as a substitute for

Quinten Timber Quinten Ryan Crispito Timber (; born 17 June 2001) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as midfielder for Eredivisie club Feyenoord, which he captains, and the Netherlands national team. He is the twin brother of Arsenal defender Jurri� ...

during a 4–2 defeat to

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

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 ...

group stage. He made his

debut three days later, providing an assist for

Santiago Giménez Santiago Tomás Giménez Zolotarchuk (; born 18 April 2001) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club AC Milan. Born in Argentina, he represents the Mexico national footb ...

during a 3–0 derby win against

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top flig ...

. On 15 January 2023, Paixão scored his first goal for the club, scoring the first goal in a 3–0 away win over

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...

. He then scored his first goal in European club football on 20 April 2023 against

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, although Feyenoord were knocked out after extra-time. Along with team mates

Orkun Kökçü Orkun Kökçü (; born 29 December 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Beşiktaş, on loan from Primeira Liga club Benfica. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Turkey national team. Club care ...

and Giménez, Paixão was named in the Eredivisie Team of the Month for his performances in April 2023, including goals against Sparta Rotterdam and

RKC Waalwijk RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Waalwijk. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie i ...

. Feyenoord went on to win

2022–23 Eredivisie The 2022–23 Eredivisie was the 67th season of the Eredivisie, the premier football competition in the Netherlands. It began on 5 August 2022 and concluded on 28 May 2023. As the 2022 FIFA World Cup started on 20 November, the last round befor ...

, with Paixão scoring 7 goals in 26 matches, including the third goal in a 3–0 win over

Go Ahead Eagles The Go Ahead Eagles are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer in the province of Overijssel. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in th ...

on 14 May 2023 to secure the league title. On 4 August 2023, Paixão started the game as Feyenoord lost the

0–1 to

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

. On 19 September 2023, he 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 in a 2–0 win against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. On 7 April 2024, he scored a brace for his club in a 6–0 victory over

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 ...

De Klassieker De Klassieker (''The Classic'') is the main football rivalry of the Netherlands, between AFC Ajax, Ajax (of Amsterdam) and Feyenoord (of Rotterdam). The record attendance was on 9 January 1966, when 65,562 watched in Rotterdam. History The ri ...

, to be their opponent's worst defeat in the Eredivisie history. On 21 April 2024, Paixão scored the only goal in the 2024 KNVB Cup final against

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

. On 4 August 2024, he started the game as Feyenoord beat PSV Eindhoven on penalties to win the

2024 Johan Cruyff Shield The 2024 Johan Cruyff Shield was the 28th edition of the Johan Cruyff Shield (Dutch: ''Johan Cruijff Schaal''), an annual Dutch association football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Eredivisie and KNVB Cup. It was played at ...

. On 2 September 2024, he was awarded the Eredivisie Goal of the Year award for this goal against

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion ...

31 March 2024. On 25 October 2024, Paixão and Feyenoord reached an agreement in principle to extend his contract with two years, to mid-2029. On 11 December 2024, Paixão scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 4–2 win against

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

and was subsequently named the UEFA

Player of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

. For his performances in January 2025, including a goal against Willem II, he was named into the Eredivisie Team of the Month. He scored the only goal of the first leg against

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in the UEFA Champions League knock-out round play-offs on 12 February 2025 and was subsequently picked as Player of the Match by the

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 ...

. In a 6–2 win against

FC Twente Football Club Twente (), sometimes known internationally as FC Twente Enschede, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from the city of Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub E ...

on 16 March 2025, Paixão scored the first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

of his career and also provided two assists, becoming the third Feyenoord player to be involved with five goals in a single Eredivisie match in the 21st century, and the first Brazilian to score a hat-trick in the Eredivisie since Everton in 2011. He was then named the Eredivisie Player of the Month for March 2025. For his performances in April 2025, including braces against

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

and

PEC Zwolle Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, commonly known as PEC Zwolle, is a Dutch professional football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football. They have played in the Ered ...

, he was named into the Eredivisie Team of the Month for a second consecutive month. On 12 May 2025, Paixão was announced as one of five nominees for the Eredivisie Player of the Year award. On 21 May 2025, he was named

, becoming the fourth Brazilian to win the Golden Boot.

International career

On 18 August 2023, Paixão became the first-ever player from

to be called up for the Brazil national under-23 team. He made his debut for the team on 7 September 2023 in a friendly against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. On 28 February 2025, Paixão was included in the preliminary squad 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 ...

, consisting of 52 players, for the first time.

Career statistics

Honours

Coritiba *

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 ...

Feyenoord *

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 *

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 ...

Individual *

: 2024–25 * Eredivisie Goal of the Year: 2023–24 * Eredivisie Player of the Month: March 2025 *

Team of the Month: April 2023, January 2025, March 2025, April 2025

References

External links

*
Coritiba profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paixao, Igor 2000 births People from Macapá Footballers from Amapá Living people Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Coritiba Foot Ball Club players Londrina Esporte Clube players Feyenoord players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Campeonato Brasileiro Série C players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen