Miguel Silveira dos Santos (born 26 March 2003), simply known as Miguel, 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 lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder 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

Albirex Niigata is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. They currently play in J1 League after being promoted from J2 League as cha ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Vila Velha Vila Velha (; ) is a Brazilian municipality situated on the coast of the state of Espírito Santo, in the Southeast Region of Brazil. It is part of the Greater Vitória Metropolitan Area and covers an area of , of which is within the urban a ...

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

, Miguel began his career with local side Desportiva Ferroviária before joining

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 ...

at the age of ten. Despite winning minor youth titles with ''Flu'', he moved to

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

in 2015, but only stayed 11 months at the latter before returning to his previous club.

Fluminense

In April 2019, aged just 16, Miguel was called up to train with the first team by manager

Fernando Diniz Fernando Diniz Silva (born 27 March 1974) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the head current coach of Vasco da Gama. Diniz is widely recognized in Brazil for his unique style of tact ...

. He made his professional debut on 6 June, coming on as a late substitute for Nino in a 2–2 away draw against Cruzeiro, 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, ...

; aged 16 years, two months and ten days, he became the youngest player to debut for ''Flu'' in the professional era, and the tenth overall. One day after his debut, Miguel signed his first professional contract with Fluminense, after agreeing to a three-year deal. He made his Série A debut on 15 July, replacing fellow youth graduate João Pedro late into a 1–1 home draw against

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 ...

. On 8 May 2021, Miguel took a legal action against Fluminense to rescind his contract, alleging unpaid wages. On 11 August, he was declared a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

after winning the Court action; Fluminense also released a note stating that the club will appeal the decision. In September 2021, Miguel and Fluminense reached an agreement, with the club keeping 30% of the player's economic rights.

Red Bull Bragantino

On 24 September 2021,

Red Bull Bragantino Red Bull Bragantino () is a Brazilian football club based in Bragança Paulista, São Paulo. It competes in the Série A, the top tier of the Brazilian football league system, as well as in the Campeonato Paulista Série A1, the highest lev ...

officially announced the signing of Miguel on a contract until December 2022. He only made his debut for the club the following 27 January, playing the last nine minutes in a 3–1

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

away loss against

Mirassol Mirassol is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The city is located in the northern part of the state, 453 km from the city of São Paulo and 15 km from São José do Rio Preto. Mirassol has 60,303 inhabitants (IBGE/2020). ...

. Miguel scored his first senior goal on 6 February 2022, netting the opener in a 1–1 draw at Ferroviária. On 14 November, after featuring sparingly, he left the club after ''Braga'' announced that his contract would not be renewed.

PFC Sochi

On 22 February 2023, Miguel joined

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

club

PFC Sochi Football Club Sochi (), is a Russian professional football club based in Sochi. The club is playing its home matches at the 47,000-capacity Fisht Stadium. History FC Sochi was founded on 4 July 2018 after the relocation of FC Dynamo Saint Pete ...

Albirex Niigata

On 17 January 2025, it was announced that Miguel would be joining

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

club

for the 2025 season.

Personal life

Miguel has been

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

-sponsored since the age of 13.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Silveira, Miguel 2003 births Footballers from Vila Velha Living people Brazilian men's footballers Brazil men's youth international footballers Men's association football midfielders Fluminense FC players Red Bull Bragantino players PFC Sochi players Albirex Niigata players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Russian Premier League players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen