Wendell Silva Lira (born 7 January 1989) is a Brazilian former

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 played as a striker and current ''FIFA''

esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

player.

Club career

Wendell started his career at

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 ...

and was the

Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-20 The Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-20 is the official Brazilian national football tournament for U-20 teams. The Rio Grande do Sul Football Association (FGF) created the competition in 2006 and since 2015 it is organized by the Brazilian Football C ...

top scorer in 2006, being promoted to the senior squad in the following year. He made his professional debut in a 0–2 away defeat to

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 ...

in the Campeonato Brasileiro on May 12, 2007, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Fabrício Carvalho. In June 2010, he was loaned to

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

of the

Campeonato Brasileiro Série C The Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, commonly known as the Série C or the Brazilian Série C to distinguish it from the Italian Serie C, is the third tier of the Brazilian football league system. Unlike the first and second divisions, the Sér ...

. On 6 November 2015, it was announced that his goal for

Goianésia Goianésia () is a municipality in central Goiás, Brazil. It belongs to the Immediate Geographic Region of Ceres-Rialma-Goianésia and, since 2024, has been part of the Integrated Development Region of the Federal District and Surrounding Areas ( ...

in a 2–1 win over Atlético-GO was named to the ten-goal shortlist for the

FIFA Puskás Award The FIFA Puskás Award is an award established on 20 October 2009 by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), at the behest of then-president Sepp Blatter, to be awarded to the player judged to have scored the most ae ...

; the goal was later also selected as one of three final contenders for the 2015 FIFA Puskás Award. A free agent at the time of the announcement, he was signed by Vila Nova weeks after. His goal subsequently went on to win th
award
on 11 January 2016. Wendell received 46.7% of the total votes, ahead of

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

. Wendell played for Vila Nova early in the 2016 season, but he was released on 3 May, having failed to score goals for his club.

International career

Wendell Lira played for the

Brazil national under-20 football team The Brazil national under-20 football team, also known as Brazil Sub-20 or Seleção Sub-20, represents Brazil in association football at this age level and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). The team ha ...

in a friendly tournament in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 2006, scoring once. He received an offer by

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

, which was rejected by

due to his 5-year contract.

Retirement

On 28 July 2016, Wendell announced his retirement from professional football due to persistent injuries, seeking a career as a professional ''

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

'' player and also as a

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Career statistics

Club

eSports

In 2012, Wendell was the

''FIFA'' tournament champion and in November 2015, he was the game's top Brazilian player, which almost qualified him to the 2016

FIFA Interactive World Cup The FIFAe World Cup, formerly the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) and the FIFA eWorld Cup, is an esports tournament series held by FIFA. From its inception until 2023, the tournaments were held on the latest incarnation of the ''FIFA'' associ ...

. After winning the 2015 FIFA Puskás Award, he was challenged by 2015 FIWC champion Abdul Aziz Al-Shehri and defeated the

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

n 6–1, leading to an invite by

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

to compete in the 2016 FIWC. In 2019, Wendell joined Sporting CP eSports. In 2021, Wendell was called up to the Brazil national team and will play in the FIFAe Nations Series 2022 South American play-ins.

Honours

Goiás *

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 ...

: 2009 Individual *

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

References

External links

*
Guardian Stats Centre
*

*
zerozero.pt
* (English, Portuguese)''
WENDELL LIRA REACTION: FIFA Puskas Award winner [FULL
/nowiki>">ULL">WENDELL LIRA REACTION: FIFA Puskas Award winner [FULL
/nowiki>on

* (English)''
WINNER – FIFA Puskas Award 2015: Wendell Lira Goal
on

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lira, Wendell 1989 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Goiás Esporte Clube players Footballers from Goiânia Fortaleza Esporte Clube players Clube Atlético Sorocaba players Goianésia Esporte Clube players Associação Atlética Anapolina players Tombense Futebol Clube players Vila Nova Futebol Clube players Men's association football forwards 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen