Rafael Santos (footballer, born 5 February 1998)
 Santos with Orlando City in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rafael Lucas Cardoso dos Santos | ||
| Date of birth | 5 February 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Londrina, Paraná, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Orlando City | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2013 | Figueirense | ||
| 2014–2015 | Inter de Limeira | ||
| 2016–2017 | Mirassol | ||
| 2017 | → Atlético Madrid (youth loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017 | Mirassol | 0 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Cruzeiro (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | Cruzeiro | 15 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Chapecoense (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Inter de Limeira (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Ponte Preta (loan) | 26 | (3) |
| 2022 | → Coritiba (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2023– | Orlando City | 64 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 March 2025 | |||
Rafael Lucas Cardoso dos Santos (born 5 February 1998) is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a left back for Orlando City in Major League Soccer.
Club career
[edit]Santos developed in the academy of Mirassol, making his senior debut for the club on 2 July 2017 in the 2017 Campeonato Paulista, playing the full 90 minutes against Ferroviária in a 2–1 defeat. He scored his first goal on 27 August 2017, the opening goal in a 4–2 win over Penapolense in the same competition.
In 2018, he joined Cruzeiro, initially on loan. He made 27 appearances for the club's under-20 team including in the 2018 U-20 Copa Libertadores. On 14 August 2018, Santos made his first team debut for the club as a 76th-minute substitute for David in a 2–0 Série A defeat to Vasco da Gama. Having joined Cruzeiro permanently in 2019, Santos went on loan for spells with Chapecoense, Inter de Limeira and Ponte Preta in Série B and later with Coritiba in Série A. He made a combined 106 senior appearances while in Brazil in all competitions.
On 5 January 2023, Santos joined American Major League Soccer club Orlando City ahead of the 2023 season on a two-year contract with an additional two club option years.[1] On 20 May, Santos scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win at Inter Miami with the help of an assist from Duncan McGuire.[2]
On March 9, 2024, Santos assisted in the fastest goal in club history when he won the ball from Minnesota United and passed it to McGuire, who scored in under thirteen seconds, beating Tesho Akindele's previous record of 31 seconds. However, Orlando would go on to lose the game 3–2.[3]
Career statistics
[edit]| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Continental | Playoffs[b] | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Mirassol | 2017 | — | — | — | — | 13[c] | 1 | 13 | 1 | |||||
| Cruzeiro (loan) | 2018 | Série A | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Cruzeiro | 2019 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3[d] | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | Série B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 12[d] | 1 | 30 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 16 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 37 | 1 | ||
| Chapecoense (loan) | 2020 | Série B | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| Inter de Limeira (loan) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | 10[c] | 1 | 10 | 1 | |||||
| Ponte Preta (loan) | 2021 | Série B | 26 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 26 | 3 | ||||
| Coritiba (loan) | 2022 | Série A | 15 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||||
| Orlando City | 2023 | Major League Soccer | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 34 | 1 |
| 2024 | 32 | 1 | — | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 42 | 1 | |||
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 64 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 83 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 126 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 44 | 3 | 189 | 8 | ||
- ^ Includes Copa do Brasil and U.S. Open Cup
- ^ Includes MLS Cup Playoffs
- ^ a b Campeonato Paulista
- ^ a b Campeonato Mineiro
- ^ a b Leagues Cup
Honors
[edit]Chapecoense
Cruzeiro
References
[edit]- ^ "Orlando City SC acquires Brazilian defender Rafael Santos". Orlando City. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ "Match report: Orlando City earns 3-1 victory over Inter Miami CF". Orlando City. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ David, Austin (9 March 2024). "Rapid Reactions: Orlando falls late to Minnesota United". Orlando City. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ "Rafael Santos - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
- ^ "Rafael Lucas Cardoso dos Santos : oGol". www.ogol.com.br (in Portuguese).
External links
[edit]- Rafael Santos at Soccerway.com
- Rafael Santos at WorldFootball.net
- Rafael Santos at kicker (in German)
- Rafael Santos at FBref.com
- Rafael Santos at Major League Soccer
  | This biographical article related to a Brazilian association football defender born in the 1990s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1998 births
- Living people
- Brazilian men's footballers
- Men's association football defenders
- Mirassol Futebol Clube players
- Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players
- Orlando City SC players
- Associação Chapecoense de Futebol players
- Associação Atlética Internacional (Limeira) players
- Associação Atlética Ponte Preta players
- Coritiba Foot Ball Club players
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players
- Major League Soccer players
- Footballers from Londrina
- Brazilian expatriate men's footballers
- Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen
- Brazilian football defender, 1990s birth stubs