Aderlan Santos


Aderlan Leandro de Jesus Santos is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Portuguese club Rio Ave F.C. on loan from Al-Ahli Saudi FC as a central defender.

Club career

Early career

Born in Salgueiro, Pernambuco, Santos joined Salgueiro Atlético Clube's youth setup in 2005 after starting out at Escolinha de Futebol do Tête. He made his debuts for the former in 2008, appearing rarely in the Série C.
In summer 2010, after a loan stint at Araripina Futebol Clube, Santos moved abroad, joining C.D. Trofense. He made his debut on 29 August, starting and scoring his team's only in a 1–2 Segunda Liga away loss against Gil Vicente FC.
After being rarely used during his first season, Santos appeared regularly during his second, scoring a career-best six goals in 28 matches.

Braga

On 11 July 2012, Santos signed a two-year contract with S.C. Braga, initially being assigned to the reserves also in the second tier. After being an ever-present figure for the latter, he made his first-team – and Primeira Liga – debut on 9 March of the following year, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 home win over C.S. Marítimo.
Santos scored his first goal in the Portuguese top flight on 3 May 2013, netting his team's second in a 3–2 success at Moreirense F.C.. On 25 September he signed a new five-year deal with a €20 million clause, after the Minho club refused an offer from Stade Rennais FC.
Santos was an undisputed starter during the following two campaigns, attracting interest from a number of teams, one of them being AS Monaco FC.

Valencia

On 27 August 2015, Santos agreed to a five-year deal with Valencia CF for a fee of €9.5m. His maiden appearance in La Liga occurred on 22 September, as he played the full 90 minutes in a 0–1 away loss against RCD Espanyol.
In January 2019, after loan spells in his country's Série A with São Paulo FC and Esporte Clube Vitória, Santos returned to the Mestalla Stadium.

Honours

Braga