Luiz Gustavo

Luiz Gustavo Dias (born 23 July 1987) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club São Paulo.

He began his career as a left-back, but has played mostly as a defensive midfielder, and also as a centre-back.

From 2007 to 2017 he played in Germany, where he represented 1899 Hoffenheim, Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg, making 245 Bundesliga appearances and scoring 15 goals.

In August 2007, he was loaned to German club 1899 Hoffenheim, then of the 2. Bundesliga.

On 1 April 2008, Hoffenheim signed Luiz Gustavo on a permanent contract.

He went on to play two and a half Bundesliga seasons for the club.

A full international with over 40 caps since his debut in 2011, Luiz Gustavo represented Brazil as they won the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and came fourth at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, both on home soil.

Born in Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo, Luiz Gustavo started his professional career at Corinthians Alagoano.

On 3 January 2011, Luiz Gustavo was signed by Bayern Munich.

The amount of the transfer fee varies from €15–20 million, depending on different sources.

Twelve days later, he made his debut for the Bavarian club, coming on as a second-half substitute in the 1–1 away draw with VfL Wolfsburg.

He scored his first goal for the club on 26 February, the equaliser in the 1–3 home loss against Borussia Dortmund, by volleying in Franck Ribéry's cross.

In his first full season at Bayern, he played 46 matches in total, with Bayern finishing runner-up in all three competitions which they contested.

His only goal came on 13 August, an added-time strike which won a league match away to VfL Wolfsburg.

He won six trophies in his time in the country, including the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League with Bayern Munich.

On 12 May 2012, Luiz Gustavo was selected to start in the centre of midfield in the DFB-Pokal Final, but he was substituted at half-time for Thomas Müller as Bayern were beaten 5–2 by Dortmund.

He missed their defeat a week later in the Champions League final, as he was booked in the second leg of their semi-final victory over Real Madrid.

Luiz Gustavo began the 2012–13 season by featuring in Bayern's 2–1 win over Borussia Dortmund in the DFL-Supercup on 12 August.

He scored four times in 22 matches as they won the league title.

On 25 May 2013, Luiz Gustavo appeared as an added-time substitute for Franck Ribéry as Bayern defeated Borussia Dortmund 2–1 in the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium.

On 16 August 2013, it was reported that Luiz Gustavo had signed for VfL Wolfsburg for an unspecified amount, on a contract that would tie him to the club till 2018.

He made his debut the following day, starting in a 4–0 win over Schalke 04 at the Volkswagen Arena.

One week later, in his next appearance, he was sent off for two bookings as his team lost 0–2 at Mainz 05, and he was also dismissed on his return on 14 September in a 1–3 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen.

He scored 4 goals in 29 matches as Wolfsburg came fifth to qualify automatically for the group stage of the next season's UEFA Europa League, receiving a third red card on 19 April 2014 in a 3–1 win at rivals Hamburger SV.

Luiz Gustavo scored four times in five matches as Wolfsburg won the DFB-Pokal in his second season, starting with a brace in a 4–1 win over 1. FC Heidenheim in the second round on 29 October 2014, and continuing with a goal in their 4–0 victory at Arminia Bielefeld in the semi-final on 29 April 2015.

On 30 May, he scored from a rebounded shot by compatriot Naldo to equalise in the final against Borussia Dortmund, with Wolfsburg eventually winning 3–1 for their first cup honour.

On 29 April 2017 Luiz Gustavo was sent off for the eighth time in his career in a 6–0 defeat to his former club Bayern Munich, in doing so becoming tied with Jens Nowotny for the most red cards in Bundesliga history.

Referee Felix Zwayer sent Gustavo off in the 78 minute after he picking up a second yellow card for fouling Renato Sanches.

Gustavo had to be restrained by his teammates as he sarcastically applauded the referee and refused to leave the field.

On 4 July 2017, Luiz Gustavo ended his decade-long spell in German football, signing for France's Olympique de Marseille for a fee of €8 million.

He agreed a four-year deal with a club record monthly salary of €750,000.

He made his debut 23 days later in a 4–2 home win over Belgium's KV Oostende in the third round of Europa League qualification.

He made his Ligue 1 debut on 6 August, starting in a 3–0 home win over Dijon in the first game of the new season, contributing to the first goal from Clinton N'Jie.

On 1 October, he scored his first goal to conclude a 4–2 win at Nice, but was later sent off for a shin-high-challenge on Pierre Lees-Melou.

On his return three weeks later, he scored again from 30 yards to open the scoring in a 2–2 draw with rivals Paris Saint-Germain in Le Classique, again at the Stade Vélodrome.

Luiz Gustavo was an ever-present in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, playing all of Marseille's 19 matches as they reached the final, losing 3–0 to Atlético Madrid in Lyon.

He made 56 official appearances in his first season in France, making him the most selected player by manager Rudi Garcia that year.

He was named in the Ligue 1 team of the year at the Trophées UNFP du football.

On 2 September 2019, Luiz Gustavo signed a four-year deal with Turkish club Fenerbahçe.

He made his debut on 16 September in a 3–1 away loss against Alanyaspor.