David Luiz

David Luiz Moreira Marinho (born 22 April 1987) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Flamengo.

He is primarily a centre back but has also been deployed as a defensive midfielder.

After starting out at Vitoria, David Luiz moved to Benfica, remaining with the club for five seasons (three complete).

Instantly becoming a cult hero amongst the Chelsea fans, David Luiz was awarded the Barclays Man of the Match award for his performance, despite giving away a penalty in the 93rd minute of the match, which was saved by Petr Čech.

On 1 March, David Luiz scored his first goal for Chelsea to help the Blues come from behind to win 2–1 against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

On 20 March, he headed in his second goal for the Blues in a 2–0 home win over Manchester City, and again receiving the man of the match award, as well as the Premier League Player of the Month for March.

David Luiz made his debut for Vitória in 2006, excelling in a 2–2 draw against Santa Cruz in that season's Copa do Brasil.

At the worst situation of its history, in the third division, the club eventually promoted to the second level after finishing in second position, with the player appearing in eight of the club's last decisive nine games, scoring his only league goal on 3 September 2006 in a 2–0 home win against Clube Atlético do Porto.

On 30 January 2007, David Luiz joined Portuguese club Benfica as a replacement for Tottenham Hotspur-bound Ricardo Rocha, on loan.

He made a somewhat tumultuous debut for the club in a UEFA Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes, partnering compatriot Anderson in the centre of defence, replacing the injured Luisão.

Benfica lost the match 2–1 but progressed to the next round after winning 4–3 on aggregate.

On 12 March 2007, David Luiz played his first league match for Benfica, against União de Leiria.

At the end of the season, following ten league appearances, he joined permanently for a €1.5 million transfer fee and signed a five-year contract with the club.

Before the ensuing campaign, he scored his first goal for the club in the Guadiana Trophy friendly tournament, against Sporting CP.

However, David Luiz only managed eight appearances in the league due to injury as Benfica finished fourth.

On 11 January 2009, David Luiz scored his first goal for Benfica, the match's only goal in a home success against Braga.

He played most of the campaign as a left back, at the expense of Portuguese international Jorge Ribeiro.

However, it was in the 2009–10 season, when new manager Jorge Jesus arrived to Benfica, that David Luiz became a club symbol and vice-captain.

He was ever-present, appearing in 49 matches (three goals, 4,206 minutes), as Benfica won the league after a five-year wait.

In the season's Taça da Liga, in a 1–4 away win against Sporting CP, he opened the score in the eighth minute, with Benfica also eventually winning the competition.

David Luiz won the Portuguese Liga Player of the Year that same season with 38% of the vote while the runner-up, his teammate Ángel Di María, received 8%.

On 30 September 2009, Benfica sold 25% of David Luiz's economic rights on any future transfer to a third-party owner, Benfica Stars Fund, along with other teammates.

He was valued at €18 million, with the fund paying €4.5 million; his contract was also renewed in October with a release clause of €50 million.

David Luiz made his full international debut for Brazil in 2010 and has since earned over 50 caps for his country.

He joined Chelsea in January 2011, winning the UEFA Champions League during the 2011–12 season.

In the following season he won the UEFA Europa League.

On 31 January 2011, David Luiz completed a move to Chelsea for a €65 million transfer fee and subsequently signed a five-and-a-half-year contract.

As part of the deal, Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matić joined Benfica at the end of the season after his transfer spell at Dutch club Vitesse.

David Luiz made his Premier League debut on 6 February, replacing José Bosingwa in a 0–1 home loss against Liverpool.

Eight days later in a 0–0 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage, he made his first start for Chelsea.

David Luiz missed the first three matches of 2011–12 season due to a knee injury.

He made his return to the first team on 13 September in a UEFA Champions League group stage match against Bayer Leverkusen in which he scored from 15 yards to break the deadlock in an eventual 2–0 home win.

In his second match, a League Cup third round tie against Fulham, he scored his penalty shoot-out attempt in a 4–3 win (0–0 after 120 minutes).

He was a member of the Brazilian teams which won the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and reached the semi-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and has also represented his nation in two editions of the Copa América.

Born in Diadema, São Paulo, to Ladislao and Regina Marinho, David Luiz arrived at Salvador-based club Vitória after being released by São Paulo, and started playing as a defensive midfielder, almost leaving the club for his poor performances in that position.

However, he was soon moved to central defender and adapted well.

In June 2014, he transferred to Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of £50 million, at that time a world record transfer for a defender, and won all four domestic competitions over his two seasons in French football.

During his time in France, Luiz was selected in the FIFPRO Men's World 11 in 2014.

He returned to Chelsea in August 2016 in a £30 million transfer deal, winning a Premier League and second Europa League title.

He transferred to local rivals Arsenal in 2019 before returning to his home country to play for Flamengo in 2021.