Igor Julio dos Santos de Paulo (born 7 February 1998), known as Igor Julio or simply Igor, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion.

Igor Julio
Igor with Liefering in 2016
Personal information
Full name Igor Julio dos Santos de Paulo
Date of birth (1998-02-07) 7 February 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Bom Sucesso, Brazil
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Brighton & Hove Albion
Number 3
Youth career
Atlético Mineiro
Sind-Ufla
Portuguesa Santista
Red Bull Brasil
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016 Red Bull Brasil 0 (0)
2016–2017 Liefering 36 (0)
2017–2019 Red Bull Salzburg 2 (0)
2018Wolfsberger AC (loan) 15 (0)
2018–2019Austria Wien (loan) 27 (0)
2019–2021 SPAL 17 (0)
2020–2021Fiorentina (loan) 30 (0)
2021–2023 Fiorentina 57 (0)
2023– Brighton & Hove Albion 30 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:28, 9 November 2024 (UTC)

Club career

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Born in Bom Sucesso, Minas Gerais, Igor joined Red Bull Brasil's youth setup from Portuguesa Santista.[1] In July 2016, after impressing with the under-20 side, he moved abroad and joined Austrian Bundesliga side FC Red Bull Salzburg, being initially assigned to the reserve team.[2]

Igor made his professional debut for Liefering on 22 July 2016, starting in a 1–0 Austrian First League home win against SV Horn.[3] After being a regular starter, he made his first team debut the following 28 May, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home defeat of SC Rheindorf Altach.

Igor was promoted to Red Bull Salzburg's main squad on 26 May 2017,[4] but continued to appear mainly with the B-team. On 7 January 2018, he was loaned to fellow top tier club Wolfsberger AC, until June.[5]

On 2 July 2018, Igor moved to Austria Wien also in the first division, on a season-long loan deal.[6]

On 26 June 2019, Igor signed to Italian Serie A club SPAL a contract until 2023.[7]

On 31 January 2020, Igor joined Fiorentina on a two-year loan with an obligation to buy.[8]

On 26 July 2023, Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion announced the signing of Igor on a four-year deal,[9] for a reported fee of €17 million.[10] Igor made his Brighton debut on 8 October 2023, playing sixty-three minutes in a 2–2 home draw against Liverpool in the Premier League.[11]

Career statistics

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As of match played 9 November 2024[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
FC Liefering 2016–17 Austrian First League 25 0 25 0
2017–18 11 0 11 0
Total 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 0
Red Bull Salzburg 2016–17 Austrian Bundesliga 1 0 1 0
2017–18 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 0
Total 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Wolfsberger AC (loan) 2017–18 Austrian Bundesliga 15 0 15 0
Austria Wien (loan) 2018–19 Austrian Bundesliga 27 0 3 0 30 0
SPAL 2019–20 Serie A 17 0 3 1 20 1
Fiorentina (loan) 2019–20 Serie A 9 0 0 0 9 0
2020–21 21 0 3 0 24 0
Total 30 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 33 0
Fiorentina 2021–22 Serie A 30 0 5 0 35 0
2022–23 27 0 3 0 12[c] 0 42 0
Total 57 0 8 0 0 0 12 0 77 0
Brighton & Hove Albion 2023–24 Premier League 24 0 2 0 1 0 6[d] 0 33 0
2024–25 6 0 0 0 3 0 9 0
Total 30 0 2 0 4 0 6 0 42 0
Career total 214 0 21 1 4 0 18 0 257 1
  1. ^ Includes Austrian Cup, Coppa Italia, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

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Fiorentina

References

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  1. ^ "Zagueiro brasileiro troca de clube na Áustria e tenta quebrar hegemonia" [Stopper changes club in Austria and tries to break hegemony] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Terra. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Na Seleção Sub-20, Igor relembra passado e fala da importância da base do Toro Loko" [In the under-20 national team, Igor remembers past and talks about the importance of Toro Loko's youth setup] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Red Bull Brasil. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Game Report by Weltfussball". Weltfussball. 22 July 2016.
  4. ^ "FC Red Bull Salzburg reveal who will play for them next season". Red Bull Salzburg. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Two Salzburg players leave for Carinthia". Red Bull Salzburg. 7 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Igor goes on loan to league rivals". Red Bull Salzburg. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  7. ^ "UFFICIALE: SPAL, ha firmato il difensore Igor: contratto fino al 2023" (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  8. ^ "FIORENTINA SIGN IGOR" (Press release). Fiorentina. 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Albion sign Igor Julio from Fiorentina". www.brightonandhovealbion.com. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Brighton sign Brazilian defender Igor from Fiorentina". Reuters. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Dunk's decisive finish earns Albion a point". www.brightonandhovealbion.com. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  12. ^ Igor Julio at Soccerway. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  13. ^ Porzio, Francesco (24 May 2023). "Inter win Coppa Italia as Lautaro Martinez brace downs Fiorentina, build momentum for Champions League final". CBS Sports. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  14. ^ Stone, Simon (7 June 2023). "Fiorentina 1–2 West Ham United: Jarrod Bowen goal decides Europa Conference League final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
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