Jonathan Renato Barbosa (born 10 July 1991), known as Jonathan Cafú or simply Cafú, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as either a winger or a forward for Cuiabá.

Jonathan Cafú
Cafú with Ludogorets in 2016
Personal information
Full name Jonathan Renato Barbosa
Date of birth (1991-07-10) 10 July 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth Piracicaba, Brazil
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Winger, forward
Team information
Current team
Cuiabá
Number 7
Youth career
2008–2010 Rio Claro
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2011 Desportivo Brasil 41 (12)
2011Boavista (loan) 1 (0)
2012–2014 XV de Piracicaba 21 (6)
2013Capivariano (loan) 2 (0)
2014 Ponte Preta 32 (6)
2015 São Paulo 11 (0)
2015 Ludogorets Razgrad II 2 (1)
2015–2017 Ludogorets Razgrad 53 (17)
2017–2020 Bordeaux 22 (2)
2018–2019Red Star Belgrade (loan) 7 (2)
2020Al-Hazem (loan) 15 (2)
2020–2023 Corinthians 3 (0)
2021–2023Cuiabá (loan) 75 (5)
2024– Cuiabá 22 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 October 2024

Club career

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Brazil

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Born in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Cafú graduated from Rio Claro's youth setup. He made his senior debuts with Desportivo Brasil in 2009, appearing regularly.

In 2011 Cafú signed for Boavista, but appeared in only one match for the club during his spell (a 1–1 Campeonato Carioca home draw against América-RJ on 19 January). He moved to XV de Piracicaba in the following year, only being regularly used in 2014, after a short loan period at Capivariano.

In April 2014, although being linked to Italian and Japanese clubs,[1] Cafú joined Série B side Ponte Preta.[2] He made his debut for the club on 21 May, starting in a 1–0 home win against Vila Nova.

Cafú appeared in 32 matches for Macaca, scoring six goals (his first being on 31 May, the winner against Boa Esporte), as his side returned to Série A at first attempt. On 14 January 2015, he signed a three-year deal with São Paulo,[3] for a R$ 3 million fee.

Ludogorets Razgrad

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On 27 July 2015, Jonathan Cafú moved abroad to Europe to join Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad[4] for a record club fee of €2.2 million.[5] On 8 August, Cafú played full 90 minutes for Ludogorets's reserve team in a league fixture against Vereya of the B Group. He made his first team debut on 12 September 2015, coming on as a first half substitute in a 0–0 away draw against Beroe Stara Zagora. Cafú eventually appeared in 24 matches for Ludogorets during the season and contributed with 8 goals for the club's 2015-16 A Group title.

In the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, Cafú scored two goals in the 6–4 overall win against Red Star Belgrade, that propelled Ludogorets into the play-offs of the tournament, the second of which came after a remarkable solo effort in the away match, as Cafú overcame five players of the Serbian team to equalize for 1–1.[6] In the group stage of the tournament, the Brazilian scored the only goal against Basel in the first away match that finished in a 1–1 draw. His good performances continued as he scored a goal and provided an assist to Claudiu Keșerü to give his team a 2–0 lead in the home match against Arsenal, which Ludogorets eventually lost by 2–3. He finished the season scoring 10 goals in 30 league appearances.

Girondins Bordeaux

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In August 2017, Cafú moved to Ligue 1 club Bordeaux for a reported fee of €7.5 million.[7] He was given the number 22 shirt. In January 2018, Cafu along with teammates Malcom and Otávio Henrique Santos faced disciplinary sanctions from the team management after a video was uploaded to Instagram by Malcom.[8] The video had been uploaded shortly after a loss to Caen, which had left the team in danger of relegation from Ligue 1 to Ligue 2.[8] Coach Jocelyn Gourvennec was subsequently sacked.[8]

Loan to Red Star Belgrade

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Cafu joined Red Star Belgrade on a one-year loan deal in August 2018.[9] On 15 September 2018, he scored his first goal for Red Star in a 6–0 home victory against Radnik Surdulica.[10]

Loan to Al-Hazem

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On 28 January 2020, Jonathan Cafú joined Al-Hazem on loan from Bordeaux.[11]

Corinthians

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In the autumn of 2020 Cafú rescinded his contract with Bourdeaux and joined Corinthians on a three-year contract.[12]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 15 February 2024[13]
Club Season League State League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Desportivo Brasil 2009 Paulista 2ª Divisão 8 0 8 0
2010 17 8 17 8
2011 16 4 16 4
Total 41 12 41 12
Boavista (loan) 2011 Carioca 1 0 1 0
XV de Piracicaba 2012 Paulista 8 1 12[a] 1 20 2
2013 0 0 21[a] 5 21 5
2014 13 5 13 5
Total 21 6 33 6 54 12
Capivariano (loan) 2013 Paulista A2 2 0 2 0
Ponte Preta 2014 Série B 32 6 1 1 33 7
São Paulo 2015 Série A 2 0 9 0 0 0 1[b] 1 12 1
Ludogorets Razgrad II 2015–16 B Group 2 1 2 1
Ludogorets Razgrad 2015–16 A Group 22 7 1 0 0 0 1[c] 0 24 7
2016–17 30 10 2 0 14[d] 4 46 14
2017–18 1 0 0 0 4[e] 0 5 0
Total 53 17 3 0 18 4 1 0 75 21
Bordeaux 2017–18 Ligue 1 19 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 2
2019–20 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Total 22 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 24 2
Red Star Belgrade (loan) 2018–19 SuperLiga 7 2 1 0 1[e] 0 9 2
Al-Hazem (loan) 2019–20 Saudi Professional League 15 2 0 0 15 2
Corinthians 2020 Série A 3 0 3 0
Cuiabá (loan) 2021 Série A 29 3 13 3 2 0 44 6
2022 14 2 0 0 0 0 14 2
2023 32 0 13 4 1 0 5[f] 0 51 4
2024 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0
Total 75 5 28 7 3 0 0 0 5 0 111 12
Career total 211 35 102 25 10 0 20 5 39 6 382 71
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Copa Paulista
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in Bulgarian Supercup
  4. ^ 12 appearances and four goals in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  6. ^ Appearance(s) in Copa Verde

Honours

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Club

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Ludogorets

Red Star Belgrade

Cuiabá

Individual

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References

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  1. ^ "Cafu recebe proposta para atuar na Itália" [Cafu receives proposal to play in Italy] (in Portuguese). Futebol Interior. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Cafu realiza exames e se aproxima de acerto com a Ponte Preta" [Cafu makes the examinations and gets close to a deal with Ponte Preta] (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Jonathan Cafu é Tricolor" [Jonathan Cafu is Tricolor] (in Portuguese). São Paulo's official website. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Лудогорец подписа със звезда на Сао Пауло" (in Bulgarian). ludogorets.com. 27 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Кафу е струвал 3 милиона лева на Лудогорец" (in Bulgarian). novsport.com. 1 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Dundalk shock BATE, APOEL leave it late". UEFA. 2 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Accord Bordeaux-Ludogorets pour Cafu" (in French). L'Equipe. 8 August 2017.
  8. ^ a b c Adam White, Eric Devin (22 January 2018). "The Guardian: Jérémy Toulalan leaves Bordeaux in support of his sacked manager". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  9. ^ [1] Novosti: TRAŽI SE PRAVI GOLGETER: Kafu potpisao jednogodišnji ugovor sa Zvezdom i postao deseto pojačanje (in Serbian) 10 August 2018. Accessed 30 August 2018.
  10. ^ [2] Strahinja Milićević. MaxBet Sport: SPREMNI ZA NAPOLI Zvezda “šesticom” deklasirala Radnik, rešetao triling novajlija (in Serbian). 15 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  11. ^ Al-Hazem is officially signed by Jonathan Cafú
  12. ^ Corinthians announces the signing of Jonathan Cafú
  13. ^ Jonathan Cafú at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  14. ^ Най-желаният от Първа лига е чужденец номер 1
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