Leonardo Pereira (; born 31 January 1996) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Flamengo and the Brazil national team.
Club career Atlético Paranaense Born in Curitiba, Paraná, Léo Pereira finished his formation with Atlético Paranaense. He made his Série A debut on 3 May 2014, replacing Marcos Guilherme in a 2–3 home loss against Cruzeiro. He went on to make a further thirteen league appearances in 2014.
Loans to Guaratinguetá and Náutico Pereira joined Guaratinguetá of Série C on loan in August 2015 where he made eight appearances before returning to Atlético in October 2015. On 23 May 2016, he moved to Náutico also in a temporary deal.
Loan to Orlando City On 14 March 2017, Pereira joined Orlando City B, the USL affiliate of Orlando City, on a season long loan. He was the first player to move between the two clubs since they became official partners the previous November. After beginning the season with Orlando City B, he was called up to the first team in mid-April and made his MLS debut against San Jose Earthquakes on 17 May.
Breakthrough Back to Atlético for the 2018 season, Pereira was initially a backup under head coach Fernando Diniz, before becoming a starter under Tiago Nunes and finishing the year with six goals.
Flamengo On 28 January 2020, Flamengo signed Pereira from Athletico Paranaense in a €6.1m transfer. On 27 January 2023, established as a first-choice, he extended his contract with the club until 31 December 2027.
In an impressive 2025 campaign, Pereira emerged as one of the most utilized players in the squad, appearing in 63 matches with 62 starts. He scored six goals and providing one assist during the year, with 22 key passes and a 92% pass completion rate.
International career Youth Pereira has made twelve appearances across two age levels for the Brazil national team. He received his first call up to the U17s when he was selected for the 2013 South American Under-17 Football Championship in April. He made two appearances in Argentina against Peru and Venezuela. His final U17 caps came in October and November when he was called up for the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. The first coming in the Group Stage against Honduras and the second in a quarter-final penalty shoot-out defeat to Mexico in which Pereira scored a spot-kick in the shoot-out.
Two years later Pereira appeared in five of Brazil's 2015 South American Youth Football Championship matches, with two caps coming against Colombia and the other three coming against Uruguay, Paraguay and Peru who he also scored against. Later that year he played in three of Brazil's 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup matches. The first two came in the Group Stage against Hungary and North Korea, he scored a goal against the latter, and his last U20 World Cup cap was versus Senegal in a 5–0 semi-final win. Brazil subsequently made it to the final which they lost to Serbia, Pereira was an unused substitute.
Senior After being included several times on the pre-lists for the national team, Pereira finally was called by Carlo Ancelotti for the main Brazil squad on 16 March 2026, for friendlies against France and Croatia, on the final months of preparation building up the squad prior to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He made his full international debut ten days later, starting in a 2–1 loss against the former.
On 18 May 2026, Pereira was included in Ancelotti's 26-man squad for the World Cup.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueState leagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAthletico Paranaense2014Série A1407010——2202015002010——3020181831320010Appearances in Copa Sudamericana1—416201926200718Appearances in Copa Libertadores03Two appearances in Recopa Sudamericana, one appearance in J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship0443Total58522291181301109Guaratinguetá (loan)2015Série C82————82Náutico (loan)2016Série B50————50Orlando City B (loan)2017USL80————80Orlando City (loan)2017MLS100—00——100Flamengo2020Série A13110040601Appearance in Recopa Sudamericana034120211904050700035020221308290801Appearance in Supercopa do Brasil039220233237080412One appearance in FIFA Club World Cup, on appearance in Supercopa do Brasil053420242801239071—564202534480201217One appearance in Supercopa do Brasil, three appearances in FIFA Club World Cup, three appearances and one goal in FIFA Intercontinental Cup1636202623230107030372Total1621052538051314131719Career total2511774747169417145835
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsBrazil202640Total40
Honours Athletico Paranaense Copa Sudamericana: 2018 J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship: 2019 Copa do Brasil: 2019 Campeonato Paranaense: 2018
Flamengo FIFA Challenger Cup: 2025 FIFA Derby of the Americas: 2025 Copa Libertadores: 2022, 2025 Recopa Sudamericana: 2020 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2020, 2025 Copa do Brasil: 2022, 2024 Supercopa do Brasil: 2020, 2021, 2025 Campeonato Carioca: 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025, 2026
Individual Campeonato Carioca Team of the Season: 2024, 2025, 2026 Copa Libertadores Team of the Tournament: 2025 Bola de Prata: 2025 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2025 South American Team of the Year: 2025
References
External links Leonardo Pereira - Flamengo Atlético Paranaense official profile (archived) Furacão.com profile (archived)