| Matheus Saldanha | |
| Fullname: | Matheus Bonifácio Saldanha Marinho |
| Birth Date: | 18 August 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Uberaba, Brazil |
| Height: | 1.85m |
| Currentclub: | Partizan |
| Clubnumber: | 11 |
| Position: | Forward |
| Youthclubs1: | Santos |
| Youthyears2: | 2016–2019 |
| Youthclubs2: | Audax |
| Youthyears3: | 2018–2019 |
| Youthclubs3: | → Bahia (loan) |
| Youthyears4: | 2019 |
| Youthclubs4: | Bahia |
| Years1: | 2020–2022 |
| Clubs1: | Bahia |
| Caps1: | 29 |
| Goals1: | 3 |
| Years2: | 2021 |
| Clubs2: | → JEF United Chiba (loan) |
| Caps2: | 31 |
| Goals2: | 3 |
| Years3: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs3: | JEF United Chiba |
| Caps3: | 16 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2022 |
| Clubs4: | → Chengdu Rongcheng (loan) |
| Caps4: | 19 |
| Goals4: | 3 |
| Years5: | 2023 |
| Clubs5: | → Neftçi (loan) |
| Caps5: | 17 |
| Goals5: | 5 |
| Years6: | 2023– |
| Clubs6: | Partizan |
| Caps6: | 28 |
| Goals6: | 18 |
| Club-Update: | 19 July 2024 |
Matheus Bonifácio Saldanha Marinho (born 19 August 1999), commonly known as Matheus Saldanha, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serbian club Partizan.
Born in Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Saldanha joined Bahia's youth setup in 2018, initially on loan from Audax.[1] [2] On 1 July 2019, after impressing with the under-20 side, he was bought outright and signed a permanent three-year contract.[3]
Saldanha was promoted to the first team for the 2020 season, and made his senior debut on 22 January of that year by starting in a 1–1 Campeonato Baiano away draw against Juazeirense.[4] He scored his first senior goal on 9 February, netting his team's second in a 3–1 away win against Jacobina.[5]
Saldanha made his Série A on 12 August 2020, coming on as a second-half substitute for Rossi in a 1–0 home win against Coritiba.[6] His first goal in the category occurred on 16 September, as he scored his team's second in a 2–3 away loss against Corinthians.[7]
In 2021, Saldanha joined to J2 club, JEF United Chiba on loan transfer. One year later, he was announcement officially permanently transfer to JEF United Chiba has been confirmed after a season as loan player from EC Bahia.
In 2022, Saldanha loaned again to Chinese Super League club, Chengdu Rongcheng for during mid 2022 season. He leave from the club after a half season at Chengdu expiration contract.
He returned to JEF United Chiba for the 2023 season.[8]
On 28 July 2023, Saldanha signed a four-year contract with Serbian club Partizan for a reported fee of €1.3 million. Just one day later, Saldanha scored a goal on his debut in a 3–3 draw away at TSC.[9] A week later, Saldanha scored his second goal in a 2–0 win over Vojvodina.[10] In the third qualifying round for the UEFA Europa Conference League, Saldanha scored one goal in the two-legged tie against Sabah.[11] On 27 August, Saldanha scored his third SuperLiga goal in a 3–1 win against Javor.[12] In September and October, Saldanha continued his good form by scoring 6 goals and providing 3 assists. On 20 December 2023, Saldanha scored the winning goal in the 171st Eternal derby in a 2–1 win against arch rivals Red Star.[13] Saldanha scored against Red Star again at the Rajko Mitić Stadium on 9 March 2024, as Red Star and Partizan drew 2–2 in the 172nd Eternal derby.[14] Saldanha finished the 2023–24 Serbian SuperLiga having played 27 games and scored 17 goals, becoming its joint top scorer.
| Club | Season | League | State league | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Bahia | 2020 | Série A | 17 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 3 | |
| JEF United Chiba (loan) | 2021 | J2 League | 31 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 3 | ||||
| JEF United Chiba | 2022 | 16 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 47 | 4 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 48 | 4 | ||||||
| Chengdu Rongcheng (loan) | 2022 | Chinese Super League | 19 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 3 | ||||
| Neftçi (loan) | 2022–23 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 17 | 5 | — | 3 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 5 | ||||
| Partizan | 2023–24 | Serbian Superliga | 27 | 17 | — | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 34 | 18 | |||
| 2024–25 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | 5 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 28 | 18 | — | 3 | 0 | 8 | 3 | — | 39 | 21 | |||||
| Career total | 128 | 32 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 160 | 36 | |||
Bahia
Individual
2023–24[15]