Thiago Neves

Thiago Neves Augusto (born 27 February 1985) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

Club career

Born in Curitiba, Neves began his professional career with Paraná aged 20. His performances attracted attention overseas, and for the 2006 season he was loaned out to Vegalta Sendai of the J2 League.

In 2007, he joined Fluminense on a season-long loan. The Rio-based club made the move permanent after he impressed, scoring fourteen times in 42 appearances and also being crowned Copa do Brasil champion, his first title as a professional player.

In the 2008 Serie A, he was limited to only five appearances. However, he impressed in the Copa Libertadores, scoring seven in thirteen matches, including a hat-trick in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores final – (having already scored once in the away leg) but ending up on the losing side, as Fluminense drew 5–5 on aggregate with LDU Quito and were eventually defeated in a penalty shootout, with Neves missing his effort.

On 30 August 2008, Neves joined German club Hamburger SV and was seen as the ideal replacement for the outgoing Rafael van der Vaart. Fluminense received 30% of the profit of R$ 3,502 thousand and the rest of them belonged to a third party owner called DIS Esporte. After only nine appearances, he left the club on 31 January 2009 and joined Al-Hilal for €7 million. However, the player did not play for the Saudi club and agreed to return to Fluminense, again on loan.

Neves returned to Brazil in 2011, joining Flamengo in January. In 2012, he rejoined Fluminense for the exact fee he was sold and at the end of that season he won three trophies as his club had a historic season.