Willian José

Willian José da Silva (born 23 November 1991), known as Willian José, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Bahia.

He began his career with 77 games and 12 goals in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A for Grêmio Barueri, São Paulo and Santos, as well as representing Grêmio FBPA on loan in 2013.

Willian José spent most of his career in Spain, making 267 La Liga appearances and scoring 82 goals, mainly for Real Sociedad and Real Betis, winning a Copa del Rey with each in 2020 and 2022. He also represented Real Madrid and Las Palmas on loan in the division, and had a loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers of the Premier League in 2021.

Club career

Grêmio Barueri

Born in Porto Calvo, Alagoas, Willian José started his career at local CRB's youth setup, before joining Grêmio Barueri in 2008, aged 17. On 1 August 2009 he made his first team – and Série A – debut, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–1 loss at Botafogo.

Willian José scored his first goal as a professional on 17 January of the following year, netting his side's only in a 1–1 draw at Sertãozinho for the Campeonato Paulista championship. He scored six further times during the campaign, which ended in relegation.

São Paulo

From 2011 to 2016, Willian José's contract was the property of Deportivo Maldonado of Uruguay, a team known for buying players to loan out. On 13 January 2011, Willian José joined São Paulo. He was mostly used as a backup to Luís Fabiano and Dagoberto in his first year, and despite the latter leaving for Internacional in 2012, he was still third-choice behind new signing Osvaldo.