Maicon Pereira Roque


Maicon Pereira Roque, known simply as Maicon, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Saudi club Al-Nassr as a central defender.

Club career

Early years / Porto

Born in Barretos, São Paulo, Maicon started off his career with Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. He moved the following season to modest Associação Desportiva Cabofriense.
Maicon had his first abroad adventure in the 2008–09 campaign, being a defensive mainstay for Madeira's C.D. Nacional which again qualified for European competition. Courtesy of those solid performances, on 4 June 2009, he moved to Primeira Liga champions FC Porto in a contract running until 2014; he appeared in only four games in his first year.
After Bruno Alves left for FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, Maicon became a first-team regular in 2010–11, playing 37 competitive matches as Porto won the treble. In the following season – under new manager Vítor Pereira – after Cristian Săpunaru's injury, he beat competition from Jorge Fucile and began being often utilized as a right back.
On 2 March 2012, after a free kick, Maicon headed a late offside goal in a 3–2 away win against S.L. Benfica. He scored five goals from 35 appearances in two seasons combined, helping his team to back-to-back national championships.
Maicon headed home the 2–1 winner over Chelsea for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League on 29 September 2015, in what was his third competitive goal of the campaign.

São Paulo

On 14 February 2016, having been deemed surplus to requirements by new manager José Peseiro, Maicon was loaned to São Paulo FC. Upon arriving, he stated that the move was "a dream come true".
Maicon signed a permanent deal for R$22 million on 28 June 2016, as Porto also ceded 50% of the sporting rights to fellow defenders Inácio and Lucão.

Club statistics

Honours

Porto
Sao Paulo
Galatasaray
Al-Nassr