Marcos Paulo (footballer)


Marcos Paulo Costa do Nascimento, commonly known as Marcos Paulo, is a Brazilian-born Portuguese footballer who plays as a forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Fluminense FC and the Portugal national under-19 team.

Club career

Born in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Marcos Paulo began his career at Fluminense FC, and had a release clause of €45 million at the age of 17. He was first called up to the first team for their Campeonato Brasileiro Série A game away to Santos FC on 27 October 2018, as several players were rested ahead of a Copa Sudamericana game against Club Nacional de Football; he was unused in the 3–0 loss.
Marcos Paulo made his professional debut on 30 January 2019 in the Campeonato Carioca, playing the last ten minutes of a 3–0 win over Madureira Esporte Clube at the Maracanã Stadium, in place of Bruno Silva. On 18 May he played his first game in the national league, entering at the same point in a 4–1 home win over Cruzeiro Esporte Clube.
In the 2019 Copa Sudamericana, Marcos Paulo played seven games as Flu reached the quarter-finals. He scored his first goals on 30 July in the last 1 second leg 3–1 home win over Uruguay's Peñarol. He scored four goals in 24 games in the domestic league that year, all towards the end of the campaign, starting with the equaliser in a 1–1 home draw with Associação Chapecoense de Futebol on 26 October; he said after the game that to not win it was a disappointment.
On 1 March 2020, Marcos Paulo scored twice in a 5–1 home win over Madureira in the first game of the Carioca season.

International career

Marcos Paulo is eligible to represent Portugal through his maternal grandfather, born in Vila Cova, Vila Real. He made his international debut for Portugal under-18 on 17 April 2019 as a 52nd-minute substitute for Tiago Araújo in a 1–1 home draw with France. In the following days he scored in wins over Mexico and Denmark as his team won the Porto International Tournament.
Marcos Paulo's first involvement with the under-19 team was at the 2019 Toulon Tournament. He played the first two games of a group-stage elimination, and scored in a 3–2 win over reigning champions England in Salon-de-Provence.

Career statistics

Club

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