Gerson (footballer, born 1997)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Santos and the second or paternal family name is da Silva.

Gerson Santos da Silva (born 20 May 1997), simply known as Gerson, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Flamengo and the Brazil national team.

Gerson

Gerson playing for Marseille in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Gerson Santos da Silva[1]
Date of birth	(1997-05-20) 20 May 1997 (age 28)[2]
Place of birth	Belford Roxo, Brazil
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Flamengo
Number	8
Youth career
2012–2014	Fluminense
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2016	Fluminense	56	(7)
2016–2019	Roma	28	(2)
2018–2019	→ Fiorentina (loan)	36	(3)
2019–2021	Flamengo	87	(7)
2021–2023	Marseille	45	(11)
2023–	Flamengo	95	(9)
International career‡
2015–2016	Brazil U20	10	(0)
2021	Brazil U23	2	(0)
2021–	Brazil	12	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:09, 12 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 March 2025

Club career

Fluminense

Gerson with Fluminense in 2016

Born in Belford Roxo, Rio de Janeiro, Gerson finished his formation with Fluminense.^[4] On 28 August 2014, he was promoted to the main squad, being included in the club's 22-man list for that year's Copa Sudamericana.^[5]

On 12 November 2014, Gerson signed a new five-year deal with the club.^[6] He was subsequently linked to Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Juventus throughout the year, but nothing came of it.^[7]

Gerson made his senior debut on 22 February 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–1 home loss against Vasco for the Campeonato Carioca championship.^[8] He scored his first goal for the club on 8 March, netting his team's second in a 3–1 home win against Botafogo.^[9] He appeared in 12 matches during the tournament, scoring four goals. Gerson made his Série A debut on 9 May 2015, starting in a 1–0 home win against Joinville.^[10]

Roma

After being linked to several top European clubs in the winter of 2015–16, Gerson sealed a move to Italian club Roma on 4 January for around €15m.

On 27 November 2016, Gerson started his first game with Roma against Pescara.

Loan to Fiorentina

On 20 July 2018, Gerson joined Fiorentina on loan until 30 June 2019.^[11]

Flamengo

On 12 July 2019 Gerson signed with Brazilian club Flamengo through 2023.^[12] The €11.8m (R$49.7m) transfer fee made Gerson the most expensive Brazilian player ever signed by a Brazilian club at the time.^[13]

At the beginning of the 2021 season Gerson won the 2020 Campeonato Brasileiro, the 2021 Supercopa do Brasil, the 2021 Campeonato Carioca and helped Flamengo qualify for the round of 16 at the 2021 Copa Libertadores before moving to Olympique de Marseille ahead of the 2021-22 European season.

Marseille

Gerson with Marseille in 2022

On 9 June 2021, French club Olympique de Marseille announced that they reached an agreement in principle with Flamengo for the transfer of Gerson.^[14] Following a successful medical examination, he signed a five-year contract with the club, and was presented with the number 8 jersey on 1 July.^[15]

Return to Flamengo

On 31 December 2022 Flamengo announced an agreement with Olympique de Marseille to transfer back Gerson in a €15m transfer fee.^[16]

International career

On 27 November 2014, Gerson was called up to the Brazil under-20s for the 2015 South American Youth Football Championship.^[17] He made his debut for the side on 15 January 2015, starting in a 2–1 win against Chile,^[18] and appeared in all matches during the tournament.

In November 2019 senior national team coach Tite stated that he was monitoring Gerson for a callup, having regretted not giving the player a call-up earlier that year. In December, Gerson asked not to be called for Brazil under-23 team to the South American qualifying tournament for the Summer Olympics to be held in January, citing fatigue after an intense season with Flamengo.

Gerson's decision was met with backlash internally at CBF and it has been rumored that his prolonged absence from the national team is due to that previous request, refusing the call-up for the under-23 team. However, his continued form with Flamengo, winning the Brasileirão, Supercopa, Recopa and Cariocão in 2020, and the Supercopa and Taça Guanabara in 2021, led to more requests from fans and the media for his call-up.

In May 2021, Gerson was eventually summoned to the Brazil under-23 team for friendlies against Cape Verde and Serbia the following month, ahead of the 2020 Olympics. On 17 June 2021, Gerson was named in the Brazil squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics.^[19] On 2 July, however, it was announced that Marseille had vetoed his participation in the tournament.^[20]

He was first called up to and made his debut for the senior team on 2 September 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Chile, a 1–0 away victory. He substituted Bruno Guimarães at half-time.^[21]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 21 May 2025^[2]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Fluminense	2015	Série A	29	1	4	0	–		12[a]	4	45	5
	2016		2	0	3	1	–		13[b]	2	18	3
	Total		31	1	7	1	–		25	6	63	8
Roma	2016–17	Serie A	4	0	0	0	7[c]	0	–		11	0
	2017–18		24	2	1	0	6[d]	0	–		31	2
	Total		28	2	1	0	13	0	–		42	2
Fiorentina (loan)	2018–19	Serie A	36	3	4	0	–		–		40	3
Flamengo	2019	Série A	27	2	–		7[e]	0	2[f]	0	36	2
	2020		34	1	3	0	7[e]	0	13[g]	3	57	4
	2021		4	0	1	0	4[e]	0	7[h]	1	16	1
	Total		65	3	4	0	18	0	22	4	109	7
Marseille	2021–22	Ligue 1	35	9	3	0	10[i]	2	–		48	11
	2022–23		10	2	0	0	3[d]	0	–		13	2
	Total		45	11	3	0	13	2	–		61	13
Flamengo	2023	Série A	32	5	9	1	6[e]	0	13[j]	0	60	6
	2024		32	3	10	0	8[e]	1	6[a]	0	56	4
	2025		7	0	2	0	4[e]	0	9[k]	1	22	1
	Total		71	8	21	1	18	1	28	1	138	11
Career total			266	29	40	2	62	3	75	11	453	45

1. Appearance(s) in Campeonato Carioca
2. Ten appearances and two goals in Campeonato Carioca, three appearances and two goals in Primeira Liga
3. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
5. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
6. Appearance(s) in FIFA Club World Cup
7. Two appearances and two goals in Recopa Sudamericana, one appearance in Supercopa do Brasil, ten appearances and one goal in Campeonato Carioca
8. One appearance in Supercopa do Brasil, six appearances and one goal in Campeonato Carioca
9. Four appearances in UEFA Europa League, six appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa Conference League
10. Ten appearances in Campeonato Carioca, one appearance in FIFA Club World Cup, one appearance in Recopa Sudamericana, one appearance in Supercopa do Brasil
11. Eight appearances and one goal in Campeonato Carioca, one appearance in Supercopa do Brasil

International

As of match played 20 March 2025^[22]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Brazil	2021	4	0
	2023	1	0
	2024	6	1
	2025	1	0
Total		12	1

Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gerson goal.^[22]

List of international goals scored by Gerson

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	19 November 2024	Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil	Uruguay	1–1	1–1	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Fluminense

• Primeira Liga: 2016

Flamengo

• Copa Libertadores: 2019^[23]
• Recopa Sudamericana: 2020^[24]
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2019, 2020
• Supercopa do Brasil: 2020, 2021,^[25] 2025^[26]
• Copa do Brasil: 2024
• Campeonato Carioca: 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025

Individual

• Best Central Midfielder in Brazil: 2019^[27]
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2019,^[28] 2020, 2024^[29]
• Bola de Prata: 2019,^[30] 2020
• Copa do Brasil Team of the Season: 2024^[31]
• Campeonato Carioca Team of the Year: 2020,^[32] 2021