Igor Julio

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is dos Santos and the second or paternal family name is de Paulo.

Igor Julio dos Santos de Paulo (born 7 February 1998), known as Igor Julio or simply Igor, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion.

Igor Julio

Igor with Liefering in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Igor Julio dos Santos de Paulo
Date of birth	(1998-02-07) 7 February 1998 (age 27)
Place of birth	Bom Sucesso, Brazil
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Brighton & Hove Albion
Number	3
Youth career
	Atlético Mineiro
	Sind-Ufla
	Portuguesa Santista
	Red Bull Brasil
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016	Red Bull Brasil	0	(0)
2016–2017	Liefering	36	(0)
2017–2019	Red Bull Salzburg	2	(0)
2018	→ Wolfsberger AC (loan)	15	(0)
2018–2019	→ Austria Wien (loan)	27	(0)
2019–2021	SPAL	17	(0)
2020–2021	→ Fiorentina (loan)	30	(0)
2021–2023	Fiorentina	57	(0)
2023–	Brighton & Hove Albion	36	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:06, 4 January 2025 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Bom Sucesso, Minas Gerais, Igor joined Red Bull Brasil's youth setup from Portuguesa Santista.^[1] In July 2016, after impressing with the under-20 side, he moved abroad and joined Austrian Bundesliga side FC Red Bull Salzburg, being initially assigned to the reserve team.^[2]

Igor made his professional debut for Liefering on 22 July 2016, starting in a 1–0 Austrian First League home win against SV Horn.^[3] After being a regular starter, he made his first team debut the following 28 May, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home defeat of SC Rheindorf Altach.

Igor was promoted to Red Bull Salzburg's main squad on 26 May 2017,^[4] but continued to appear mainly with the B-team. On 7 January 2018, he was loaned to fellow top tier club Wolfsberger AC, until June.^[5]

On 2 July 2018, Igor moved to Austria Wien also in the first division, on a season-long loan deal.^[6]

On 26 June 2019, Igor signed to Italian Serie A club SPAL a contract until 2023.^[7]

On 31 January 2020, Igor joined Fiorentina on a two-year loan with an obligation to buy.^[8]

On 26 July 2023, Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion announced the signing of Igor on a four-year deal,^[9] for a reported fee of €17 million.^[10] Igor made his Brighton debut on 8 October 2023, playing sixty-three minutes in a 2–2 home draw against Liverpool in the Premier League.^[11]

Career statistics

As of match played 4 January 2025^[12]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FC Liefering	2016–17	Austrian First League	25	0	—		—		—		25	0
	2017–18		11	0	—		—		—		11	0
	Total		36	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	36	0
Red Bull Salzburg	2016–17	Austrian Bundesliga	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2017–18		1	0	2	0	—		0	0	3	0
	Total		2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Wolfsberger AC (loan)	2017–18	Austrian Bundesliga	15	0	—		—		—		15	0
Austria Wien (loan)	2018–19	Austrian Bundesliga	27	0	3	0	—		—		30	0
SPAL	2019–20	Serie A	17	0	3	1	—		—		20	1
Fiorentina (loan)	2019–20	Serie A	9	0	0	0	—		—		9	0
	2020–21		21	0	3	0	—		—		24	0
	Total		30	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	33	0
Fiorentina	2021–22	Serie A	30	0	5	0	—		—		35	0
	2022–23		27	0	3	0	—		12[c]	0	42	0
	Total		57	0	8	0	0	0	12	0	77	0
Brighton & Hove Albion	2023–24	Premier League	24	0	2	0	1	0	6[d]	0	33	0
	2024–25		12	0	0	0	3	0	—		15	0
	Total		36	0	2	0	4	0	6	0	48	0
Career total			220	0	21	1	4	0	18	0	263	1

1. Includes Austrian Cup, Coppa Italia, FA Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Fiorentina

• Coppa Italia runner-up: 2022–23^[13]
• UEFA Europa Conference League runner-up: 2022–23^[14]

References

1. "Zagueiro brasileiro troca de clube na Áustria e tenta quebrar hegemonia" [Stopper changes club in Austria and tries to break hegemony] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Terra. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
2. "Na Seleção Sub-20, Igor relembra passado e fala da importância da base do Toro Loko" [In the under-20 national team, Igor remembers past and talks about the importance of Toro Loko's youth setup] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Red Bull Brasil. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
3. "Game Report by Weltfussball". Weltfussball. 22 July 2016.
4. "FC Red Bull Salzburg reveal who will play for them next season". Red Bull Salzburg. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
5. "Two Salzburg players leave for Carinthia". Red Bull Salzburg. 7 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
6. "Igor goes on loan to league rivals". Red Bull Salzburg. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
7. "UFFICIALE: SPAL, ha firmato il difensore Igor: contratto fino al 2023" (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
8. "FIORENTINA SIGN IGOR" (Press release). Fiorentina. 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
9. "Albion sign Igor Julio from Fiorentina". www.brightonandhovealbion.com. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
10. "Brighton sign Brazilian defender Igor from Fiorentina". Reuters. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
11. "Dunk's decisive finish earns Albion a point". www.brightonandhovealbion.com. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
12. Igor Julio at Soccerway. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
13. Porzio, Francesco (24 May 2023). "Inter win Coppa Italia as Lautaro Martinez brace downs Fiorentina, build momentum for Champions League final". CBS Sports. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
14. Stone, Simon (7 June 2023). "Fiorentina 1–2 West Ham United: Jarrod Bowen goal decides Europa Conference League final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 June 2023.

External links

• Profile at the ACF Fiorentina website Archived 10 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian)
• Igor Julio at Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
• Igor Julio at Premier League
• Igor Julio at WorldFootball.net