Murilo Cerqueira

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Cerqueira and the second or paternal family name is Paim.

Murilo Cerqueira Paim (born 27 March 1997) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Brazilian club Palmeiras.

Murilo Cerqueira

Murilo playing for Palmeiras in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Murilo Cerqueira Paim[1]
Date of birth	(1997-03-27) 27 March 1997 (age 28)[1]
Place of birth	São Gonçalo dos Campos, Brazil
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Palmeiras
Number	26
Youth career
2012–2016	Cruzeiro
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2019	Cruzeiro	50	(0)
2019–2022	Lokomotiv Moscow	52	(4)
2022–	Palmeiras	154	(15)
International career‡
2016	Brazil U20	3	(2)
2019–2020	Brazil U23	5	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 November 2020

Club career

Cruzeiro

Cerqueira played for the Cruzeiro Youth Teams since 2012. In 2017, he was promoted to the senior team. On March 21, 2017 he made his professional debut for Cruzeiro in the match against Joinville Esporte Clube at the Primeira Liga.^[2][3]

Lokomotiv

Murilo with Lokomotiv Moscow in 2019

On 18 June 2019, Murilo signed a 5-year contract with the Russian Premier League club FC Lokomotiv Moscow.^[4] On 12 May 2021, he scored the last goal in a 3–1 victory over PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara in the 2020–21 Russian Cup final.

Palmeiras

On 12 January 2022, Cerqueira signed a five-season contract with Série A club Palmeiras.^[5]

International career

Cerqueira represented Brazil U20 at youth level. He was one of the sparring players for the Brazil 2016 Olympic team. He was also part of the Brazil U-23 team which won the 2019 Toulon Tournament. He was present for the 2020 Summer Olympics qualifying cycle, but ended up not being called up to the final list for the tournament.^[6]

He was called up for the first time to the senior Brazil national team in March 2024 for friendlies against England and Spain, but remained on the bench in both games.^[7]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 December 2025^[8]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			State league		National cup[a]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cruzeiro	2017	Série A	24	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	2[b]	0	31	0
	2018	Série A	9	0	10[c]	0	0	0	1[d]	0	—		20	0
	2019	Série A	1	0	4[c]	0	0	0	1[d]	0	—		6	0
	Total		34	0	14	0	5	0	2	0	2	0	57	0'
Lokomotiv Moscow	2019–20	Russian Premier League	25	0	—		1	0	5[e]	0	1[f]	0	32	0
	2020–21	Russian Premier League	22	4	—		2	1	5[e]	0	1[f]	0	30	5
	2021–22	Russian Premier League	5	0	—		0	0	3[g]	0	1[f]	0	9	0
	Total		52	4	—		3	1	13	0	3	0	71	5
Palmeiras	2022	Série A	32	4	11[h]	3	4	0	8[d]	3	2[i]	0	57	10
	2023	Série A	25	3	14[h]	2	2	0	7[d]	0	1[j]	0	49	5
	2024	Série A	25	1	14[h]	1	3	0	5[d]	0	1[j]	0	48	2
	2025	Série A	20	1	13[h]	0	0	0	9[d]	1	3[k]	0	45	2
	Total		102	9	52	6	9	0	29	4	7	0	199	19
Career total			188	13	66	6	17	1	44	4	12	0	327	24

1. Includes Copa do Brasil and Russian Cup
2. Appearance(s) in Primeira Liga
3. Appearance(s) in Campeonato Mineiro
4. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
5. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
6. Appearance(s) in Russian Super Cup
7. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
8. Appearance(s) in Campeonato Paulista
9. Appearance(s) in Recopa Sudamericana
10. Appearance(s) in Supercopa do Brasil
11. Appearance(s) in FIFA Club World Cup

Honours

Cruzeiro

• Copa do Brasil: 2017, 2018^[8]
• Campeonato Mineiro: 2018, 2019^[8]

Lokomotiv Moscow

• Russian Cup: 2020–21
• Russian Super Cup: 2019

Palmeiras

• Recopa Sudamericana: 2022
• Campeonato Paulista: 2022, 2023, 2024
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2022, 2023
• Supercopa do Brasil: 2023
• FIFA Club World Cup runner-up: 2021

Brazil U23

• Toulon Tournament: 2019^[8]

Individual

• Bola de Prata: 2022
• Best Centre back in Brazil: 2023^[9]
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2022, 2023
• Campeonato Paulista Team of the Year: 2024^[10]