Willian Arão

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

Willian Souza Arão da Silva (born 12 March 1992) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or a centre-back for Greek Super League club Panathinaikos.

Willian Arão

Willian Arão with Fenerbahçe in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Willian Souza Arão da Silva[1]
Date of birth	(1992-03-12) 12 March 1992 (age 32)[2]
Place of birth	São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Panathinaikos
Number	55
Youth career
2008–2010	São Paulo
2011	Corinthians
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2015	Corinthians	17	(0)
2013	→ Portuguesa (loan)	13	(0)
2014	→ Chapecoense (loan)	15	(1)
2014	→ Atlético Goianiense (loan)	13	(0)
2015	→ Botafogo (loan)	54	(6)
2016–2022	Flamengo	277	(24)
2022–2023	Fenerbahçe	31	(0)
2023–	Panathinaikos	44	(4)
International career‡
2017	Brazil	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:00, 24 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 January 2017

Arão started his youth career playing for São Paulo and Corinthians, where he had his first professional experience, although Arão spend most of his following years playing on loan for different Brazilian clubs. Including a very consistent 2015 season with Botafogo winning the 2015 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B.

In 2016 Arão was involved in a very complicated transfer to Flamengo with Botafogo complaining about the way their rivals approached the player. The situation is still to be solved in the Brazilian justice court.^[3]

Career

Corinthians

Formed in the São Paulo, Willian was the new reinforcement in midfield of Corinthians in 2011. Featured in the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior in 2011, the player has good quality in the tackle and can exercise its left side.

Portuguesa (loan)

On 6 August 2013 signed with Portuguesa a five month loan deal until the end of the 2013 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.^[4][5] At the club he played a total of fifteen matches including his first two continental appearances at 2013 Copa Sudamericana.

Chapecoense (loan)

On 9 January 2014 Arão signed with Chapecoense a one year loan deal.^[6] At the club he didn't much chances playing only thirteen Campeonato Catarinense and two Campeonato Brasileiro Série A matches, returning to Corinthians after only six months on 27 June 2014.^[7]

Atlético Goianiense (loan)

The second half of the 2014 season Arão played on loan at Atlético Goianiense, the transfer occurred on 18 September 2014.^[8] Arão played a total of thirteen 2014 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B matches, twelve of those as starter.^[9]

Botafogo (loan)

On 10 January 2015, Willian Arão joined Botafogo on loan until the end of 2015 season.^[10][11] At Botafogo Arão had the best season of his career so far playing a total of 58 official matches,^[12] including 35 Série B matches scoring 5 goals, culminating with 2015 Série B title.^[13] He was one of the team most important players calling the attention of several other Brazilian clubs.

Flamengo

On 1 January 2016, Willian Arão joined Flamengo on a free transfer.^[14][15] He instantly earned a first team spot being selected to the 2016 Bola de Prata.

On 28 December 2016 Arão signed another three-year contract with Flamengo until December 2019.^[16] In 2018 Arão lost space in the Flamengo's first team and the Brazilian press speculated a possible transfer. On May Internacional showed interest in signing him on loan, although the transfer didn't happen.^[17]

On 24 July 2018 Flamengo and Olympiacos agreed Arão's transfer for a sum of €2.5 million.^[18] A few days later, the transfer was canceled, since Arão and Olympiacos could not agree on how his salary would be paid.^[19]

With head coach Rogério Ceni, during the 2020 season, Arão started to also play as centre back.

Fenerbahçe

On 14 July 2022, Arão moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing a two-year contract with an option for an additional year with Turkish club Fenerbahçe.^[20]

Panathinaikos

On 17 August, Arão moved from Fenerbachçe to Greek side Panathinaikos on a two-year contract.

International career

On 19 January 2017 Arão was called up to the Brazil national team for the first time to play a friendly match against Colombia.^[21]

Career statistics

Club

As of 24 November 2024^[22]

Club	Season	League			State League		Cup[a]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Corinthians	2011	Série A	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2012		8	0	1[b]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	2013		2	0	6[b]	0	0	0	0	0	—		8	0
	Total		10	0	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	0
Portuguesa (loan)	2013	Série A	13	0	—		—		2[c]	0	—		15	0
Chapecoense (loan)	2014	Série A	2	0	13[d]	1	1	0	—		—		16	1
Atlético Goianiense (loan)	2014	Série B	13	0	—		—		—		—		13	0
Botafogo (loan)	2015	Série B	35	5	19[e]	1	4	1	—		—		58	7
Flamengo	2016	Série A	37	4	15[e]	3	4	0	2[c]	0	4[f]	0	62	7
	2017		30	1	14[e]	4	6	0	16[g]	4	1[f]	4	67	9
	2018		23	2	3[e]	0	3	0	3[h]	0	—		32	2
	2019		35	2	12[e]	2	3	1	12[h]	0	2[i]	0	64	5
	2020		32	1	13[e]	0	4	0	5[h]	1	3[j]	0	57	2
	2021		30	1	7[e]	0	6	0	11[h]	3	1[k]	0	55	4
	2022		14	2	12[e]	2	1	0	6[h]	1	1[k]	0	34	5
	Total		201	13	76	11	27	1	55	9	12	4	371	38
Fenerbahçe	2022–23	Süper Lig	31	0	—		6	0	8[l]	1	—		45	1
Panathinaikos	2023–24	Super League Greece	32	3	—		6	0	7[m]	0	—		45	3
	2024–25		12	1	—		0	0	8[n]	0	—		20	1
	Total		44	4	0	0	6	0	15	0	0	0	65	4
Career total			349	22	115	13	44	2	80	10	12	0	600	47

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

International

As of 25 January 2017.^[23]

Team	Season	Apps	Goals
Brazil	2017	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

Club

Corinthians

• FIFA Club World Cup: 2012
• Copa Libertadores: 2012
• Recopa Sudamericana: 2013
• Campeonato Paulista: 2013

Botafogo

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 2015

Flamengo

• Copa Libertadores: 2019, 2022^[24]
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2019, 2020
• Supercopa do Brasil: 2020, 2021^[25]
• Recopa Sudamericana: 2020^[26]
• Campeonato Carioca: 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021

Fenerbahçe

• Turkish Cup: 2022–23

Panathinaikos

• Greek Cup: 2023–24

Individual

• Campeonato Carioca Team of the Year: 2016^[27]
• Bola de Prata: 2016,^[28] 2019^[29]
• Best Defensive Midfielder in Brazil: 2016,^[30] 2019,^[31] 2021^[32]
• Copa Libertadores Team of the Tournament: 2021^{[33][better source needed]}
• South American Team of the Year: 2021^{[citation needed]}

References

1. "FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019: List of Players: CR Flamengo" (PDF). FIFA. 5 December 2019. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2019.
2. "Brazil - Willian Arão - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
3. "Justiça chama Flamengo, Botafogo e Arão para audiência de conciliação". globoesporte.com. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
4. "Em baixa, Portuguesa contrata volante William Arão, do Corinthians". leiamaisba.com.br. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
5. "PORTUGUESA CONTRATA WILLIAN ARÃO, VOLANTE DO CORINTHIANS". Diário do Canindé. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
6. "Chapecoense apresenta goleiro Sílvio e volantes Dedé e Willian Arão". ndmais.com.br. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
7. "Volante Willian Arão é liberado por Chapecoense e retorna ao Corinthians". ESPN. 27 June 2014. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
8. "Atlético-GO contrata volante Willian Arão por empréstimo até o fim do ano". Globoesporte.com. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
9. "Em alta, Willian Arão se destaca com a arrancada do Atlético-GO na Série B". Globoesporte.com. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
10. "Botafogo contrata o volante William Arão, ex-jogador do Corinthians". O Dia. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
11. "Diego Giaretta e Willian Arão chegam em busca de espaço no Botafogo". globoesporte.com. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
12. "Willian Arão mostra surpresa com estrutura do Botafogo". ndonline.com.br. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
13. "É campeão! Botafogo vence em Brasília e conquista a Série B". globoesporte.com. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
14. "10/01/2015 18h10 - Atualizado em 10/01/2015 18h26 Volante do Corinthians é o 11º reforço do Botafogo para temporada". Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
15. "Willian Arão é o novo reforço do Flamengo". globoesporte.com. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
16. "Fla anuncia renovação com M. Araújo; Muralha e Arão ampliam contratos". globoesporte.com. 28 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
17. "Sem espaço no Flamengo, volante Willian Arão entra na mira do Inter". globoesporte.com. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
18. "Fora de jogo do Fla, Willian Arão é negociado com Olympiacos, da Grécia". globoesporte.com. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
19. "Sem negócio: Olympiacos não atende exigências e desiste da contratação de Arão". globoesporte.com. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
20. "Ailemize hoş geldin Willian Arao #SahneBizim" (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe S.K. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
21. "Com novidades, Tite resgata astros europeus e chama Muralha". 19 January 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
22. Willian Arão at Soccerway
23. Willian Arão at National-Football-Teams.com
24. Unwin, Will (23 November 2019). "Flamengo 2–1 River Plate: Copa Libertadores final – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
25. "Supercopa: em jogo doido, Flamengo vence o Palmeiras nos pênaltis". One Football (in Portuguese). 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
26. Vickery, Tim (27 February 2020). "Flamengo's Recopa win over Independiente a stepping stone to more glory". ESPN. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
27. "Vasco lidera seleção do Carioca, que ainda traz Ribamar e Willian Arão". Globoesporte.com. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
28. "Gabriel Jesus wins Bola de Prata award for best player in the Brasileirao". Sambafoot.
29. "Bola de Prata: veja como ficou a seleção do Campeonato Brasileiro 2019" (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
30. "Veja os ganhadores da edição 2016 do Troféu Mesa Redonda - Gazeta Esportiva". www.gazetaesportiva.com. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
31. "Acompanhe os melhores momentos do Troféu Mesa Redonda - Gazeta Esportiva". www.gazetaesportiva.com. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
32. "Confira todos os ganhadores do Troféu Mesa Redonda 2021 - Gazeta Esportiva". www.gazetaesportiva.com. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
33. "Este es el equipo de la temporada en la CONMEBOL". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 9 September 2023.

External links

• Player profile (in Portuguese)