Considered one of the great promises of Santos, Matheus Lima is living the dream of being registered to compete in his first Copa São Paulo de Futebol Junior in 2024. The midfielder is one of the highlights of Santos’ U-17 team.
Born and raised in Santos, Matheus has gone through the club’s Meninos da Vila academies and joined the club at the age of eight to play futsal. At nine, he also started playing on the field.
The attacking midfielder has collected collective and personal titles, such as the IberCup under-12 and the Copa Ouro under-13 in 2018, as well as the top scorer and best player in the IberCup. He was also the top scorer and best player in the Futsal Paulistas under-07 and under-09 in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Due to his success, he was promoted to the U-17 team at just 14 years old. In 2021, he played in the Brazilian Championship of the category. In the second half of last season, Matheus returned to the U-15 team and was one of the standouts in the São Paulo Championship, scoring 15 goals in 18 games.
In official competitions, he has played 87 matches for Santos and scored 35 goals. His contract with Santos runs until May 2025, with a buyout clause of 70 million euros (R$ 355.8 million) for international clubs and 20 million euros (R$ 101.6 million) for Brazilian teams.
Now 17 years old and more mature, there is an internal expectation to take the youngster to the 2024 Copinha. In the last edition, the Meninos da Vila were eliminated in the semifinals by América-MG and missed the chance to pursue their fourth title. In 2022, Santos only lost to Palmeiras, led by Endrick, in the final.
