Bruno Guimarães
Central Midfielder · Newcastle United · Brazil
About Bruno Guimarães
Bruno Guimarães is Newcastle United's captain and one of Brazil's most important midfielders — a box-to-box force who combines relentless pressing and ball-carrying with the leadership that ended a 70-year wait for a Newcastle captain to lift a domestic trophy. He finished the 2026 World Cup as one of only four players this century to register four assists at a single tournament.
Bruno Guimarães's story
The Taxi Driver's Son from Rio
Born Bruno Guimarães Rodriguez Moura, he grew up in the São Cristóvão neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, the son of a taxi driver; his grandfather's emigration from Spain also gave him Spanish citizenship (and the Spanish-style surname), though he has only ever played for Brazil. He made his senior debut for Audax aged 17 in 2015, before Athletico Paranaense signed him in 2017, where he won the Copa Sudamericana, the Copa do Brasil and a state title before he turned 22.
Lyon, Then Newcastle's £40m Gamble
A four-and-a-half-year move to Lyon in January 2020 established him in Europe, and two years later Newcastle United — freshly under Saudi ownership and fighting relegation — paid a reported £40m to sign him. He scored on his full debut with a back-heel volley at Southampton, and within three years had become the club's captain.
Ending a 70-Year Wait
On 16 March 2025, Guimarães lifted the Carabao Cup after Newcastle beat Liverpool in the final — the first trophy any Newcastle captain had held aloft in 70 years, and the club's first of any kind in 56. He broke down in tears afterwards, calling it validation of years spent turning Newcastle into a club capable of winning things again.
Brazil's World Cup Playmaker
Guimarães was one of Brazil's most influential performers throughout the 2026 World Cup, starting every match and repeatedly turning defence into attack from a deep midfield role — a statistical outlier for a central midfielder not primarily known for chance creation. Brazil were eliminated in the Round of 16, but his four assists made him one of the side's most productive creators during that run, adding significantly to his transfer value heading into the summer.
A Geordie by Adoption
Off the pitch, Guimarães is fluent in Portuguese, French, English and Spanish, and has embraced Newcastle's culture so completely that he once said, "My greatest victory is being a Geordie on the field." He and his family return to Rio during the close season, and he has spoken about the difficulty of raising young children so far from home during England's long football calendar.
Did you know?
- 🏆 Only Zico, back in 1982, had previously managed four assists for Brazil at a World Cup — Guimarães equalled it during their 2026 run to the last 16.
- 🥇 An Olympic gold medallist with Brazil's Tokyo 2020 squad, and the captain who ended a 70-year wait for a Newcastle skipper to lift a domestic trophy, winning the 2024-25 Carabao Cup.
- 👨👩👦👦 Married Ana Lidia Martins beneath Rio's Christ the Redeemer in June 2023; the couple have two sons, born in October 2022 and March 2024.
- ❤️ A regular at Newcastle United Foundation's disability football sessions, including a World Down Syndrome Day visit, and known to support a charity in Brazil each Christmas and New Year.
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