Caio Lucas
Jump to content
 Caio Lucas playing for Benfica in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Caio Lucas Fernandes[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 April 1994[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sharjah | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2005 | América-SP | ||
| 2005–2009 | São Paulo | ||
| 2009–2011 | América-SP | ||
| 2011–2013 | Chiba Kokusai High School | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2016 | Kashima Antlers | 78 | (23) |
| 2016–2019 | Al Ain | 65 | (24) |
| 2019–2021 | Benfica | 4 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | → Sharjah (loan) | 27 | (8) |
| 2021– | Sharjah | 107 | (46) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2025– | United Arab Emirates | 12 | (3) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 December 2025 | |||
Caio Lucas Fernandes (born 19 April 1994), known as Caio Lucas or just Caio [ˈkajju], is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for UAE Pro League club Sharjah. Born in Brazil, he represents the United Arab Emirates at international level.
Club career
[edit]Born in Araçatuba, São Paulo,[3] Caio Lucas started playing football in 2002, aged 8, at local clubs SMER Bosque Araçatuba and América-SP. He then played for São Paulo's youth teams from 2005 to 2009 but could not become professional, so he left the club and unsuccessfully tried to join rivals Santos and Palmeiras before returning to América. In 2011, when he was prepared to give up on football, he was discovered by a Japanese university that was playing in Birigui, Brazil.[4] Almost aged 17, he moved to Japan that year to enroll in Chiba Kokusai High School in Kimitsu, where he played for three years.[3][5]
After his graduation, Caio Lucas joined the J1 League club, the Kashima Antlers in 2014. In his first professional season, under the coaching of Toninho Cerezo, Caio scored eight goals as Kashima Antlers qualified for the AFC Champions League. Moreover, he was named J. League's Young Player of the Year in 2014 and won the 2016 J1 League and 2015 J.League Cup.[6] In 2019, following a three-year spell with Emirati club Al Ain, with whom he reached the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Caio signed a four-year contract with Portuguese club Benfica.[7][8]
On 23 January 2020, Sharjah signed Caio Lucas from Benfica on loan for 18 months.[9]
International career
[edit]Born in Brazil, Caio Lucas became a naturalized Emirati and was called up to the United Arab Emirates national team for the first time by manager Paulo Bento in March 2025 for 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.[10] He made his debut for the UAE in a 2–0 loss to Iran on 20 March.[11][12]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 25 May 2025[13]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Kashima Antlers | 2014 | J1 League | 30 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 9 | ||
| 2015 | J1 League | 32 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6[c] | 0 | — | 42 | 12 | ||
| 2016 | J1 League | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 21 | 6 | |||
| Total | 78 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | 100 | 27 | |||
| Al Ain | 2016–17 | UAE Pro League | 24 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6[c] | 2 | — | 37 | 15 | |
| 2017–18 | UAE Pro League | 19 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 10[c] | 3 | — | 38 | 15 | ||
| 2018–19 | UAE Pro League | 22 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7[c] | 1 | 5[d] | 2 | 41 | 18 | |
| 2019–20 | UAE Pro League | — | — | — | 3[c] | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 65 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 12 | 26 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 118 | 48 | ||
| Benfica | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| Sharjah | 2019–20 | UAE Pro League | 26 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6[c] | 2 | — | 34 | 5 | |
| 2020–21 | UAE Pro League | 21 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5[c] | 1 | — | 31 | 8 | ||
| 2021–22 | UAE Pro League | 20 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 7[c] | 2 | 1[f] | 0 | 37 | 20 | |
| 2022–23 | UAE Pro League | 22 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 1[f] | 0 | 31 | 12 | ||
| 2023–24 | UAE Pro League | 22 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8[c] | 2 | 1[f] | 0 | 35 | 14 | |
| 2024–25 | UAE Pro League | 23 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 12[g] | 5 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 25 | |
| Total | 134 | 54 | 20 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 38 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 210 | 84 | ||
| Career total | 281 | 102 | 29 | 17 | 48 | 21 | 73 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 439 | 160 | ||
- ^ Includes Emperor's Cup, UAE President's Cup, Taça de Portugal
- ^ Includes J.League Cup, UAE League Cup, Taça da Liga
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Appearances in AFC Champions League
- ^ One appearance and one goal in UAE Super Cup, four appearances and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ a b c Appearance in UAE Super Cup
- ^ Appearances in AFC Champions League Two
International
[edit]- As of match played 18 December 2025[14]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | 2025 | 12 | 3 |
| Total | 12 | 3 | |
- As of match played 18 December 2025
- United Arab Emirates score listed first, score column indicates score after each Caio Lucas goal
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 October 2025 | Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar | 4 |  Oman | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 18 November 2025 | Basra International Stadium, Basra, Iraq | 7 |  Iraq | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 6 December 2025 | Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar | 9 |  Egypt | 1–1 | 2025 FIFA Arab Cup |
Honours
[edit]Kashima Antlers
Al Ain
Sharjah
- UAE President’s Cup: 2022–23
- AFC Champions League Two: 2024–25
Individual
- J.League Rookie of the Year: 2014
- FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball: 2018[15]
- AFC Champions League Two Most Valuable Player: 2024–25[16]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2018: List of Players: Al Ain FC" (PDF). FIFA. 6 December 2018. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2018.
- ^ "Caio Lucas". UAE Pro League. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ a b Rodrigues, Alexander (21 December 2018). "Araçatuba terá representante na Final do Mundial de Clubes deste sábado" [Araçatuba will have a representative in the Club World Cup final this Saturday]. Folha da Região (in Portuguese). Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- ^ Desiludido após dispensa do São Paulo, ele foi estudar no Japão e acabou virando sheik nos Emirados: 'Só não tenho harém'
- ^ "J-League Preview: 8 Players to Watch in the Campaign to Come". Tokyo Weekender. 6 March 2015. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ "Yasuhito Endo Pickedas 2014 J.LEAGUE Player of the Year December". J. League. 9 December 2014. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ "Reforço do Benfica despede-se do Al Ain" [Benfica signing says goodbye to Al Ain] (in Portuguese). 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ Rebelo, Marco (27 June 2019). "Bem-vindo, Caio Lucas!" [Welcome, Caio Lucas!]. S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- ^ "Sharjah signs Brazilian Caio Lucas Fernández from the Portuguese club Benfica on loan for 18 months". Twitter (in Arabic). 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Our squad for this month's World Cup 2026 Qualifiers against IR Iran and DPR Korea" (Tweet). Twitter.com. UAE NT. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ "Iran Dominates UAE 2-0 In World Cup Qualifier". The Pinnacle Gazette. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ "Sultan Adil returns to clinch UAE victory with stoppage-time goal against North Korea". The National News. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ Caio at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "Caio Lucas: Internationals". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
- ^ "Bale, Caio and Borre sweep awards". FIFA. 22 December 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Instagram".
External links
[edit]- Caio Lucas at ForaDeJogo (archived)
- Caio Lucas at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
- 1994 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Araçatuba
- Emirati men's footballers
- United Arab Emirates men's international footballers
- Brazilian men's footballers
- Brazilian expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in Japan
- Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates
- Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
- Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan
- Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates
- Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
- J1 League players
- Kashima Antlers players
- UAE Pro League players
- Al Ain FC players
- Sharjah FC players
- Primeira Liga players
- S.L. Benfica footballers
- Men's association football wingers
- Brazilian emigrants to the United Arab Emirates
- Naturalized citizens of the United Arab Emirates
- Sportspeople of Brazilian descent
- Naturalised association football players
- 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen
Caio Lucas playing for Benfica in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Caio Lucas Fernandes[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 April 1994[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sharjah | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2005 | América-SP | ||
| 2005–2009 | São Paulo | ||
| 2009–2011 | América-SP | ||
| 2011–2013 | Chiba Kokusai High School | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2016 | Kashima Antlers | 78 | (23) |
| 2016–2019 | Al Ain | 65 | (24) |
| 2019–2021 | Benfica | 4 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | → Sharjah (loan) | 27 | (8) |
| 2021– | Sharjah | 107 | (46) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2025– | United Arab Emirates | 12 | (3) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 December 2025 | |||
Caio Lucas Fernandes (born 19 April 1994), known as Caio Lucas or just Caio [ˈkajju], is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for UAE Pro League club Sharjah. Born in Brazil, he represents the United Arab Emirates at international level.
Club career
Born in Araçatuba, São Paulo,[3] Caio Lucas started playing football in 2002, aged 8, at local clubs SMER Bosque Araçatuba and América-SP. He then played for São Paulo's youth teams from 2005 to 2009 but could not become professional, so he left the club and unsuccessfully tried to join rivals Santos and Palmeiras before returning to América. In 2011, when he was prepared to give up on football, he was discovered by a Japanese university that was playing in Birigui, Brazil.[4] Almost aged 17, he moved to Japan that year to enroll in Chiba Kokusai High School in Kimitsu, where he played for three years.[3][5]
After his graduation, Caio Lucas joined the J1 League club, the Kashima Antlers in 2014. In his first professional season, under the coaching of Toninho Cerezo, Caio scored eight goals as Kashima Antlers qualified for the AFC Champions League. Moreover, he was named J. League's Young Player of the Year in 2014 and won the 2016 J1 League and 2015 J.League Cup.[6] In 2019, following a three-year spell with Emirati club Al Ain, with whom he reached the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Caio signed a four-year contract with Portuguese club Benfica.[7][8]
On 23 January 2020, Sharjah signed Caio Lucas from Benfica on loan for 18 months.[9]
International career
Born in Brazil, Caio Lucas became a naturalized Emirati and was called up to the United Arab Emirates national team for the first time by manager Paulo Bento in March 2025 for 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.[10] He made his debut for the UAE in a 2–0 loss to Iran on 20 March.[11][12]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 25 May 2025[13]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Kashima Antlers | 2014 | J1 League | 30 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 9 | ||
| 2015 | J1 League | 32 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6[c] | 0 | — | 42 | 12 | ||
| 2016 | J1 League | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 21 | 6 | |||
| Total | 78 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | 100 | 27 | |||
| Al Ain | 2016–17 | UAE Pro League | 24 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6[c] | 2 | — | 37 | 15 | |
| 2017–18 | UAE Pro League | 19 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 10[c] | 3 | — | 38 | 15 | ||
| 2018–19 | UAE Pro League | 22 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7[c] | 1 | 5[d] | 2 | 41 | 18 | |
| 2019–20 | UAE Pro League | — | — | — | 3[c] | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 65 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 12 | 26 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 118 | 48 | ||
| Benfica | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| Sharjah | 2019–20 | UAE Pro League | 26 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6[c] | 2 | — | 34 | 5 | |
| 2020–21 | UAE Pro League | 21 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5[c] | 1 | — | 31 | 8 | ||
| 2021–22 | UAE Pro League | 20 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 7[c] | 2 | 1[f] | 0 | 37 | 20 | |
| 2022–23 | UAE Pro League | 22 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 1[f] | 0 | 31 | 12 | ||
| 2023–24 | UAE Pro League | 22 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8[c] | 2 | 1[f] | 0 | 35 | 14 | |
| 2024–25 | UAE Pro League | 23 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 12[g] | 5 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 25 | |
| Total | 134 | 54 | 20 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 38 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 210 | 84 | ||
| Career total | 281 | 102 | 29 | 17 | 48 | 21 | 73 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 439 | 160 | ||
- ^ Includes Emperor's Cup, UAE President's Cup, Taça de Portugal
- ^ Includes J.League Cup, UAE League Cup, Taça da Liga
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Appearances in AFC Champions League
- ^ One appearance and one goal in UAE Super Cup, four appearances and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ a b c Appearance in UAE Super Cup
- ^ Appearances in AFC Champions League Two
International
- As of match played 18 December 2025[14]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | 2025 | 12 | 3 |
| Total | 12 | 3 | |
- As of match played 18 December 2025
- United Arab Emirates score listed first, score column indicates score after each Caio Lucas goal
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 October 2025 | Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar | 4 |  Oman | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 18 November 2025 | Basra International Stadium, Basra, Iraq | 7 |  Iraq | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 6 December 2025 | Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar | 9 |  Egypt | 1–1 | 2025 FIFA Arab Cup |
Honours
Kashima Antlers
Al Ain
Sharjah
- UAE President’s Cup: 2022–23
- AFC Champions League Two: 2024–25
Individual
- J.League Rookie of the Year: 2014
- FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball: 2018[15]
- AFC Champions League Two Most Valuable Player: 2024–25[16]
References
- ^ a b "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2018: List of Players: Al Ain FC" (PDF). FIFA. 6 December 2018. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2018.
- ^ "Caio Lucas". UAE Pro League. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ a b Rodrigues, Alexander (21 December 2018). "Araçatuba terá representante na Final do Mundial de Clubes deste sábado" [Araçatuba will have a representative in the Club World Cup final this Saturday]. Folha da Região (in Portuguese). Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- ^ Desiludido após dispensa do São Paulo, ele foi estudar no Japão e acabou virando sheik nos Emirados: 'Só não tenho harém'
- ^ "J-League Preview: 8 Players to Watch in the Campaign to Come". Tokyo Weekender. 6 March 2015. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ "Yasuhito Endo Pickedas 2014 J.LEAGUE Player of the Year December". J. League. 9 December 2014. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ "Reforço do Benfica despede-se do Al Ain" [Benfica signing says goodbye to Al Ain] (in Portuguese). 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ Rebelo, Marco (27 June 2019). "Bem-vindo, Caio Lucas!" [Welcome, Caio Lucas!]. S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- ^ "Sharjah signs Brazilian Caio Lucas Fernández from the Portuguese club Benfica on loan for 18 months". Twitter (in Arabic). 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Our squad for this month's World Cup 2026 Qualifiers against IR Iran and DPR Korea" (Tweet). Twitter.com. UAE NT. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ "Iran Dominates UAE 2-0 In World Cup Qualifier". The Pinnacle Gazette. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ "Sultan Adil returns to clinch UAE victory with stoppage-time goal against North Korea". The National News. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ Caio at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "Caio Lucas: Internationals". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
- ^ "Bale, Caio and Borre sweep awards". FIFA. 22 December 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Instagram".
External links
- Caio Lucas at ForaDeJogo (archived)
- Caio Lucas at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)