Brazil’s Serie A is filled with players who previously tried their luck in the Premier League.
Footballers have started returning home earlier in recent years. Going back 10-15 years, players used to play their whole peak in Europe and only then would think about returning to boyhood clubs and whatnot. However, things are different nowadays – and the 2026 Brazilian Serie A is proof of that.
Here are six former Premier League players that have gone back to Brazil and are lighting the Serie A on fire.
Lucas Paqueta (Flamengo)
Lucas Paqueta spent four years at West Ham United — and it could have been less had a failed transfer to Manchester City gone through back in 2023. Instead, he remained at London Stadium and then went back to boyhood club Flamengo in January 2026, at 28 years of age. At £36.5 million, this became the most expensive transfer in Brazilian football history.
But Paqueta has made sure to make it up on the pitch – especially as of late. He endured a tough first few months after rejoining, but found form just in time for the World Cup. Since then, often times as a holding midfielder, he has fuelled Flamengo’s surge to the top of the league.
They went to the World Cup four points behind leaders Palmeiras but now find themselves three points ahead of them. In addition to scoring five goals, Paqueta is averaging 1.9 tackles per game while getting dribbled past just 0.2 times per match.
Danilo (Botafogo)
The former Nottingham Forest midfielder has arguably been the best player in the Brazilian Serie A, considering the whole season.
This is already the best goalscoring year of his career, that also saw him get a call-up from Carlo Ancelotti to the World Cup. That is despite a poor run of performances that featured a managerial change, a nine-game goal drought and a failed move back to Palmeiras due to a financial crisis at Botafogo.
Danilo has scored nine goals from just 2.5 Expected Goals, which represents the best overperformance of the metric in the league (+6.5). The two assists don’t tell the whole story, since he has created seven big chances so far.
Botafogo are currently 12th in the table – and things could be a lot scarier if it wasn’t for Danilo’s goals and performances.
Jhon Arias (Palmeiras)
Jhon Arias might have had the worst Premier League career of the bunch, but he is a bonafide Brazilian Serie A star.
The Colombian is one of Palmeiras’ main creative sparks in what is one of just three teams still alive in the three main competitions (Serie A, Libertadores, Brazilian Cup). Atletico Mineiro and Vasco are also competing in three different tournaments, but they are both in the Sudamericana, which is the Europa League of South America.
Arias doesn’t have stellar numbers in what has been a poor and uninspiring attacking season for Palmeiras. They are heavily reliant on long balls and set pieces, leaving little room for intricate combinations. It’s four goals and three assists in 22 appearances for him, but great work-rate and skill.
Matheus Pereira (Cruzeiro)
Matheus Pereira graced the Championship with his skills and class — and handled the leap to the Premier League with elegance. After a couple of years in the Middle East, he decided to join the team he supported growing up: Cruzeiro.
It took him a while to get acquainted with Brazilian football, but he is now one of the best players in the country. The 30-year-old leads the Serie A in chances created (78) by a wide margin – 17 more than any other player.
He is also enjoying the second best goalscoring league season of his career (nine goals so far). Ironically, the 2020/21 Premier League was the only campaign in which he scored more (11).
Despite all this, he has faced heavy – and somewhat valid – criticism for not showing up in big games. It’s just one goal and 5 assists in 32 knock-out matches across all competitions since joining Cruzeiro in 2023. But in the league, they would be nowhere near sixth after a winless start in seven matches if it wasn’t for his contributions.
Jorginho (Flamengo)
Flamengo’s midfield is by far the best in the continent. Not only do they have Lucas Paqueta and Jorginho, but also the likes of Giorgian de Arrascaeta, Erick Pulgar, Saul Niguez and Jorge Carrascal.
Lucas Paqueta has added a lot of energy and mobility to what was already a great pairing between Jorginho and Pulgar. The Italo-Brazilian is one of the best distributors of the ball and keeps the Flamengo engine running at all times.
He leads all midfielders in touches in the Brazilian Serie A, with 1,741. Bahia’s Nicolas Acevedo has over 2,000 but played a big chunk of his minutes at right-back. Additionally, he holds the record for most accurate passes in a single game this season (120).
Jorginho’s 92% passing accuracy rate is the second highest in the division, behind only his centre-back teammate, Leo Pereira (94%).
Andreas Pereira (Palmeiras)
Andreas Pereira, formerly of Manchester United and Fulham, started the season incredibly well for Palmeiras.
He is still the second in assists, with 10, behind only Josue’s Coritiba (formerly of Porto), with 11. However, eight of those came in his first nine appearances – a league record that early into a single campaign. Just two in his last 18 appearances, which reminds us a lot of the Mesut Ozil 2015/16 season for Arsenal.
Pereira does most of his damage from crosses, being the fine ball striker that he is. He has taken 110 corners so far — at least 28 more than any other player. The 30-year-old ranks first in assists from crosses (six) and first in chances created from crosses in open play (eight). But he is still second in chances created overall (60).
In a way, Andreas Pereira perfectly encapsulates Palmeiras’ style of attacks. Nothing spectacular or fancy in terms of dissecating the opposition defence or breaking lines through the middle. Just unlimited passing range and pin-point accuracy with dangerous crosses.