*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:08, 23 March 2022 (UTC)
Leonai Souza de Almeida (born 28 April 1995), simply known as Leonai, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ecuadorian club Barcelona SC.
Club career
Early career
Born in Pontal, São Paulo, Leonai played for Olé Brasil as a youth,[1] and made his senior debut with Jaboticabal in 2016, playing for the side in a non-official tournament called Taça Paulista [pt].[2] He was announced by Sete de Dourados in January 2017,[3] but spent only 40 days at the club before leaving.[2] During that period, he also worked as a stock boy in a supermarket and as an assistant in a chemical laboratory.[4]
On 17 October 2018, after helping Comercial in their promotion to the Campeonato Paulista Série A3, Leonai renewed his contract until 2020.[7] He scored his first goal for the club the following 6 April, netting the winner in a 1–0 success over Desportivo Brasil.[8]
Plaza Colonia
On 6 November 2019, Comercial confirmed the transfer of Leonai to Uruguayan club Plaza Colonia.[9] He made his professional – and Primera División – debut on 7 March 2020, coming on as a second-half substitute for Leandro Suhr in a 1–1 home draw against Fénix.
Leonai became a regular starter for the Patas Blancas, and scored his first professional goal on 28 June 2021, netting the opener in a 1–1 home draw against Cerro Largo.[10] At the end of that season, he was chosen as the best foreign player of the tournament by Referí, the football section of newspaper El Observador.[11]
Loan to Barcelona SC
On 10 January 2022, Ecuadorian Serie A side Barcelona SC announced that Leonai had joined the club on a one-year loan deal, with a buyout clause.[12]
^"CAT ANUNCIA NOVAS CONTRATAÇÕES" [CAT ANNOUNCE NEW SIGNINGS]. Clube Atlético Taquaritinga (in Brazilian Portuguese). Facebook. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
^"Leonai Renova Com Comercial Até 2020" [Leonai renews with Comercial until 2020] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ImprensaLivre.top. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2022.