The Brazilian players to represent RB Leipzig

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RB Leipzig

·26 mai 2025

The Brazilian players to represent RB Leipzig

Whether it’s skill, speed, or pure joy of the game – Brazil stands for football with a special flair. And at RB Leipzig, five players from the land of the record World Cup winners have left their mark. Just in time for the start of our Brazil tour, we’re taking a look back at their time in RBL colours.

Matheus Cunha

One Brazilian known for his excellent play in the final third is Matheus Santos Carneiro da Cunha. In his 52 games for RB Leipzig, the dazzling attacker scored nine goals and set up a further three.The most memorable moment of his spell at Leipzig was his magical goal in Leverkusen. Cunha left Leipzig to join Hertha BSC, before earning a move to Atletico Madrid and then to the Premier League. The 25-year-old currently plays for Wolverhampton Wanderers and has also represented the Seleção too.

Thiago Rockenbach da Silva

"Rocky" was the first ever Brazilian to play for RB Leipzig. He was also the club's first proper 'number 10'. Having joined in the winter of 2011 from Fortuna Düsseldorf, he quickly took over responsibility and was the team's playmaker in the club's early days.Thiago Rockenbach has played the most competitive games of any Brazilian for RB Leipzig (85). The highlight of his time here was winning the fourth division in 2012/13 and earning promotion to the 3. Liga. He joined Hertha BSC's reserves after his time at RBL and ended his career playing amateur football in the capital.

Rodnei

Rodnei Francisco de Lima was a powerful and physical centre-back that joined the Red Bulls after spells with Hertha BSC, Kaiserslautern and Salzburg.Rodnei played seven games and scored one goal (against Fortuna Düsseldorf in BL2) for RBL. He left the club to sign for TSV 1860 Munich after just six months. The Brazilian's last club was SV Anthering, a fifth-division Austrian side. He ended his playing career there in summer 2022.

Bernardo

Bernardo Fernandes da Silva Junior, born in São Paulo, arrived at Cottaweg in summer 2016. Like Rodnei, he played at the back for the Red Bulls.Bernardo played 49 games in all competitions (1 goal) for the club, prior to joining Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League in 2018. After a spell with Red Bull Salzburg, the defender returned to the Bundesliga in 2023 to play for VfL Bochum. His contract will expire this summer after their relegation.Good to know: His father, who shares the same name, played for the Brazilian national team and was at FC Bayern in 1991.

Luan Candido

Luan Candido de Almeida is perhaps not a name that every RBL fan will remember. He arrived in Leipzig in summer 2019 aged 18 from Palmeiras, but only went on to play three games for our U19s in the UEFA Youth League, never appearing for our first team.The full-back returned to Brazil shortly afterwards to join Red Bull Bragantino, where he remained for five years. The 24-year-old now plays for Grêmio.

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