Matheus Cunha, born in João Pessoa, Brazil in 1999, joined Manchester United from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2025 for a reported £62.5 million. He scored in United’s 4-0 win over Sabah on matchday 1 of this season’s Champions League.
Matheus Santos Carneiro da Cunha was born on 27 May 1999 in João Pessoa, Brazil. He originally played futsal for a club in Recife before switching to football and played youth football for Coritiba. At 18, he moved to Europe in July 2017 to join Swiss club Sion after impressing scouts at the Dallas Cup youth tournament, and in May 2018 scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Thun.
On 24 June 2018 he joined RB Leipzig on a five-year deal and scored his maiden Bundesliga goal against Hertha BSC in November 2018, a 3-0 win. A goal against Bayer Leverkusen in April 2019 won the Bundesliga Goal of the Month and was nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award, and he scored six goals in the 2018-19 Europa League. After mostly substitute appearances, he moved to Hertha BSC in January 2020.
In August 2021 he joined Atlético Madrid on a five-year deal for an estimated €30 million and scored his first goal against Levante, in a 2-2 draw. On 1 January 2023 he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan, with the move becoming permanent in the summer. He scored his first Wolves hat-trick on 4 February 2024 in a 4-2 win at Chelsea, becoming only the fourth opposition player to score a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, and scored 14 goals that season. In 2024-25 he scored 15 league goals, a personal best, and was Wolves’ highest scorer.
On 1 June 2025 Manchester United announced an agreement with Wolves and the transfer was completed on 12 June for a reported £62.5 million. He made his debut on 17 August in a 1-0 loss to Arsenal, scored his first goal for the club on 25 October in a 4-2 win over Brighton, a low shot from outside the box, and on 25 January 2026 scored the winning goal in a 3-2 win at Arsenal, United’s first league win at the Emirates since December 2017.
For Brazil he was top scorer of the 2019 Toulon Tournament, which Brazil won, and the 2020 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament, and was named in the squad for the Tokyo Olympics, where he scored three goals in five appearances and won a gold medal. He made his senior debut on 2 September 2021 in a 1-0 win away to Chile, scored his first goal on 25 March 2025 in a 4-1 defeat at Argentina, and represented Brazil at the 2026 World Cup.
On matchday 1 this season he was among the scorers in United’s 4-0 win over Sabah, with Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Šeško and Lisandro Martínez. On Tuesday, however, United lost 2-0 at Atlético Madrid, the club that Cunha himself once played for, and Leny Yoro was sent off. The forward, who has played for clubs in Switzerland, Germany, Spain and England, now faces the task of helping United end a winless run.
Image: Matheus Cunha playing for Brazil in June 2026 (file photo). Photo: Bryan Berlin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
