Matheus Leite Nascimento: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Matheus Leite Nascimento is the Brazilian Dnipro player who collapsed after he suffered a head injury during the Europa League Final against Sevilla. You can watch the video of Matheus collapsing above. The shocking clip shows Matheus chatting with a team mate before he just falls over without obvious explanation.

Here’s what you need to know:


1. He Is Now Conscious & Has Been Rushed to a Local Hospital

Matheus Leite Nascimento

(Wikipedia)

Matheus suffered a class of heads with Benoît Trémoulinas just before he collapsed during Dnipro’s defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League Final. The video above also shows this class as the two contested a header around the 87th minute of the game. He is now conscious and has been rushed to a local hospital. As a result of Matheus’ injury, his team had to fight on with ten men for the last few minutes of the final. Their efforts were in vain as Sevilla retained the Europe League trophy.


2. He Joined Dnipro for 1 Million in 2011

He’s a 32-year-old striker from Ribeirópolis, Brazil, who has scored 27 goals for Dnipro since joining the team in 2011. Matheus’ transfer fee was 1 million Euros. During his time with the team, including in the Europa League final, Matheus was used as a right-winger as part of a three behind a designated striker.


3. He Wants to Play for Ukraine One Day

diego costa chelsea leicester

(Getty)

In March 2013, he controversially said he would play for Ukraine if asked. This is similar to what his countryman, Diego Costa, did in deciding to play for Spain, where he was a naturalized citizen, instead of his homeland, Brazil. Matheus’ case spoken about in the Russian media where it spoke disparagingly about Matheus, and players such as Luiz Adriano, who were deemed not good enough for Brazil so played for Ukraine.


4. He Once Celebrated a Goal Against Sevilla by Sucking on a Pacifier

He began his professional career with Braga in Portugal. Matheus’ record at Braga was poor, he scored only nine goals during his three years with the team. Arguably, his most famous moment for Braga was against Sevilla in 2010 when he scored in a Champions League game against them. He chose to celebrate by putting a pacifier in his mouth. During the team’s Champions League run that season, he also scored twice in a win over English giants Arsenal.


5. His Style of Play Has Been Compared to Jose Antonio Reyes

Sevilla's forward Jose Antonio Reyes. (Getty)

Sevilla’s forward Jose Antonio Reyes. (Getty)

The website Transfermarkt coincidentally compared him to Sevilla star Jose Antonio Reyes. The former Arsenal player played a key role early on in the Spanish team’s victory over Dnipro. In winning the Europa League, Sevilla will play in the Champions League next season.