Igor Julio dos Santos de Paulo

Igor Julio dos Santos de Paulo (born 7 February 1998), known as Igor Julio or simply Igor, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for club Burnley.

Club career Born in Bom Sucesso, Minas Gerais, Igor joined Red Bull Brasil's youth setup from Portuguesa Santista. In July 2016, after impressing with the under-20 side, he moved abroad and joined Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg, being initially assigned to the reserve team.

Igor made his professional debut for Liefering on 22 July 2016, starting in a 1–0 Austrian First League home win against SV Horn. After being a regular starter, he made his first team debut the following 28 May, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home defeat of SC Rheindorf Altach.

Igor was promoted to Red Bull Salzburg's main squad on 26 May 2017, but continued to appear mainly with the B-team. On 7 January 2018, he was loaned to fellow top-tier club Wolfsberger AC, until June.

On 2 July 2018, Igor moved to Austria Wien also in the first division, on a season-long loan deal.

On 26 June 2019, Igor signed with Italian Serie A club SPAL a contract until 2023.

On 31 January 2020, Igor joined Fiorentina on a two-year loan with an obligation to buy. In June 2023, he came on as an 84th-minute substitute for Luca Ranieri in the Fiorentina team which finished runner-up in the 2022–23 Europa Conference League, losing 2–1 to West Ham United in the final.

On 26 July 2023, Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion announced the signing of Igor on a four-year deal, for a reported fee of €17 million. Igor made his Brighton debut on 8 October 2023, playing sixty-three minutes in a 2–2 home draw against Liverpool in the Premier League.

On 1 September 2025, Igor joined fellow Premier League club West Ham United on a season-long loan. However, on 27 January 2026, the loan was cut short and he return to Brighton, having made just four appearances for the London club.

On 1 September 2026, Igor moved to recently relegated EFL Championship club Burnley for an undisclosed fee on a permanent deal.

Career statistics

Honours Fiorentina Coppa Italia runner-up: 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League runner-up: 2022–23