Wendel

Marcus Wendel Valle da Silva (born 28 August 1997), commonly known as Wendel, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg. He plays as a central midfielder, an attacking midfielder or a left midfielder.

Club career

Fluminense Wendel started his career at Tigres do Brasil's youth team, and then in 2015, he moved to Fluminense. He made his debut in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A on 14 May 2017, in a match against Santos. He scored his first goal in the league on 18 June 2017, in a match against Flamengo. In the 2017 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A season, Wendel played 33 matches and scored 5 goals.

Sporting CP Wendel signed a contract with Sporting Clube de Portugal in January 2018, valid until 2023, with a termination clause, with Fluminense receiving 10% of the money. Wendel initially had difficulty adapting to the tempo and tactics of European football which led to low playing time during the early campaign. However, after the appointment of Marcel Keizer as manager of the club, Wendel became a usual starter. In the beginning of December, Wendel suffered a left knee sprain which sidelined him for 2 months.

Zenit Saint Petersburg On 6 October 2020, Wendel joined Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg on a five-year contract. On 21 July 2022, Wendel extended his contract with Zenit until 2027. On 11 September 2022, Wendel scored the first hat-trick of his career in a 8–0 victory against FC Orenburg. In August 2024, he extended his contract with Zenit to June 2028.

On 20 January 2025, Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg announced the transfer of Luiz Henrique to Zenit, with Artur moving in the opposite direction, following by Wendel also moving to Botafogo at the end of the 2024–25 Russian season in June 2025.

However, the transfer was voided after the US Government imposed new economic sanctions over the Russian club's owners, as informed by Botafogo via press release on 21 May 2025.

On 1 November 2025, Wendel extended his contract with Zenit to June 2029.

Career statistics

Honours Sporting Primeira Liga: 2020–21 Taça de Portugal: 2018–19 Taça da Liga: 2018–19

Zenit Saint Petersburg Russian Premier League: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2025–26 Russian Cup: 2023–24 Russian Super Cup: 2021, 2022, 2024 , 2026

Individual Russian Premier League Team of the Season: 2022–23