*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:19, 23 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:11, 20 June 2023 (UTC)
Telles started his career at Brazilian
Série D side
Juventude, before being sold to
Série A side
Grêmio in 2013. That year, he was voted the best left-back in the league.[3] In January 2014, Telles signed with Turkish
Süper Lig club
Galatasaray, winning various trophies including a league title, two
Turkish Cups and the
Turkish Super Cup, only to be loaned to
Serie A team
Inter Milan during the 2015–16 season.
In July 2016, Telles was sold to
Primeira Liga side
FC Porto, where he established himself as one of the best left-backs in the league. He made almost 200 appearances for Porto and won four trophies, including two league titles, one
Taça de Portugal and one
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, as well as being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year for three consecutive seasons. Telles' performances sparked the interest of several European clubs, and in October 2020, he signed for
Manchester United for an initial €18 million (£15.4 million).
Born in Brazil, Telles also holds
Italian citizenship, but ended up representing
Brazil at international level. He made his senior international debut in 2019.
Club career
Juventude and Grêmio
Telles was born in
Caxias do Sul, a city in the Brazilian state of
Rio Grande do Sul. At the age of eight, he began playing football with the neighbouring kids and was later enrolled to a youth academy of
Esporte Clube Juventude.
Telles began his professional career with Juventude, making his debut on 24 January 2011 against
São José-PA.[4] He scored his first goal on 20 August in a 1–1 home draw against
Cruzeiro.[5]
In December, Telles was transferred to
Grêmio after a partnership was established with Juventude.[6] He made his Grêmio debut on 3 February 2013 against
Internacional.[7] On 26 May, Telles made his
Série A debut, starting in a 2–0 home win against
Náutico.[8]
On 22 January 2014, after long negotiations, Telles completed a move to Turkish club
Galatasaray for €6 million, signing a contract that will keep him with the club until 2018.[9] He made his debut two weeks later, starting in a 3–0 win against
Tokatspor for
the campaign's
Turkish Cup, and made his maiden
Süper Lig debut in a 3–0 home victory against
Eskişehirspor on 8 February 2014.[10] Telles made his first assist for the club against
Antalyaspor in a 2–2 away game on 17 February.[11] He also scored his first goal for Galatasaray against
Akhisar Belediyespor on 8 March in a 6–1 home win.[12]
In August 2015, there were rumours[where?] mentioning Telles as a good choice to fill the place made by the departure of left-back
Filipe Luís at
Chelsea. In response to the rumour, Galatasaray manager
Hamza Hamzaoğlu said the club would only be tempted by an acceptable offer.[citation needed]
Loan to Inter Milan
On 31 August 2015, Galatasaray agreed to let Telles join Italian club
Internazionale of
Serie A on a one-year loan for a €1.3 million fee, in addition to €250,000 if Inter qualify for the group stage of the
2016–17 UEFA Champions League.[13] The deal included a buyout option for €8.5 million,[13] letting Internazionale make the move permanent when the loan deal is finished.[14] Telles reunited with Internazionale manager
Roberto Mancini in Italy, who previously coached him at Galatasaray.[15]
He made his debut for the club on 13 September in the
2015–16 Serie A matchday 3 against city rivals
Milan, playing the entirety of the match as Inter won 1–0.[16]
On 12 July 2016, Portuguese side
FC Porto announced the signing of Telles for a €6.5 million fee. According to a Galatasaray press release, the
Istanbul club reserved a further 10% of any added value in a future transfer deal.[17] The following day, after signing a five-year contract, he stated: "I ambition titles, I ambition a very beautiful story. I have recently commented with my relatives that I do not want to come here in passing, I want to leave a legacy."[18] On 12 August, in a 3–1 away win against
Rio Ave, he marked his league debut and first competitive match with a poor performance and subsequent expulsion.[19] Despite the rough start, Telles gradually cemented himself in the team's starting eleven, scoring his first goal when facing rivals
Boavista in a 3–1 home victory at
Estádio do Dragão.[20]
Manchester United
On 5 October 2020,
Manchester United had agreed a deal in principle to sign Telles for a fee believed to be £15.4 million.[21] The transfer was completed and Telles was announced as a United player that day.[22][23][24] He made his debut playing as a left wing-back on 20 October in a 2–1 win over
Paris Saint-Germain in the
UEFA Champions League group stage.[25] On 29 September 2021, Telles scored his first goal for Manchester United with a left-footed volley from outside the penalty area in a 2–1 home win against
Villarreal CF in the
2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage.[26]
Loan to Sevilla
On 4 August 2022, Telles was loaned to
La Liga club
Sevilla until the end of the 2022–23 season.[27][28]
Al Nassr
On 23 July 2023, Telles signed for Saudi club
Al Nassr on a permanent deal.[29]
International career
Although he was born in Brazil, Telles also has an Italian passport,[30] making him in the past eligible to represent
Italy national team.[30] In October 2016, Telles said that he would "welcome" a call-up from the "Azzurri", adding that his great-grandparents are Italian and he feels Italian.[31] In March 2019, however, he received his first call-up to the
Brazil national team.[32] He made his debut for Brazil on 23 March 2019 in a friendly against
Panama, as a starter.[33]
^"FC Porto é o campeão nacional 2019/2020" [FC Porto is the 2019/2020 national champion] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
^"Jonas e Chiquinho, os melhores de janeiro" [Jonas and Chiquinho, the best of January] (in Portuguese). Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
^"Jonas e Vinícius, os melhores de fevereiro" [Jonas and Vinícius, the best of February] (in Portuguese). Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
^"FC Porto lidera Onze do Ano" [FC Porto leads Starting Eleven of the Year] (in Portuguese). Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.