{{short description|Emirati footballer (born 1994)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}} {{Portuguese name|Lucas|Fernandes}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Caio Lucas | image = Caio Benfica-Zenit UCL201920.jpg | caption = Caio Lucas playing for [[S.L. Benfica|Benfica]] in 2019 | full_name = Caio Lucas Fernandes<ref name="FCWC 2018">{{cite web |title=FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2018: List of Players: Al Ain FC |url=https://tournament.fifadata.com/documents/FCWC/2018/pdf/FCWC_2018_SQUADLISTS.PDF |publisher=FIFA |page=1 |date=6 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206234932/https://tournament.fifadata.com/documents/FCWC/2018/pdf/FCWC_2018_SQUADLISTS.PDF |archive-date=6 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|4|19|df=y}}<ref name="FCWC 2018"/> | birth_place = [[Araçatuba]], [[São Paulo (state)|São Paulo]], Brazil | height = 1.74 m<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uaeproleague.ae/en/player/caio-lucas-fernandes/adnoc-pro-league-2 |title=Caio Lucas |publisher=UAE Pro League |access-date=10 July 2023 }}</ref> | currentclub = [[Sharjah FC|Sharjah]] | clubnumber = 7 | position = [[Midfielder#Winger|Winger]] | youthyears1 = 2002–2005 | youthclubs1 = [[América Futebol Clube (SP)|América-SP]] | youthyears2 = 2005–2009 | youthclubs2 = [[São Paulo FC|São Paulo]] | youthyears3 = 2009–2011 | youthclubs3 = [[América Futebol Clube (SP)|América-SP]] | youthyears4 = 2011–2013 | youthclubs4 = Chiba Kokusai High School | years1 = 2014–2016 | clubs1 = [[Kashima Antlers]] | caps1 = 78 | goals1 = 23 | years2 = 2016–2019 | clubs2 = [[Al Ain FC|Al Ain]] | caps2 = 65 | goals2 = 24 | years3 = 2019–2021 | clubs3 = [[S.L. Benfica|Benfica]] | caps3 = 4 | goals3 = 1 | years4 = 2020–2021 | clubs4 = → [[Sharjah FC|Sharjah]] (loan) | caps4 = 27 | goals4 = 8 | years5 = 2021– | clubs5 = [[Sharjah FC|Sharjah]] | caps5 = 107 | goals5 = 46 | nationalyears1 = 2025– | nationalteam1 = [[United Arab Emirates national football team|United Arab Emirates]] | nationalcaps1 = 12 | nationalgoals1 = 3 | club-update = 25 May 2025 | nationalteam-update = 18 December 2025 }} '''Caio Lucas Fernandes''' (born 19 April 1994), known as '''Caio Lucas''' or just '''Caio''' {{IPA|pt|ˈkajju|}}, is a professional [[Association football|footballer]] who plays as a [[Midfielder#Winger|winger]] for [[UAE Pro League]] club [[Sharjah FC|Sharjah]]. Born in Brazil, he represents the [[United Arab Emirates national football team|United Arab Emirates]] at international level.
==Club career== Born in [[Araçatuba]], [[São Paulo (state)|São Paulo]],<ref name="folha">{{cite news|last=Rodrigues|first=Alexander|date=21 December 2018|title=Araçatuba terá representante na Final do Mundial de Clubes deste sábado|trans-title=Araçatuba will have a representative in the Club World Cup final this Saturday|url=http://www.folhadaregiao.com.br/2018/12/22/aracatuba-tera-representante-na-final-do-mundial-de-clubes-deste-sabado|language=pt|work=Folha da Região|access-date=27 June 2019}}</ref> Caio Lucas started playing football in 2002, aged 8, at local clubs SMER Bosque Araçatuba and [[América Futebol Clube (SP)|América-SP]]. He then played for [[São Paulo FC|São Paulo]]'s youth teams from 2005 to 2009 but could not become professional, so he left the club and unsuccessfully tried to join rivals [[Santos FC|Santos]] and [[SE Palmeiras|Palmeiras]] before returning to América. In 2011, when he was prepared to give up on football, he was discovered by a Japanese university that was playing in [[Birigui]], Brazil.<ref>[http://espn.uol.com.br/noticia/682641_desiludido-apos-dispensa-do-sao-paulo-ele-foi-estudar-no-japao-e-acabou-virando-sheik-nos-emirados-so-nao-tenho-harem Desiludido após dispensa do São Paulo, ele foi estudar no Japão e acabou virando sheik nos Emirados: 'Só não tenho harém']</ref> Almost aged 17, he moved to Japan that year to enroll in Chiba Kokusai High School in [[Kimitsu]], where he played for three years.<ref name="folha"/><ref>{{cite news|title=J-League Preview: 8 Players to Watch in the Campaign to Come|url=https://www.tokyoweekender.com/2015/03/j-league-preview-8-players-to-watch-in-the-campaign-to-come/|work=Tokyo Weekender|date=6 March 2015|access-date=8 June 2015|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618125705/https://www.tokyoweekender.com/2015/03/j-league-preview-8-players-to-watch-in-the-campaign-to-come/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
After his [[graduation]], Caio Lucas joined the [[J1 League]] club, the [[Kashima Antlers]] in 2014. In his first professional season, under the coaching of [[Toninho Cerezo]], Caio scored eight goals as Kashima Antlers qualified for the [[2015 AFC Champions League|AFC Champions League]]. Moreover, he was named [[J. League Rookie of the Year|J. League's Young Player of the Year]] in 2014 and won the [[2016 J1 League]] and [[2015 J.League Cup]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Yasuhito Endo Pickedas 2014 J.LEAGUE Player of the Year December|url=http://www.jleague.jp/en/news/20141209-01.html|work=J. League|date=9 December 2014|access-date=8 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204080749/http://www.jleague.jp/en/news/20141209-01.html|archive-date=4 February 2015}}</ref> In 2019, following a three-year spell with Emirati club [[Al Ain FC|Al Ain]], with whom he reached the [[2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final]], Caio signed a four-year contract with Portuguese club [[S.L. Benfica|Benfica]].<ref>{{cite news|date=27 May 2019|title=Reforço do Benfica despede-se do Al Ain|trans-title=Benfica signing says goodbye to Al Ain|url=https://www.abola.pt/Clubes/Noticias/Ver/790224/40|language=pt|access-date=27 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Rebelo|first=Marco|date=27 June 2019|title=Bem-vindo, Caio Lucas!|trans-title=Welcome, Caio Lucas!|url=https://www.slbenfica.pt/en-us/agora/noticias/2018-2019/06/27/futebol-benfica-caio-lucas-declaracoes-btv-reforco|language=pt|work=S.L. Benfica|access-date=27 June 2019}}</ref>
On 23 January 2020, [[Sharjah FC|Sharjah]] signed Caio Lucas from [[S.L. Benfica|Benfica]] on loan for 18 months.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sharjah signs Brazilian Caio Lucas Fernández from the Portuguese club Benfica on loan for 18 months |url=https://twitter.com/SharjahFC/status/1220345463959904256 |website=Twitter |language=ar |date=23 January 2020}}</ref>
==International career== Born in Brazil, Caio Lucas became a naturalized Emirati and was called up to the [[United Arab Emirates national football team|United Arab Emirates national team]] for the first time by manager [[Paulo Bento]] in March 2025 for [[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Our squad for this month's World Cup 2026 Qualifiers against IR Iran and DPR Korea |url=https://x.com/UAEFNT/status/1897269853469466835 |website=Twitter.com |publisher=UAE NT |access-date=5 March 2025 |format=Tweet}}</ref> He made his debut for the UAE in a 2–0 loss to [[Iran national football team|Iran]] on 20 March.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://evrimagaci.org/tpg/iran-dominates-uae-20-in-world-cup-qualifier-276630|title=Iran Dominates UAE 2-0 In World Cup Qualifier|website=The Pinnacle Gazette|date=20 March 2025|accessdate=4 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/2025/03/25/sultan-adil-returns-to-clinch-uae-victory-with-stoppage-time-goal-against-north-korea/|title=Sultan Adil returns to clinch UAE victory with stoppage-time goal against North Korea|website=The National News|date=25 March 2025|accessdate=2 April 2025}}</ref>
==Career statistics== ===Club=== {{updated|match played 25 May 2025}}<ref>{{Soccerway|name=Caio|accessdate=10 December 2018}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition |- !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|National cup{{efn|Includes [[Emperor's Cup]], [[UAE President's Cup]], [[Taça de Portugal]]}} !colspan="2"|League cup{{efn|Includes [[J.League Cup]], [[UAE League Cup]], [[Taça da Liga]]}} !colspan="2"|Continental !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="4"|[[Kashima Antlers]] |[[2014 Kashima Antlers season|2014]] |[[J1 League]] |30||8||1||1||6||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||37||9 |- |[[2015 Kashima Antlers season|2015]] |J1 League |32||10||0||0||4||2||6{{efn|name=ACL|Appearances in [[AFC Champions League]]}}||0||colspan="2"|—||42||12 |- |[[2016 Kashima Antlers season|2016]] |J1 League |16||5||0||0||5||1||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||21||6 |- !colspan="2"|Total !78!!23!!1!!1!!15!!3!!6!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!100!!27 |- |rowspan="5"|[[Al Ain FC|Al Ain]] |[[2016–17 UAE Pro League|2016–17]] |[[UAE Pro League]] |24||12||2||0||5||1||6{{efn|name=ACL}}||2||colspan="2"|—||37||15 |- |[[2017–18 UAE Pro League|2017–18]] |UAE Pro League |19||5||3||3||5||4||10{{efn|name=ACL}}||3||colspan="2"|—||38||15 |- |[[2018–19 UAE Pro League|2018–19]] |UAE Pro League |22||7||1||1||6||7||7{{efn|name=ACL}}||1||5{{efn|One appearance and one goal in [[UAE Super Cup]], four appearances and one goal in [[FIFA Club World Cup]]}}||2||41||18 |- |[[2019–20 UAE Pro League|2019–20]] |UAE Pro League |colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||3{{efn|name=ACL}}||0||colspan="2"|—||3||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !65!!24!!6!!4!!16!!12!!26!!6!!5!!2!!118!!48 |- |[[S.L. Benfica|Benfica]] |[[2019–20 S.L. Benfica season|2019–20]] |[[Primeira Liga]] |4||1||2||0||2||0||3{{efn|name=UCL|Appearances in [[UEFA Champions League]]}}||0||0||0||11||1 |- |rowspan="7"|[[Sharjah FC|Sharjah]] |[[2019–20 UAE Pro League|2019–20]] |UAE Pro League |26||2||2||1||0||0||6{{efn|name=ACL}}||2||colspan="2"|—||34||5 |- |[[2020–21 UAE Pro League|2020–21]] |UAE Pro League |21||6||3||1||2||0||5{{efn|name=ACL}}||1||colspan="2"|—||31||8 |- |[[2021–22 UAE Pro League|2021–22]] |UAE Pro League |20||14||5||3||4||1||7{{efn|name=ACL}}||2||1{{efn|name=USC|Appearance in UAE Super Cup}}||0||37||20 |- |[[2022–23 UAE Pro League|2022–23]] |UAE Pro League |22||9||4||2||4||1||colspan="2"|—||1{{efn|name=USC}}||0||31||12 |- |[[2023–24 UAE Pro League|2023–24]] |UAE Pro League |22||11||2||1||2||0||8{{efn|name=ACL}}||2||1{{efn|name=USC}}||0||35||14 |- |[[2024–25 UAE Pro League|2024–25]] |UAE Pro League |23||12||4||4||3||4||12{{efn|Appearances in [[AFC Champions League Two]]}}||5||0||0||42||25 |- !colspan="2"|Total !134!!54!!20!!12!!15!!6!!38!!12!!3!!0!!210!!84 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !281!!102!!29!!17!!48!!21!!73!!18!!8!!2!!439!!160 |}
{{notelist}}
===International=== {{updated|match played 18 December 2025}}<ref name="wfnat">{{cite web |url=https://www.worldfootball.net/person/pe347989/caio-lucas/international-matches/ |title=Caio Lucas: Internationals |website=worldfootball.net |publisher=HEIM:SPIEL |date=<!-- citation bot adds wrong date --> |access-date=6 December 2025}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Appearances and goals by national team and year |- !National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="1"|[[United Arab Emirates national football team|United Arab Emirates]] |2025||12||3 |- !colspan="2"|Total||12||3 |}
{{updated|match played 18 December 2025}} :''United Arab Emirates score listed first, score column indicates score after each Caio Lucas goal''
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ List of international goals scored by Caio Lucas |- !scope="col"|No. !scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Venue !scope="col"|Cap !scope="col"|Opponent !scope="col"|Score !scope="col"|Result !scope="col"|Competition |- |style="text-align: center;"|1||11 October 2025||[[Jassim bin Hamad Stadium]], [[Al Rayyan]], [[Qatar]]||style="text-align: center;"|4||{{fb|OMN}}||style="text-align: center;"|'''2'''–1||style="text-align: center;"|2–1||[[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fourth round|2026 FIFA World Cup qualification]] |- |style="text-align: center;"|2||18 November 2025||[[Basra International Stadium]], [[Basra]], [[Iraq]]||style="text-align: center;"|7||{{fb|IRQ}}||rowspan=2 style="text-align: center;"|'''1'''–0||style="text-align: center;"|1–2||[[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fifth round|2026 FIFA World Cup qualification]] |- |style="text-align: center;"|3||6 December 2025||[[Lusail Stadium]], [[Lusail]], Qatar||style="text-align: center;"|9||{{fb|EGY}}||style="text-align: center;"|1–1||[[2025 FIFA Arab Cup Group C|2025 FIFA Arab Cup]] |}
==Honours== '''Kashima Antlers''' *[[J1 League]]: [[2016 J1 League|2016]] *[[J.League Cup]]: [[2015 J.League Cup|2015]]
'''Al Ain''' *[[UAE Pro-League|UAE Pro League]]: [[2017–18 UAE Pro-League|2017–18]] *[[UAE President's Cup]]: [[2017–18 UAE President's Cup|2017–18]] *[[FIFA Club World Cup]] runner-up: [[2018 FIFA Club World Cup|2018]]
'''Sharjah ''' *[[UAE President's Cup]]: [[2021–22 UAE President's Cup|2021–22]], [[2022–23 UAE President's Cup|2022–23]] *[[UAE League Cup]]: [[2022–23 UAE League Cup|2022–23]] *[[UAE Super Cup]]: [[2022 UAE Super Cup|2022]], [[2025 UAE Super Cup|2025]] *[[AFC Champions League Two]]: [[2024–25 AFC Champions League Two|2024–25]] *[[Qatar-UAE Super Cup]]: [[2026 Qatar-UAE Super Cup|2026]]
'''Individual''' *[[J.League Rookie of the Year]]: [[2014 J.League Division 1#Awards|2014]] *[[FIFA Club World Cup awards#Golden Ball|FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball]]: [[2018 FIFA Club World Cup#Awards|2018]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/clubworldcup/news/bale-caio-and-borre-sweep-awards|title=Bale, Caio and Borre sweep awards|website=FIFA|date=22 December 2018|access-date=11 January 2019}}</ref> *[[AFC Champions League Two]] Most Valuable Player: [[2024–25 AFC Champions League Two|2024–25]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DJzIKONT1Ab/?igsh=MXJ3cjc5dWtydG1lYQ==| title=Instagram }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{ForaDeJogo|199404190009|name=Caio Lucas}} *{{J.League player|name=Caio Lucas}}
{{Sharjah FC squad}} {{Navboxes | title = Awards | bg = gold | fg = navy | list = {{J.League Rookie of the Year}} {{UAE League Cup top scorers}} {{UAE President's Cup top scorers}} }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caio Lucas}} [[Category:1994 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Footballers from Araçatuba]] [[Category:Emirati men's footballers]] [[Category:United Arab Emirates men's international footballers]] [[Category:Brazilian men's footballers]] [[Category:Brazilian expatriate men's footballers]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Japan]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal]] [[Category:Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan]] [[Category:Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates]] [[Category:Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal]] [[Category:J1 League players]] [[Category:Kashima Antlers players]] [[Category:UAE Pro League players]] [[Category:Al Ain FC players]] [[Category:Sharjah FC players]] [[Category:Primeira Liga players]] [[Category:S.L. Benfica footballers]] [[Category:Men's association football wingers]] [[Category:Brazilian emigrants to the United Arab Emirates]] [[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United Arab Emirates]] [[Category:Sportspeople of Brazilian descent]] [[Category:Naturalised association football players]] [[Category:21st-century Brazilian sportsmen]]