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Junior Messias

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In thisPortuguese name,"Júnior"is agenerational suffixused for someone whose name is the same as their father, like "Jr." in English.
Júnior Messias
Messias withCrotonein 2020
Personal information
Full name Walter Messias Júnior
Date of birth (1991-05-13)13 May 1991(age 33)[1]
Place of birth Belo Horizonte,Brazil
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Genoa
Number 10
Youth career
2008–2011 Cruzeiro
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Casale 32 (21)
2016–2017 Chieri 33 (14)
2017–2019 Gozzano 51 (8)
2019–2022 Crotone 70 (15)
2021–2022 →AC Milan(loan) 26 (5)
2022–2024 AC Milan 25 (5)
2023–2024 →Genoa(loan) 9 (1)
2024– Genoa 10 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:45, 17 August 2024 (UTC)

Walter Messias Júnior(born 13 May 1991) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as aforwardfor ItalianSerie AclubGenoa.Capable of playing anywhere across the attacking front, he has also been deployed on occasions as anattacking midfielder.

Club career

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Early career

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Messias started his senior career in the lower-tier, non-professional Italian divisions,[3]being discovered by formerTorinoplayer and managerEzio Rossi,who persuaded him to joinCasalein 2015.[4]

At the end of the 2017–18 season his teamGozzanowas promoted toSerie C.[5]He made his professional Serie C debut for Gozzano on 23 September 2018 in a game againstCuneo,starting the game and played the whole match.[6]He scored his first professional-level goal on 26 September 2018, againstPiacenza.[citation needed]

Crotone

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On 31 January 2019, Messias' rights were sold toSerie BclubCrotone,who loaned him back to Gozzano until the end of the 2018–19 season.[7]He finished his first professional-level season with 33 appearances (32 as a starter) and four goals.[citation needed]Messias made his Serie B debut for Crotone on 24 August 2019 in a game againstCosenza,starting the game and played the whole match.[8]He was instrumental in Crotone's promotion to the Italian top flight (the second in the club history) by scoring six goals throughout the season, and was confirmed as part of the team squad for the2020–21 Serie Acampaign.[citation needed]

He scored his first Serie A goal on 25 October 2020 againstCagliari,followed by two braces in December againstSpeziaandParma.[citation needed]

AC Milan

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On 31 August 2021, Messias joinedAC Milanon a one-year loan deal with an option to buy.[9]He made his debut for the club on 3 October 2021, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 win overAtalanta.On 24 November, he scored his first goal for Milan on hisUEFA Champions Leaguedebut; he scored the only goal of a 1–0group stagewin overAtlético Madrid.Messias described his header as "the most important moment of [his] career".[10]On 1 December 2021, he received his first league start scoring a brace in a 3–0 away win for Milan againstGenoa.

On 6 January 2022, againstRoma,he scored the second goal in eventual 3–1 win.[11] On 17 January againstSpezia,Messias last minute goal and potentially the winner was controversially disallowed by the referee due to a beforehand foul on his teammate,Ante Rebic,Spezia went on to score the second and win 2–1, the referee apologized to Milan players for the incident.[12][13]On 19 February, he scored the opener againstSalernitanain 2–2 draw.[14]On 15 April, he scored against Genoa again to seal 2–0 win.[15] On 15 May he provided the assist to Leao against Atalanta in the first goal as Milan won 2–0,[16]One week later Milan was crownedThe Scudettotitle after 11-year absence. Overall Messias contribution in the campaign was 5 goals and 2 assists in 26 matches.

On 7 July, Milan bought him, despite the option to buy having already expired.[17]

Genoa

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On 11 August 2023, Messias joined recently promotedSerie AclubGenoaon a season-long loan with the option to make the deal permanent, which becomes an obligation if certain conditions are met.[18]On 13 January 2024,Genoa CFCpaid the clause toAC Milan,totalling 3 million euros and with Messias permanently moving to the club.[19]

Personal life

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A Brazilian by birth, Messias moved to Italy in 2011 together with his wife and son, joining his brother inTurin,where he started working in the delivery sector and playing football for an amateur team of the localPeruviancommunity in his free time.[4]

Career statistics

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As of match played 17 August 2024[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Coppa Italia Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Casale 2015–16 Eccellenza 32 21 — — — 32 21
Chieri 2016–17 Serie D 33 14 — — 1[a] 1 34 15
Gozzano 2017–18 Serie D 19 4 — — 4[b] 1 23 5
2018–19 Serie C 32 4 — — 3[c] 1 35 5
Total 51 8 — — 7 2 58 10
Crotone 2019–20 Serie B 34 6 2 0 — — 36 6
2020–21 Serie A 36 9 1 0 — — 37 9
Total 70 15 3 0 — — 73 15
AC Milan(loan) 2021–22 Serie A 26 5 4 0 2[d] 1 — 32 6
AC Milan 2022–23 Serie A 25 5 1 0 9[d] 1 1[e] 0 36 6
Total 51 10 5 0 11 2 1 0 68 12
Genoa 2023–24[f] Serie A 18 1 0 0 — — 18 1
2024–25 Serie A 1 1 1 1 — — 2 2
Total 19 2 1 1 — — 20 3
Career total 256 69 9 1 11 2 9 3 285 75
  1. ^Appearance inCoppa Italia Serie D
  2. ^One appearance in Coppa Italia Serie D, three appearances and one goal in Serie D play-offs
  3. ^Appearances inCoppa Italia Serie C
  4. ^abAppearances inUEFA Champions League
  5. ^Appearance inSupercoppa Italiana
  6. ^Part of this season was spent on loan from AC Milan

Honours

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AC Milan

References

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  1. ^"Official Statement: Messias Junior".AC Milan.
  2. ^"Júnior Messias: Biography".AC Milan.Retrieved30 August2022.
  3. ^Junior Messiasat TuttoCalciatori.net(in Italian)
  4. ^ab"Junior Messias, dallo sbarco in Italia in cerca di lavoro alla Serie A nel Crotone"(in Italian). LACNews24. 18 November 2020.Retrieved23 December2020.
  5. ^"La storia di Junior, il" Messia "brasiliano che a Crotone avrà finalmente la sua chance | Sport Team Calabria"(in Italian). 31 January 2019.Retrieved24 November2021.
  6. ^"Cuneo v Gozzano game report".Soccerway. 23 September 2018.
  7. ^"Comunicato 04/2019"(Press release) (in Italian).Gozzano.31 January 2019.
  8. ^"Crotone v Cosenza game report".Soccerway.
  9. ^"Official Statement: Messias Junior".AC Milan.Retrieved24 November2021.
  10. ^Campanale, Susy (24 November 2021)."Messias: 'Dedicated to those who believed in me'".Football Italia.Retrieved24 November2021.
  11. ^"SENSATIONAL START TO 2022".Retrieved6 January2022.
  12. ^Bettoni, Lorenzo."REFEREE SERRA REVEALS WHAT IBRAHIMOVIC TOLD HIM AFTER MILAN-SPEZIA".Football Italia.Retrieved22 February2022.
  13. ^"AC MILAN BEATEN AT THE DEATH".acmilan.Retrieved22 February2022.
  14. ^"A DRAW IN SALERNO".acmilan.Retrieved19 February2022.
  15. ^"AC MILAN 2-0 GENOA: RAFAEL LEAO AND JUNIOR MESSIAS GOALS SEE MILAN RETURN TO TOP OF SERIE A".Euro Sport.15 April 2022.Retrieved16 April2022.
  16. ^"AC MILAN 2-0 ATALANTA: ROSSONERI MOVE TO WITHIN A POINT OF FIRST SCUDETTO IN 11 YEARS WITH COMFORTABLE WIN".Euro Sport.15 May 2022.Retrieved23 May2022.
  17. ^"UFFICIALE: Milan, torna Messias. Stavolta il brasiliano si veste di rossonero a titolo definitivo - TUTTOmercatoWEB".tuttomercatoweb(in Italian).Retrieved7 July2022.
  18. ^"Official Statement: Junior Messias".AC Milan.11 August 2023.
  19. ^"Genoa purchase Junior Messias from Milan - Football Italia".football-italia.net.14 January 2024.Retrieved14 January2024.
  20. ^Junior Messiasat Soccerway. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  21. ^"Milan secure 1st Serie A title in 11 years".News18 India.22 May 2022.Retrieved22 May2022.
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