New York City Football Club is delighted to welcome Thiago Martins to the Club. To help you learn more about our newest addition we have compiled ten things to know about the defender.
1.Thiago Martins was born in São João Evangelista, Brazil on March 17, 1995.
2. He made his senior debut with Palmeiras in his homeland and won both first and second division titles with the club in 2013 and 2016 respectively.
3. While contracted to Palmeiras he was loaned out to fellow Brazilian sides Bahia and Paysandu.
4. Martins joins us from our Japanese sister club Yokohama F. Marinos.
5. He initially joined Yokohama on loan in 2018 before signing permanently in 2020.
6. Speaking last year on his decision to move to Yokohama Thiago said, "Boy, it scared me a lot [going to Japan], but it was one of the best choices of my life.”
7. While playing for Yokohama, he wore the number 13. At NYCFC Thiago will wear the number 5. Previous incumbents of that number with the Boys in Blue include Mikey Lopez and Cédric Hountondji.
8. Thiago has lifted several major trophies during his career, with his most recent success coming in 2019 when he won the J.League with Yokohama.
9. He has a number of tattoos including a lion that takes up half of his back.
10. Thiago said his soccer inspiration growing up was former Milan defender Paolo Maldini. “I always watched a lot of videos and matches of Paolo Maldini. He was a great defender," he said.
