After losing his father when he was just 13, Igor Thiago had to work to support his mother, meaning dreams of becoming a footballer were put on the back burner until he joined Vere and later Cruzeiro, where he made his professional debut in January 2020.
After 64 appearances and 10 goals in three seasons, the Brazilian crossed the Atlantic to join Bulgarian outfit Ludogorets Razgrad in March 2022.
He initially linked up with the club’s reserves, but scored three goals in his first four games, which prompted an almost immediate promotion to the first team, who won an 11th straight league title in 2021/22.
He spearheaded the attack to great effect in 2022/23, scoring 20 goals and assisting 11 more as the Eagles won a domestic treble - consisting of the Bulgarian First League, the Bulgarian Cup and the Bulgarian Super Cup - for the second time in their history.
Club Brugge then paid a reported record fee received by a Bulgarian club to sign Thiago in June 2023.
Again, he settled stunningly. This time around, he scored 29 goals and provided six assists as the Belgian club won the Jupiler Pro League for a 19th time and advanced to the semi-final of the Europa Conference League.
Earlier in 2024, Tomas Taecke - journalist at Belgian news outlet Het Laatste Nieuws - said of his abilities: “What he is very good at is being in the right place at the right time, attacking balls, and he also takes penalties. He is a pretty complete striker in most aspects, with a high ceiling.”
In February 2024, it was announced he would join Brentford for an undisclosed, club-record fee on 1 July , with Kevin Schade vacating the no.9 shirt for him. His first interview gave an insight into his mindset: “I always dream, because I think the most important thing in an athlete's life is to always dream,” he said. “I want to make history here at Brentford.”
A knee injury in a pre-season friendly kept the striker out until November, before he made his Premier League debut as a substitute in a 0-0 draw with Everton at Goodison Park.
However, after three more league appearances, another injury issue - this time a joint infection - saw him out of action until he returned for the final four games of the 2024/25 season.
Coming back for the 2025/26 term, to say Thiago hit the ground running is an understatement. The brace he netted against Sunderland in January took him to 16 for the campaign, which saw him break a Premier League record, scoring the most goals by a Brazilian in a single season.
Igor Thiago - 22 Goal Season
Across his breakthrough season, he became the first Brentford player to be named Premier League Player of the Month in November and won the award again in January.
In late March, he made his Brazil debut in an international friendly against France, before netting a first goal for his country in a 3-1 victory against Croatia just days later.
Following a campaign where he scored 25 goals across all competitions - with 22 of those coming in the league - he was also nominated for the EA Sports Player of the Season.
Thiago, who picked up both the Supporters' Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year at Brentford's 2025/26 end-of-season awards, was named in Carlo Ancelotti's squad for the 2026 World Cup.