*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 December 2023
Wanderson Maciel Sousa Campos (born 7 October 1994), known as Wanderson, is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Brazilian club Internacional as a left winger.
Born in Liège, Wanderson joined AFC Ajax's youth setup in 2002, aged eight, as his father was playing for the club. In 2009, again following the father, he joined Beerschot AC.[4] After progressing through the latter's youth setup, he made his first team – and Pro League – debut on 31 October 2012, starting in a 1–3 away loss against Cercle Brugge.[5]
Wanderson appeared in six league matches for Beerschot before it was relegated and subsequently declared bankrupt. On 20 June 2013 he signed a two-year deal with Lierse SK,[6][7] after impressing on a trial.[8]
Wanderson made his Lierse debut on 27 July, in a 1–2 home loss against Zulte-Waregem, and scored his first professional goal on 23 November, netting the first in a 4–2 win at Cercle Brugge. In October 2014 he was linked as a target to the likes of Celtic, Swansea City, West Ham United, Queens Park Rangers, Sunderland and Aston Villa,[9] but none of them made any formal bids for the player.
In 2015, after Lierse's relegation, Wanderson failed to appear in the club's pre-season; despite Lierse alleging he was under contract,[10] his father alleged he was a free agent after receiving a FIFA clearance.[11] He subsequently went on a trial at Getafe CF in July, signing a contract with the club.[12]
On 1 July 2016, Wanderson signed a three-year deal with FC Red Bull Salzburg on a free transfer.[16] He scored his first goal on 3 August 2016 in the match against Partizani Tirana in the UEFA Champions League.
On 19 December 2016, Red Bull Salzburg announced that Wanderson had retroactively been handed a four-month suspension by FIFA, that would end on 27 February 2017, due to a breach of the transfer terms during his move from Belgian club Lierse to Getafe in the summer of 2015.[17]
On 26 June 2017, Wanderson signed a five-year contract with the Russian Premier League club FC Krasnodar.[18] On 3 March 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Krasnodar announced that his contract is suspended and he will not train with the team, but the contract is not terminated and remains valid.[19]
On 11 March 2022, Wanderson joined Internacional on loan until the end of 2022, with an option to buy.[20] On 21 December 2022, FC Krasnodar announced that Internacional activated their option to buy, making the move permanent.[21]
Despite not being a prolific goalscorer, Wanderson has been a particular highlight for Inter as an assist maker specially in the 2023 season, under coach Eduardo Coudet and pairing up with Ecuatorian striker Enner Valencia. He leaded the club with 12 assists during his second year in Porto Alegre. Nonetheless, he scored important goals during the wins against Bahia (28 May, home), rivals Grêmio (8 October, home), Cruzeiro (5 November, away) and Corinthians (2 December, away).
Wanderson is the son of former footballer Wamberto, who notably represented Standard Liège and Ajax. His older brother Danilo is also a midfielder, and was also an Ajax youth graduate.[22] He also holds Belgian nationality.
