An in-depth look into our new recruit, João Pedro…
Born in Ipatinga, Brazil, João Pedro Geraldino dos Santos Galvão, to provide his full name, joined the youth ranks at Clube Atlético Mineiro in April 2006. Progressing through the club’s youth system, Pedro made his first-team debut in May 2010 when featuring in the final five minutes of a 3-1 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A victory at home to Atlético Paranaense.
Featuring 13 times in his breakout season, switching positions between striker and attacking midfield, Pedro joined Italian Serie A club Palermo in August 2010 on a five-year contract, making his debut for I Rosanero in a Europa League group stage defeat against Sparta Prague. This was the first of four appearances Pedro made for the first team, with the forward also featuring five times for their Under-19s. With the latter, he scored five goals, including a hat-trick against Catania and goals in victories over Ascoli and Reggina, prior to joining Vitória Guimarães on loan for the remainder of the 2010/11 season. Making six appearances for the Portuguese side, his loan spell was cut short and he returned to Palermo in April 2011.
The following campaign saw Pedro loaned out again, this time to Uruguayan club Peñarol in August 2011. He made his debut nine days later in a goalless draw against Cerro Largo in the Primera División Apertura, scoring his first goal in his third appearance in a 2-2 draw against Racing Club. Scoring seven and assisting seven times in 23 appearances, one of his most notable performances came in September 2011 when he scored a brace and set up two more in a 4-0 win over River Plate to send Peñarol top of the table.
Returning to his homeland of Brazil to join Santos permanently in July 2012, the forward featured 10 times before joining Estoril in July 2013. Making his debut in the qualifying stages of the Europa League against Hapoel Ramat Gan, he quickly established himself in the first team with nine goals and five assists in 41 outings.
A successful first season with Estoril saw him score once in the opening three Liga NOS fixtures before joining Serie A side Cagliari in August 2014, with the club paying €1 million and exchanging Matías Cabrera for his services. Suffering relegation in his first campaign, which saw him net five times in 30 outings, Pedro was a key player in helping the Sardinians win the Serie B title, netting 13 goals and recording eight assists in 41 appearances in all competitions, including a hat-trick in a 6-0 home win over Brescia.
Netting seven in 22 appearances upon returning to Serie A, Pedro signed a new contract in August 2017 and penned an improved deal in November 2018. Signing his third contract extension in as many years, his 50th goal for the club, in a 2-1 loss against Udinese in December 2019, saw him rise to seventh in the club’s all-time scorers’ list. Pedro’s return of 19 goals in all competitions during the 2019/20 season is his best career return to date.
Appointed captain of Cagliari for the 2020/21 campaign, his return of 16 goals in 37 league outings helped the club avoid relegation, with Pedro playing his 200th game for the club during that season. Another impressive goal return for 2021/22, with 13 in 37 outings, was not enough for Cagilari to avoid relegation back to the Italian second division.
Scoring 86 goals and recording 28 assists in 271 appearances for the club, Pedro moved to Turkish Süper Lig side Fenerbahçe on a three-year deal in July 2022 for a reported fee of €6.5 million. Making his debut against Konyaspor, the striker scored one and assisted the other on his home debut in a 2-0 win over Kayserispor. Netting in the Europa League against AEK Larnaca, Pedro played 28 times in his debut campaign, featuring in the Türkiye Kupasi semi-final first leg against Sivasspor, a tournament Fenerbahçe later won, with Pedro an unused sub in the final.
In August 2023, the 32-year-old joined Brazilian side Grêmio on loan, making the first of 15 appearances that season in a 2-1 win over Fluminense. In total, he featured 45 times for Grêmio, scoring three goals and recording one assist after continuing his spell in Brazil last season.
Internationally, Pedro first represented Brazil at Under-17s level, playing 11 games in total and scoring once. He represented Brazil at the South American U17s Football Championship and 2009 FIFA U17 World Cup.
Acquiring Italian citizenship in 2017, Pedro was formally called up by Roberto Mancini for a three-day training camp in Coverciano in January 2022 before being selected for a 2022 World Cup play-off fixture against North Macedonia. In March 2022, Pedro came on for the final minute of a 1-0 defeat and was an unused substitute five days later in a 3-2 friendly win over Türkiye.