Full name Cesar Henrique Martins 2011 Atletico Sorocaba Weight 86 kg Number 3 Height 1.90 m | Playing position Role Footballer Place of birth Mairinque, Brazil Name Cesar Martins Career start 2012 | |
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Date of birth (1992-12-28) 28 December 1992 (age 22) Current team Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (#3 / Defender) | ||
César Henrique Martins (born 28 December 1992), known simply as César, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Portuguese club Nacional on loan from Benfica.
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Club career
Born in Mairinque, in the São Paulo state, César started competing in hometown club Atlético Sorocaba in the Campeonato Paulista, where his performances sparked the interest of Ponte Preta which signed him on a loan deal on 26 April 2013.
At Ponte Preta, César assumed a starting position, helping the team reach the 2013 Copa Sudamericana Finals, lost to Lanús, moving permanently to Macaca side in December 2014. As the Brazilian team sought to benefit financially from recent performances, on 2 July 2014, they announced that César had signed a five-year deal with Portuguese champions Benfica for an undisclosed fee, later confirmed to be €2.2M for half of his economic rights.
On 14 December 2014, he debuted in the Primeira Liga, in a Benfica 0–2 away win at Porto, replacing injured Luisão. In late January 2015, he suffered a muscular injury, missing several months, only reappearing on 2 May 2015, when he played for reserve side in a 1–0 home win against Braga B in Segunda Liga.
On 18 July 2015, César was loaned to Flamengo, until 30 June 2016. Despite being regularly used, his spell was not without controversy. In May 2016, he was approached by Flamengo fans outside a shopping market, who verbally insulted him and threw rocks at his car, with his wife and child inside. Two weeks later, in a match with Palmeiras, he stopped a Gabriel Jesus's goalbound shot with his hands, committing a professional foul, which carried a potential nine match ban. Flamengo asked Benfica to retain him for another year, but they declined. Upon returning to Portugal, he was loaned to Nacional for one-year.