Rafael Martins


Clecildo Rafael Martins de Souza Ladislau, known as Martins, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Chinese club Zhejiang Greentown F.C. as a striker.

Club career

Born in Santos, São Paulo, Martins joined Audax São Paulo Esporte Clube's youth setup in 2003, aged 14. In December 2007, he moved to Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense on loan, and was promoted to the latter's main squad in 2009.
Martins made his professional debut on 21 January 2009, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw at Esporte Clube Internacional. He returned to his parent club in September, and subsequently served loans at Real Zaragoza B and Grêmio Prudente Futebol before being assigned to Audax's first team.
After impressing in the State Leagues, Martins joined ABC Futebol Clube in March 2011, but was rarely used by his new team, returning to Audax in December. He continued to find the net at an excellent rate in the following two years, and moved to Vitória F.C. on loan on 8 July 2013.
After ranking third in the goal charts for the Portuguese side to help them finish in seventh position in his first and only season, Martins signed a three-year contract with La Liga's Levante UD on 18 July 2014. He made his debut in the competition on 24 August, replacing David Barral in the 71st minute of a 0–2 home loss against Villarreal CF.
On 25 August 2015, after being sparingly used by the Valencians, Martins returned to Portugal and its top division after agreeing to a one-year loan deal with Moreirense FC. He scored 16 goals for the latter in his only season, being essential as the Miguel Leal-led side finished 12th and avoided relegation from the Primeira Liga while becoming the club's all-time scorer in the competition after surpassing Nabil Ghilas.
From January 2017 to June 2018, Martins represented Vitória S.C. also in the Portuguese top level. On 3 July 2018, he moved to the China League One with Zhejiang Greentown.

Career statistics