Danilo (footballer, born 1999)

Danilo Pereira da Silva (born 7 April 1999) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Rangers.

After playing youth football for several clubs in Brazil, Danilo joined Dutch club Ajax in 2017. He scored nine goals in 20 first-team appearances for Ajax, and had a loan spell at Twente. Danilo joined Feyenoord on a free transfer in 2022, winning the Eredivisie title in his only season at the club. Rangers signed him in July 2023.

Danilo played youth international football for Brazil at under-23 level.

Youth career
Born in São Paulo, Danilo played youth football for São Caetano, Portuguesa, Corinthians, Ponte Preta and Vasco da Gama, before joining the academy of Santos. He scored seven goals and provided seven assists for the Santos under-20 team in the Paulista U-20 Championship in 2017.

Ajax
On 7 September 2017, Danilo signed for Dutch club Ajax after agreeing to a five-year deal. Ajax paid Santos a transfer fee of around €2 million. He was initially assigned to the Ajax under-19 team and the Jong Ajax squad (the club's reserve team).

On 25 March 2018, Danilo made his debut for Jong Ajax in a 1–0 defeat against Jong AZ. He scored his first goal for Jong Ajax on 10 September 2018, in a game in Alkmaar against Jong AZ.

He made his first-team debut for Ajax on 23 February 2020, as a substitute in an Eredivisie game against Heracles Almelo. Four days later, he scored on his first start for the club, in a UEFA Europa League match against Getafe. Danilo apologised to Ajax fans on social media after he was seen swapping shirts with Getafe player Deyverson at half-time.

On 14 August 2020, Danilo joined fellow Eredivisie side Twente on a season-long loan deal. He scored 17 goals in the 2020–21 Eredivisie season, which was the fourth-highest total in the league that season.

On 20 January 2022, he scored four goals for Ajax in a 9–0 win against Excelsior Maassluis in the round of 16 of the KNVB Cup.

Feyenoord
On 19 May 2022, Feyenoord announced that Danilo would sign a four-year contract with the club, joining on a free transfer. He made his debut for the club on 7 August 2022, scoring the club's second and fourth goals in a 5–2 away win against Vitesse. Feyenoord won the Eredivisie title in the 2022–23 season, with Danilo scoring 10 goals and providing three assists in 34 appearances in the league.

Rangers
On 28 July 2023, Rangers announced that Danilo had joined the club and signed a five-year contract for an undisclosed transfer fee. This was reported to be worth up to £6 million. He made his debut for the club in a 1–0 defeat away to Kilmarnock on 5 August 2023, as a 62nd minute substitute for Cyriel Dessers. He scored his first goal for Rangers during a league match at home to Livingston on 12 August 2023.

On 16 September 2023, Danilo suffered a collision with a St Johnstone defender while scoring a goal and was taken to hospital with a suspected compound fracture in his skull.

International career
Danilo was called up to the Brazil under-23 team in November 2020, for friendly games against South Korea and Egypt. He made his debut, and only appearance at under-23 level, against South Korea on 14 November.

Honours
Jong Ajax
 * Eerste Divisie: 2017–18

Ajax
 * Eredivisie: 2021–22

Feyenoord
 * Eredivisie: 2022–23

Individual
 * Eredivisie Talent of the Month: October 2020