João Pedro (footballer, born 2001)

João Pedro Junqueira de Jesus (born 26 September 2001), also known as João Pedro, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Brazil national team.

Early and personal life
João Pedro was born in Ribeirão Preto to parents Flavia Junqueira and José João de Jesus, more commonly known as Chicão, a professional footballer for Botafogo. Chicão was jailed for sixteen years in 2002, serving eight, for being an accessory to murder. By the time of Chicão's imprisonment, he and Junqueira had separated.

Fluminense
João Pedro joined the youth system of Fluminense, and his mother moved with him to Rio de Janeiro. As he moved through the club's academy, he switched from being a defensive midfielder to an attacking midfielder, and then a striker. On 19 October 2018, before he had even made his senior debut, EFL Championship club Watford reached an agreement on a deal to sign João Pedro in January 2020 on a five-year contract. On 28 March 2019, João Pedro made his senior debut for Fluminense as a stoppage-time substitute in a 2–1 loss to arch-rivals Flamengo in the Campeonato Carioca. A month later on 29 April, he made his league debut as a late substitute in the 1–0 loss to Goiás. He then proceeded to fire seven goals in his next four games, including a hat trick in a 4–1 Copa Sudamericana victory against Atlético Nacional.

Watford
On 30 October 2019, it was announced that he had received his UK work permit and would sign for Watford in January 2020. He scored his first goal for Watford in a 1–0 win over Luton Town on 26 September 2020, his 19th birthday. On 16 October 2020, He scored a long-range goal in Watford's win over Derby County, which was led by a 36 year old Wayne Rooney.

João Pedro scored his first Premier League goal against Manchester United on 20 November 2021. He dedicated the goal to his late stepfather, Carlos Junior. On 15 January 2022, João Pedro scored the equalizer against Newcastle United in the 88th minute. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.

Brighton & Hove Albion
On 5 May 2023, Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion confirmed the acquisition of Pedro from Watford, with the transfer fee undisclosed, but reported to be in the region of a club-record £30 million fee. He made his debut in the opening game of the season on 12 August, starting the match and later scoring from the spot in the 4–1 home win over Premier League newcomers Luton Town. Pedro scored Brighton's first ever European goals on 21 September, netting two from the spot in the eventual 3–2 home Europa League loss against Greek champions AEK Athens. Pedro finished the Europa League group stage as the outright top scorer with six goals in six games, including a late winner in the final match, as Brighton topped their group to qualify for the last 16.

International career
On 19 August 2023, Pedro was called up for the Brazil Olympic football team. Pedro would make his Brazil debut as an 84th minute substitute in a 1–0 loss against Morocco.

Three months later on 6 November, Pedro was called up to the Brazil senior team for the first time. On 16 November, Pedro would make his debut for Seleção after coming on for the injured Vinícius Júnior at the 27th-minute mark in a 2-1 loss to Colombia.