João Pedro

João Pedro Junqueira de Jesus (born 26 September 2001), known professionally as João Pedro, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Chelsea and the Brazil national team.

João Pedro was born in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo to parents Flavia Junqueira and José João de Jesus, more commonly known as Chicão, a former professional footballer who most notably played for Botafogo-SP. 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.

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.

On 30 October 2019, it was announced that he had received his UK work permit and would sign for Watford in January 2020.  Initially delayed by the world-wide Covid shutdowns, Pedro 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 a win over Derby County.

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, he scored the equaliser against Newcastle United in the 88th minute. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.

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.

On 24 August 2024, Pedro scored the winning goal in stoppage time of a 2–1 victory over Manchester United.

On 19 April 2025, he was sent off for flicking his hand into Brentford defender Nathan Collins’ face during a 4–2 loss and was given a three-game ban for violent conduct.

On 23 May 2025, the club announced Pedro had been dropped from the squad for their next match against Tottenham Hotspur and was absent for the previous matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool over a training ground incident.

On 2 July 2025, Pedro was signed by fellow Premier League club Chelsea on a deal until 2033 for a reported fee of £55m plus £5m add-ons.  He was included in Chelsea’s 2025 FIFA Club World Cup squad during the tournament’s second registration window on that same day. He made his debut in the quarterfinals two days later, where he came on as a second-half substitute in Chelsea’s 2–1 victory against Palmeiras.  On 8 July 2025, he scored a brace in the semi-final against his boyhood club Fluminense.  In the final, he scored the last goal in a 3–0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain.

On 22 August 2025, Pedro scored his first Premier League goal for Chelsea with a headed finish from a corner in their 5–1 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium.

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 2023, Pedro was called up to the Brazil senior team for the first time. On 16 November, Pedro would make his debut for the Seleção after coming on as a substitute for the injured Vinícius Júnior at the 27th-minute mark in a 2–1 loss to Colombia.

Statistics

Season	Competition	Appearances	Goals	Assists	Yellow Cards	Red Cards	Minutes Played
2024/25	Premier League	10	4	2	1	0	850
2024/25	UEFA Conference League	5	3	1	0	0	370
2024/25	FA Cup	2	1	0	0	0	160
Total	—	17	8	3	1	0	1,380