# Vágner Love

Vágner Silva de Souza (born 11 June 1984), known as Vágner Love, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Série B club Avaí. He is a forward who has been described by World Soccer Magazine as possessing "mobility, flair, awareness and powerful shooting".
The second name Love was given to Vágner while playing for Palmeiras as he was known for his playboy lifestyle.
Over two spells, Vágner Love scored 117 goals across 241 official games in eight seasons at CSKA Moscow. He won 14 honours in the Russian capital, scoring in their win in the 2005 UEFA Cup Final to become the youngest player to score in a UEFA Cup final.
Vágner Love scored four goals in 20 games for the Brazil national team, winning the Copa América in 2004 and 2007.

## Club career
### Palmeiras

Vágner Love started his career with Palmeiras. In the 2003 season, he helped them to return to the Série A, the nation's top-flight division, by scoring 19 goals and finishing as Serie B's top scorer.

### CSKA Moscow

In August 2004, Vágner Love was bought by Russian Premier League club CSKA Moscow, where he joined fellow Brazilian creative midfielder Daniel Carvalho, who had transferred before start of the season. Upon his arrival, Vagner Love had an immediate impact; in his debut on 4 August 2004 against Neftchi, he came on as a sub and scored a goal. In the last qualifying round against Scottish club Rangers, Vagner Love scored goals in both legs as CSKA won 3-2 on aggregate and qualified to the Champions League group stage. He also scored 9 goals in the remaining 12 league games, including braces against Rotor Volgograd (3-0), Alania Vladikavkaz (1-4) and FC Moscow (1-4) as the team finished second in a close title race against cross-city rivals Lokomotiv, losing by just one point. He also played in every Champions League group stage game and scored one goal against PSG. In December 2004, CSKA finished third in the group and was relegated to the UEFA Cup knockout stage, where he scored three goals.
At the end of the football season in Russia, Vagner Love was linked with a move to Corinthians due to homesickness and having trouble adjusting to life in Moscow. However, CSKA refused to sell or loan him.
On 18 May 2005, at the age of 20 years, 341 days, Vágner Love scored the final goal in CSKA's 3–1 victory over Sporting CP in the 2005 UEFA Cup Final at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, making him the youngest player to score in a UEFA Cup final.
He won his second trophy with the Russian club later that month, as CSKA won the 2004–05 Russian Cup. Later that year, the Brazilian striker scored seven times to help his club win the 2005 Russian Premier League title. On 24 November, he scored twice in a 2-1 victory against Levski Sofia, but CSKA were later eliminated from the UEFA Cup group stages.
On 11 March 2006, Vagner participated in the match as CSKA beat crosstown rival Spartak to win the 2006 Russian Super Cup. CSKA's second trophy of 2006 was the Russian Cup, with Vagner scoring in the 3-0 victory against Spartak. CSKA won back-to-back league titles with their 2006 league title, with Vagner scoring nine goals, including a hattrick on 18 November 2006 against Luch-Energia. Despite winning three trophies, Vagner did not score in the Champions League group stage, as CSKA finished third and dropped to the UEFA Cup. He finished the 2006 season with 15 goals in 38 appearances, improving on his previous season total while playing less matches.
Vagner scored and won back-to-back Russian Super Cup titles as CSKA beat Spartak 4-2 to start the 2007 season. Vagner was the club's top scorer in the league, scoring 13 goals as CSKA finished third in the 2007 league season. Despite Vagner's good performances, CSKA had a poor season, being knocked out from the Russian Cup in the sixth round and from the UEFA Cup in the round of 32, also finishing last in their Champions League group, with Vagner scoring three goals in the group stage.
He won his third Russian Cup at the beginning of 2008, scoring during the match and also in the penalty shootout in the final against Amkar Perm.
He was the top scorer in the 2008 season (the first top scorer from outside the former Soviet Union), scoring 20 goals, including hat tricks against Spartak (5-1) and Rubin Kazan (4-0), as well as four goals against FC Moscow (4-1). He was also the top scorer of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, with 11 goals in 8 games, including a hat-trick in a 4-3 away victory against AS Nancy, despite CSKA's elimination from the competition at the round of 16 stage, losing 2-1 on aggregate at the hands of eventual champion Shakhtar Donetsk.
On 31 May 2009, he won his fourth Russian Cup with the club. In the semi-finals, he scored an important goal and then his penalty in the shootout against Dynamo Moscow to help CSKA progress to the finals. He played in the final against Rubin Kazan as his club won 1-0 with a last minute goal from Evgeni Aldonin.

#### Return to Palmeiras on loan

On 28 August 2009, Vágner Love was signed by his former club Palmeiras on a one-year loan deal until 31 July 2010. CSKA press spokesman Sergei Aksenov claimed that Vágner Love left Russia due to "urgent family problems demand(ing) his presence at home in Brazil".
Vágner Love had a respectable return of 5 goals in 12 games for Palmeiras, but his loan spell was ended prematurely after suffering an attack by Palmeiras fans outside a bank in São Paulo on 1 December 2009, just days after scoring in the 37th round of the Brazilian championship, a 3-1 victory against Atletico-MG. This incident, combined with his desire to play for his childhood team Flamengo, led to his spell at the club being ended early on 14 January 2010, with the player stating the primary reason for the move being that he felt unsafe in São Paulo.

### Flamengo

On 15 January 2010, the day after his loan was terminated with Palmeiras, Vágner Love officially signed a short-loan deal with reigning Brazilian champions Flamengo until July 2010. He made his Flamengo debut against Bangu in the Campeonato Carioca on 23 January 2010, scoring two goals.
Vágner Love performed very well playing for Flamengo, scoring 23 goals in 26 matches. His successful strike partnership with Adriano was dubbed by fans as "Império do Amor", or "The Love Empire", in reference to Adriano's nickname "The Emperor" and Vágner Love's artistic surname. The presence of midfielder Dejan Petković in Flamengo's squad made supporters start the year with high expectations—it was widely believed that the Serbian's passing and free-kick abilities, coupled with Adriano's and Vagner's prolific scoring, would produce a top team. However, the team failed to advance past the quarter-finals in the 2010 Copa Libertadores, and finished in the bottom half of the table in the Série A. Shortly after, Adriano revealed he wanted to try playing in Italy again, and Flamengo could not convince CSKA to extend Vágner Love's loan, thus dismantling the once-promising "Love Empire".
In July 2010, Vagner returned to CSKA. He scored two goals in the Europa League group stages, but was unable to make an impact in the later rounds, playing both legs as CSKA lost to FC Porto 3-1 on aggregate. On 11 May 2011, in the Russian Cup semi-finals, Vagner Love scored a goal to tie the match at 3-3 against rivals Spartak, and then scored in the penalty shootout to help his club qualify for the final. In the final less than two weeks later, he won his fifth Russian Cup with the club, playing in the 2-1 victory over Alania Vladikavkaz.
On 25 January 2012, he officially signed with Flamengo. He scored 13 goals in 36 appearances in the 2012 Brazilian Championship, and two goals in the 2012 Copa Libertadores, one of them being a game winner in a home victory over Emelec.

### Return to CSKA

After a change of presidency, on 12 January 2013, Flamengo did not pay his pendencies of rights with CSKA, and Vágner Love had to leave the club, returning to Russia after a one-year absence. On 16 January, he was "re-presented" in Moscow and signed a three-year contract extension. He continued his goal scoring record with CSKA on his return to the club, and propelled the club to the Premier League title in 2013 after a goalless draw with Kuban Krasnodar on 18 May, the club's first league title since 2006.

### Shandong Luneng

On 24 July 2013, Vágner Love transferred to Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng in a reported €12 million transfer.

### Corinthians

On 8 February 2015, Vágner Love rescinded his contract with Shandong Luneng and signed with Corinthians in Brazil. He went on to become the top scorer of the club during the national championship as Corinthians went on to win the Série A that year.

### Monaco

On 13 January 2016, Ligue 1 club Monaco announced the signing of Vágner Love on an 18-month deal for a €1 million transfer fee. On 20 March, he opened the scoring in an eventual 2–0 win against Paris Saint-Germain, the Parisian club's first home defeat since May 2014.

### Alanyaspor

On 30 August 2016, Turkish Süper Lig club Alanyaspor reached an agreement with Monaco for the transfer of Love. On 31 August 2016, he was officially presented after passed the medical. Having failed to score in his first seven appearances for the club, Love scored 23 goals in 20 matches that followed to earn the Golden Boot award.

### Beşiktaş

On 26 January 2018, Turkish Süper Lig club Beşiktaş reached an agreement with Alanyaspor for the transfer of Love.

### Return to Corinthians

On 25 January 2019, Love returned to Corinthians on a deal until the end of 2020 after rescinding his contract with Beşiktaş. He rescinded his contract in June 2020.

### Kairat

On 8 July 2020, Kazakhstan Premier League club FC Kairat announced the signing of Vágner Love on a six-month contract, with the option to extend it. On 3 November 2020, Love scored Kairat's first goal, in a 3–1 win over Ordabasy, to clinch their first Kazakhstan Premier League title since 2004. On 5 November 2020, Kairat extended their contract with Vágner Love until the end of the 2021 season.

### Midtjylland

On 20 January 2022, Love signed an agreement to join Midtjylland on a free transfer, with a contract lasting until the end of the 2021/22 season. On 22 May 2022 Midtjylland confirmed, that Love was one out of seven players, whose contracts had come to an end, and therefore would leave the club.

### Sport Recife

On 26 July 2022, Love returned to Brazil after two years, joining Série A side Sport Recife until the end of the year.
On 6 January 2023, the forward renewed his contract with the club for another season.

### Atlético Goianiense

On 5 January 2024, Love signed a one-year contract with recently-promoted to Série A club Atlético Goianiense.

## International career

Vágner Love earned his first call up for the Brazil national football team for the 2004 Copa América, in a squad without the main stars to give them rest after the end of the 2003–04 season. He made his debut as a substitute in the 4–1 win against Costa Rica, which was his single appearance as Brazil went on to win the competition.
He did not make the final 23-man squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Following the tournament, Vágner Love was named in new manager Dunga's first squad for the national team and scored his first goal for the Seleção in the same year, against Wales.
The following year, he was included in Brazil's squad for the 2007 Copa América. On 7 July 2007, he scored the final goal in a 6–1 win against Chile in the quarter-finals of the competition. He played his last match for the national team in that year, against Uruguay. Over the course of his international career, he amassed 20 caps and scored 4 goals.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 15 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | State league | State league | National cup | National cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Palmeiras | 2002 | Série A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 |
| Palmeiras | 2003 | Série B | 29 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 33 | 22 |
| Palmeiras | 2004 | Série A | 11 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 6 | – | – | – | – | 30 | 26 |
| Palmeiras | Total | Total | 42 | 27 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 8 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 65 | 48 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2004 | Russian Premier League | 12 | 9 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 13 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2005 | Russian Premier League | 21 | 7 | – | – | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 14 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2006 | Russian Premier League | 23 | 9 | – | – | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 15 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2007 | Russian Premier League | 23 | 13 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 17 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2008 | Russian Premier League | 26 | 20 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | – | – | 33 | 29 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2009 | Russian Premier League | 13 | 3 | – | – | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 7 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2010 | Russian Premier League | 15 | 9 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 11 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2011–12 | Russian Premier League | 25 | 9 | – | – | 5 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 11 |
| CSKA Moscow | Total | Total | 158 | 79 | – | – | 24 | 7 | 57 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 244 | 117 |
| Palmeiras (loan) | 2009 | Série A | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 5 |
| Flamengo (loan) | 2010 | Série A | 5 | 4 | 14 | 15 | — | — | 10 | 4 | — | — | 29 | 23 |
| Flamengo | 2012 | Série A | 36 | 13 | 10 | 9 | — | — | 5 | 2 | — | — | 51 | 24 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2012–13 | Russian Premier League | 9 | 5 | – | – | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 6 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2013–14 | Russian Premier League | 2 | 1 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| CSKA Moscow | Total | Total | 11 | 6 | – | – | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 7 |
| Shandong Luneng Taishan | 2013 | Chinese Super League | 10 | 6 | – | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 6 |
| Shandong Luneng Taishan | 2014 | Chinese Super League | 21 | 13 | – | – | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | – | – | 33 | 22 |
| Shandong Luneng Taishan | Total | Total | 31 | 19 | – | – | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | – | – | 43 | 28 |
| Corinthians | 2015 | Série A | 31 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 50 | 16 |
| Monaco | 2015–16 | Ligue 1 | 12 | 4 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 4 |
| Alanyaspor | 2016–17 | Süper Lig | 28 | 23 | – | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 28 | 23 |
| Alanyaspor | 2017–18 | Süper Lig | 14 | 10 | – | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 16 | 11 |
| Alanyaspor | Total | Total | 42 | 33 | – | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 44 | 34 |
| Beşiktaş | 2017–18 | Süper Lig | 10 | 3 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 13 | 4 |
| Beşiktaş | 2018–19 | Süper Lig | 8 | 3 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | – | – | 16 | 7 |
| Beşiktaş | Total | Total | 18 | 6 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 10 | 5 | – | – | 29 | 11 |
| Corinthians | 2019 | Série A | 28 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 4 | – | – | 59 | 11 |
| Corinthians | 2020 | Série A | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 1 |
| Corinthians | Total | Total | 28 | 5 | 21 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 4 | – | – | 62 | 12 |
| Kairat | 2020 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 14 | 7 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | — | — | 16 | 10 |
| Kairat | 2021 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 22 | 7 | — | — | 6 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 17 |
| Kairat | Total | Total | 36 | 14 | — | — | 6 | 5 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 58 | 27 |
| Midtjylland | 2021–22 | Danish Superliga | 9 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 |
| Sport Recife | 2022 | Série B | 17 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 7 |
| Sport Recife | 2023 | Série B | 33 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 11 | 5 | 59 | 23 |
| Sport Recife | Total | Total | 50 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 11 | 5 | 76 | 30 |
| Atlético Goianiense | 2024 | Série A | 6 | 1 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 7 |
| Avaí | 2024 | Série B | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 3 |
| Avaí | 2025 | Série B | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 2 |
| Avaí | Total | Total | 24 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 5 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 551 | 252 | 112 | 53 | 67 | 29 | 120 | 60 | 15 | 6 | 865 | 400 |
* ↑ Appearances in Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Appearance in Russian Super Cup
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
* ↑ Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 3 4 5 Appearance in Copa Libertadores
* ↑ Appearances in AFC Champions League
* ↑ Appearance in Copa Sudamericana
* ↑ Four appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, six appearances and four goals in the UEFA Europa Conference League
* ↑ Appearances in Kazakhstan Super Cup
* ↑ Appearances in Copa do Nordeste

### International

    As of 1 April 2009
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Brazil | 2004 | 1 | 0 |
| Brazil | 2005 | 0 | 0 |
| Brazil | 2006 | 3 | 1 |
| Brazil | 2007 | 16 | 3 |
| Total | Total | 20 | 4 |
    Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Vágner Love goal.
List of international goals scored by Vágner Love :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 5 September 2006 | White Hart Lane, London, England | Wales | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 27 March 2007 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Ghana | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 7 July 2007 | Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela | Chile | 6–1 | 6–1 | 2007 Copa América |
| 4 | 17 October 2007 | Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Ecuador | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |

## Honours

Palmeiras
* Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 2003
CSKA Moscow
* Russian Premier League: 2005, 2006, 2012–13
* Russian Cup: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
* Russian Super Cup: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013
* UEFA Cup: 2004–05
Shandong Luneng
* Chinese FA Cup: 2014
Corinthians
* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2015
* Campeonato Paulista: 2019
Kairat
* Kazakhstan Premier League: 2020
* Kazakhstan Cup: 2021
Sport
* Campeonato Pernambucano: 2023
Brazil
* Copa América: 2004, 2007
Individual
* Campeonato Brasileiro Série B top scorer: 2003
* Pan American Games top scorer: 2003
* Campeonato Paulista top scorer: 2004
* Russian Premier League top scorer: 2008
* Sport-Express's Russian Footballer of the Year: 2008
* Russian Premier League Team of the Year: 2008, 2012–13
* UEFA Cup top scorer: 2008–09
* Campeonato Carioca top scorer: 2010
* Russian Premier League Player of the Month: March 2013, May 2013
* Süper Lig top scorer: 2016–17
* Süper Lig Team of the Season: 2016–17