Matheus Cunha, a Brazil No. 9, Was Wasted by a Brazilian Club

Matheus Cunha’s rise from Coritiba academy prospect to Brazil’s likely starting No. 9 at the 2026 World Cup has become one of the most striking stories around the national team’s opening match against Morocco on Saturday, June 13, at 7 p.m. at MetLife Stadium. Born in João Pessoa, in Brazil’s northeast state of Paraíba, Cunha left home at 14 to pursue his dream in Curitiba, joining Coritiba’s youth system far from his family and coastal upbringing. The move marked a major turning point in his life, forcing him to adapt quickly to a new city and a new routine while chasing a professional career.

At Coritiba, Cunha earned a reputation for discipline, professionalism, and maturity beyond his age. Coaches and teammates in the academy believed he was destined for success well before he made his senior debut. Yet that debut never came. In 2017, when he was 18, Coritiba sold him to Swiss club Sion for 700,000 reais, a transfer that later came to symbolize a major missed opportunity for the club. At the time, Cunha saw the move as an important step, especially after earning only a minimum-wage salary in the youth ranks.

The transfer money was used by Coritiba in part to help finance the permanent signing of midfielder Matheus Galdezani from Mirassol for 3.5 million reais. Galdezani initially showed promise, helping the club win the Paraná state championship and scoring against Palmeiras in the Brazilian league, but his performance soon declined. After Coritiba’s relegation to Serie B, he was loaned out to Atlético-MG, Internacional, and Bahia before later taking legal action to terminate his contract over alleged salary delays.

While Coritiba’s immediate sporting return from Cunha was limited, the club continued to profit from his European career through solidarity payments tied to his development. After Sion sold him to RB Leipzig for 15 million euros in 2018, Coritiba received about 1.4 million reais. When Cunha moved from Hertha Berlin to Atlético de Madrid for around 30 million euros, the Brazilian club earned roughly 2.5 million reais. Another transfer, from Atlético to Wolverhampton for an estimated 50 million euros, brought in about 3 million reais.

Cunha’s latest move, from Wolverhampton to Manchester United for around 72 million euros, added another estimated 7 million reais to Coritiba’s total. Altogether, the club has received approximately 18 million reais from his transfers since his sale in July 2017.

From a teenager leaving João Pessoa for a distant academy in Curitiba to a high-profile signing in the Premier League and a likely World Cup starter for Brazil, Cunha’s journey reflects both personal resilience and the long financial shadow of a player Coritiba never got to use in its first team.