By Louis Smith.
Five years ago, at what were the delayed 2020 Olympic Games played in 2021 in Japan, Brazil were crowned champions, winning the gold medal for the second time in their history.
This saw them defend their title, having previously won the 2016 edition in their home country.
In this feature, we take a look at the players who started in their 2-1 extra-time victory over Spain in the final and see how their careers have gone in the five years since.
Santos
Between the sticks that day was goalkeeper Santos, who was then playing for Athletico Paranaense, where he currently still plays his football.
However, since then, he’s had moves to Flamengo and Fortaleza before returning to Athletico Paranaense in 2025.
Since the Olympics, he’s picked up a few trophies to his name. He lifted the Copa Sudamericana in the same year the Olympics were held, as well as the Copa Libertadores and Copa do Brasil with Flamengo in 2022, beating his former club Athletico Paranaense in the Libertadores final.
With Fortaleza, he also helped lift the Copa do Nordeste.
So, it’s safe to say that the 36-year-old, who was one of the players in the Olympic squad over the age of 23, has had a fairly decent stint since.
It’s also worth noting that he returned to play with Athletico Paranaense in Série B, helping them earn promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking.
Dani Alves
Right-back on that day was Dani Alves, a man who has won pretty much everything there is to win in European football with Barcelona, and another one of the players who was over the age of 23 picked in the squad.
He was playing in his native Brazil for São Paulo at the time, but since the Olympics finished, he has since retired from football.
Prior to this, he returned to Barcelona for a season, playing 14 times in the league and scoring one goal, before moving to Mexico with Pumas.
His time in Mexico came to an end following his arrest over an allegation of sexual assault. Alves spent time in prison after initially being convicted, although that conviction was later overturned on appeal, and he was acquitted.
Nino
Nino, then of Fluminense, has gone on to win plenty of silverware since the Olympics.
With Fluminense, he lifted the Campeonato Carioca twice, as well as creating history by lifting the Copa Libertadores in 2023, as Fluminense beat Boca Juniors in the final.
He then opted to move to Europe, signing for Zenit Saint Petersburg. However, due to Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, they have not been able to compete in European competition.
Despite this, he has won two league titles in 2024 and 2026, as well as the Russian Cup in 2024. Most recently, in a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Spartak Moscow, he lifted the Russian Super Cup for the first time.
Diego Carlos
Another one of the players over the age of 23 heading into the tournament, Diego Carlos was the centre-back partner of Nino.
He’s the first player on this list that we mention who has not added to his silverware collection since taking the gold medal in Tokyo. However, that’s not to say he hasn’t had a good career since.
Following his stint at Sevilla, he moved to Aston Villa, where he suffered an Achilles injury on his Villa Park debut, which pretty much ruined his debut season.
This saw him move to Fenerbahce in 2025, but his time in Turkey was also hampered by injury, suffering an MCL injury in a Turkish Cup match.
A year later, he completed a loan move to Como, where he enjoyed a very successful season, helping the club secure Champions League football.
Guilherme Arana
Left-back Guilherme Arana has been a solid player for Atlético Mineiro. Since failed moves in Europe with Sevilla and Atalanta, his time with Atlético Mineiro has been a strong one, although recent years have seen him suffer Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana heartbreak.
This season saw him move on for the first time since joining the club, signing for Fluminense, where he currently plays his football.
But let’s touch on what he has won since the Olympic Games. He’s added four more Campeonato Mineiro titles to his name, as well as the Brasileirão in 2021, ending Atlético Mineiro’s years of heartbreak without lifting a league title as they did so dominantly, which also saw them lift the Copa do Brasil in a year of domestic domination for Galo.
In 2022, he added another title to his name by lifting the Supercopa do Brasil.
Individually, he’s picked up plenty of accolades as well. He was part of the Copa Libertadores Team of the Tournament in 2021, was named the best left-back in Brazil, and was also included in the Brasileirão Team of the Year in 2021, the same year he won Olympic gold with Brazil.
Bruno Guimarães
The first midfielder on this list, Bruno Guimarães, has probably become one of the most recognised figures from this Brazil side and is now a key part of Eddie Howe’s Newcastle team.
During the Olympics, he was playing his football with Lyon, and following the conclusion of the tournament, he joined Newcastle United, where he’s gone on to become one of the best players in the Premier League.
Not only that, in 2025, he helped Newcastle to their first major domestic trophy in 70 years, as they defeated Liverpool in the final of the League Cup.
Individually, he’s picked up several accolades as well. He won the North East Player of the Year award in 2022 during his debut year, while most recently, in 2026, he picked up Newcastle’s Player of the Year award.
On the hunt for more silverware, Guimarães has been heavily rumoured with a move to Arsenal during this summer transfer window, which would be a huge loss to an already depleted Newcastle squad.
Douglas Luiz
His midfield partner, Douglas Luiz, has also gone on to have a successful career in the Premier League.
Luiz was playing for Aston Villa at the time of the Olympics, where he remained until making the move to Italian giants Juventus in 2024.
After struggling for regular football in Italy, he returned to the Premier League on loan with Nottingham Forest, before rejoining Villa, helping them lift the Europa League in May 2026.
Individually, he also enjoyed a very good campaign with Aston Villa in 2023, where he was named both the Supporters’ and Players’ Player of the Season.
He will now be hoping that he can find his form with the Italian giants.
Antony
One of the top youngsters in European football at the time was Antony, who was playing for Ajax.
He spent another year at Ajax before joining Manchester United for a fee of £82 million, the third-highest fee ever paid by the club. It’s safe to say that things did not live up to expectations for the Brazilian.
However, he did manage to add silverware to his name, helping Ajax to the Eredivisie title in 2022, before moving to Manchester United, where he helped them lift the EFL Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.
It’s worth noting that following a disappointing spell at Manchester United, he moved to Real Betis, where he’s really found his form.
I think the pressure in England and the media quickly getting on his back didn’t allow him to settle and play his football to the best of his ability. That has been seen in Spain, where he’s been enjoying his football once again.
His performances even saw him earn a place in the Europa League Team of the Season in 2026.
Claudinho
Claudinho was a very talented youngster coming out of Brazil at the time of the Olympic Games.
He was playing in Brazil for Red Bull Bragantino, where he was one of their key players and helped inspire them to Série B promotion in 2019, before having a fantastic debut season in the top flight in 2020, scoring 18 goals in 35 games. Not bad at all for an attacking midfielder.
With plenty of offers on the table, he decided to join Zenit St. Petersburg following the conclusion of the Olympics. He was a solid performer for them, scoring eight goals in 23 league matches in his debut season, and was always providing assists and scoring goals.
In a parallel universe where Russian clubs were able to play European football, perhaps Claudinho would have found himself playing elsewhere in Europe.
However, at the moment, he’s currently playing in Qatar with Al Sadd, having joined the club in 2025 after his career had somewhat stagnated in Russia.
That’s not to say he hasn’t picked up silverware during this period either. He won the Russian league in his debut season in 2022, before doing the same in 2023 and making it three in a row in 2024. He also added the Russian Cup in 2024, as well as three Russian Super Cups.
Since his move to Qatar, he’s also added the Qatar Stars League to his collection.
He’s had a successful career in terms of trophies and playing time, but it’s another one of those ‘what ifs’ as to whether he could have tested himself in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
Matheus Cunha
You don’t always need to win silverware to have a successful career, and that has been proven by Matheus Cunha so far since the Olympics.
Prior to his move to England, he was with Atlético Madrid, where he enjoyed a decent spell in La Liga before moving to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
At Wolves, he became a key asset, scoring 29 goals in 82 league matches for a club who were struggling at times. He was also named Wolves’ Player of the Season in 2025, which earned him a move to Manchester United.
His debut season in Manchester was very good too. He scored 10 goals in 33 league matches, solidifying himself as one of the top players at Manchester United, while also earning his spot in the Brazil national team for the most recent World Cup.
Richarlison
At the time of the Olympics, Richarlison was playing at Everton and had been touted for a huge move to Barcelona. However, the move never materialised, but he did eventually get his big move to Tottenham Hotspur, where his career probably hasn’t been the greatest, but also far from the worst.
He also played at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where he was one of Brazil’s key players.
At Tottenham, in recent seasons, he’s been quite vital to the team. His debut season saw him score just one goal in 27 league appearances, but by 2024, he had scored 11 goals in 28 matches.
The season after, injury hindered him, and he could only manage four goals in 15 appearances.
Tottenham struggled, fighting relegation in 2025 and even more so in 2026, where at times it desperately looked like they could be playing Championship football. However, 11 goals in 32 appearances for the Brazilian helped keep them afloat.
It can probably be overlooked just how important Richarlison’s impact at Tottenham has been. He hasn’t been out of this world, but he’s been far from terrible.
Because of the potential and talent he showed from his debut at Watford against Liverpool in 2018, maybe the ceiling was always very high for Richarlison, and that’s why he’s criticised more than most other players.
Yes, some of his on-field antics can add to that, but that shouldn’t take away from the decent career he’s had in London.
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