Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes gets warm reception on return to former club

Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes was a special guest at his former club Athletico Paranaense in Brazil on Thursday.
Dominic Scurr
By Dominic Scurr
Published 17th Jun 2022, 06:00 BST
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It was the first time the 24-year-old had been back at Athletico’s ground for a match since his final game for the club in December 2019.

Since then, the Brazil international made a name for himself in Europe with Lyon before joining Newcastle in January 2022.

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Guimaraes has quickly become a fan favourite on Tyneside with five goals in just 11 Premier League starts.

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Newcastle player Bruno Guimaraes is seen on the pitch after the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James Park on May 16, 2022 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Ian MacNi/Getty Images)Newcastle player Bruno Guimaraes is seen on the pitch after the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James Park on May 16, 2022 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Ian MacNi/Getty Images)
Newcastle player Bruno Guimaraes is seen on the pitch after the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James Park on May 16, 2022 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Ian MacNi/Getty Images)

And even two-and-a-half years after leaving his home country, he remains popular with Athletico Paranaense fans. Guimaraes made over 100 appearances for the Curitiba club between 2017 and 2019, scoring 10 goals.

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On Thursday, he was at Arena da Baixada to watch Athletico’s home match against Corinthians in a top of the table clash in the Brazilian Serie A.

Despite going behind to an early Roger Guedes, the hosts drew level from the penalty spot late on as David Terans converted to see the match end 1-1. Both sides ended the match with 10 men following an altercation involving Corinthians’ Roni and Athletico Paranaense’s Hugo Moura which saw both players sent off for violent conduct.

Mitsuki Saito of Shonan Bellmare and Bruno Guimaraes of Atretico Paranaense compete for the ball during the game between Shonan Bellmare and Athletico Paranaense at Shonan BMW Stadium Hiratsuka on August 07, 2019 in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Masashi Hara/Getty Images)Mitsuki Saito of Shonan Bellmare and Bruno Guimaraes of Atretico Paranaense compete for the ball during the game between Shonan Bellmare and Athletico Paranaense at Shonan BMW Stadium Hiratsuka on August 07, 2019 in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Masashi Hara/Getty Images)
Mitsuki Saito of Shonan Bellmare and Bruno Guimaraes of Atretico Paranaense compete for the ball during the game between Shonan Bellmare and Athletico Paranaense at Shonan BMW Stadium Hiratsuka on August 07, 2019 in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Masashi Hara/Getty Images)
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While he watched on from the stands, Guimaraes and his partner, Ana Lidia Martins, were shown on the big screen inside the stadium as the home fans applauded and chanted his name.

Following the game, Guimaraes took to Instagram to display his gratitude to the Athletico fans as he posted (translated from Portuguese): “Thank you for the reception and love as always.”

Related topics:Europe