Vágner Love facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Silva and the second or paternal family name is de Souza.

Quick facts for kids
Vágner Love

Vágner Love with CSKA Moscow, 2009

Personal information

Date of birth

11 June 1984 (age 41)

Place of birth

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Height

1.72 m

Playing position

Forward

Club information

Current club

Avaí

Number

Youth career

2001–2003

Palmeiras

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps^†

(Gls)^†

2002–2004

Palmeiras

(39)

2004–2011

CSKA Moscow

158

(79)

2009

→ Palmeiras (loan)

(5)

2010

→ Flamengo (loan)

(19)

2012–2013

Flamengo

(19)

2013

CSKA Moscow

(6)

2013–2015

Shandong Luneng

(19)

2015–2016

Corinthians

(16)

2016

Monaco

(4)

2016–2018

Alanyaspor

(34)

2018–2019

Beşiktaş

(6)

2019–2020

Corinthians

(7)

2020–2021

Kairat

(14)

2022

Midtjylland

(1)

2022–2023

Sport

(23)

2024

Atlético Goianiense

(7)

2024–

Avaí

(3)

National team^‡

2003

Brazil U20

(4)

2004–2007

Brazil

(4)

Honours

Men's football

Brazil
Copa América
Winner	2004 Peru
Winner	2007 Venezuela

Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:11, 24 January 2025 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 September 2015

Vágner Silva de Souza (born on June 11, 1984), known as Vágner Love, is a Brazilian professional footballer. He plays as a forward for the Série B club Avaí. He is known for his quick moves, skill, and powerful shots.

Vágner got the nickname "Love" when he played for Palmeiras. He was known for his lively personality and passion for the game.

He played for CSKA Moscow in Russia for eight seasons. During this time, he scored 117 goals in 241 official games. He won 14 trophies with CSKA Moscow. He also scored in the 2005 UEFA Cup Final, becoming the youngest player to score in a UEFA Cup final.

Vágner Love scored four goals in 20 games for the Brazil national team. He helped Brazil win the Copa América in both 2004 and 2007.

Vágner Love's Club Journey

Starting with Palmeiras

Vágner Love began his football career at Palmeiras. In 2003, he helped his team get back into the Série A, which is Brazil's top football league.

Playing for CSKA Moscow

In August 2004, Russian Premier League club CSKA Moscow bought Vágner Love. He quickly made a big impact, scoring 3 goals in 3 games to help CSKA qualify for the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League group stage. He also scored 9 goals in 12 league games.

On May 18, 2005, Vágner Love scored the final goal in CSKA's 3–1 win over Sporting CP in the 2005 UEFA Cup Final. This made him the youngest player ever to score in a UEFA Cup final. Besides the UEFA Cup, he also won the Russian Premier League title and the Russian Cup in 2005 and 2008. He also won the Russian Super Cup in 2006.

Vágner Love was the top scorer in the 2008 season. He was also the top scorer in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup with 11 goals in 8 games.

Returning to Palmeiras on Loan

On August 28, 2009, Vágner Love went back to his old club, Palmeiras, on a one-year loan. He scored 5 goals in 12 games for Palmeiras. However, his loan ended early on January 14, 2010.

Playing for Flamengo

On January 15, 2010, Vágner Love signed a loan deal with Flamengo, the Brazilian champions. He played his first game for Flamengo on January 23, 2010, and scored two goals.

Vágner Love played very well for Flamengo, scoring 23 goals in 26 matches. He formed a strong partnership with another player named Adriano. Fans called their partnership "Império do Amor," which means "The Love Empire."

Back to CSKA Moscow

Love playing for CSKA

On January 12, 2013, Vágner Love returned to CSKA Moscow after a year away. He signed a new three-year contract. He continued to score goals for CSKA and helped them win the Premier League title in 2013. This was the club's first league title since 2006.

Moving to Shandong Luneng

On July 24, 2013, Vágner Love moved to Chinese Super League team Shandong Luneng.

Time with Corinthians

On February 8, 2015, Vágner Love joined Corinthians in Brazil. He became the top scorer for the club during the national championship. Corinthians went on to win the Série A that year.

Joining Monaco

On January 13, 2016, Ligue 1 club Monaco signed Vágner Love for 18 months. On March 20, he scored the first goal in a 2–0 win against Paris Saint-Germain. This was Paris Saint-Germain's first home defeat since May 2014.

Playing for Alanyaspor

On August 30, 2016, Turkish club Alanyaspor signed Vágner Love. After not scoring in his first seven games, Love scored 23 goals in the next 20 matches. This earned him the Golden Boot award for being the top scorer in the league.

Joining Beşiktaş

On January 26, 2018, Turkish club Beşiktaş signed Vágner Love.

Another Return to Corinthians

On January 25, 2019, Love returned to Corinthians. He stayed until June 2020.

Playing for Kairat

On July 8, 2020, Kazakhstan Premier League club FC Kairat signed Vágner Love. On November 3, 2020, Love scored Kairat's first goal in a 3–1 win. This win helped them secure their first Kazakhstan Premier League title since 2004. Kairat extended his contract until the end of the 2021 season.

Time with Midtjylland

On January 20, 2022, Love joined Midtjylland in Denmark. His contract lasted until the end of the 2021/22 season. He left the club on May 22, 2022.

Playing for Sport Recife

On July 26, 2022, Love returned to Brazil and joined Série A team Sport Recife. On January 6, 2023, he signed a new contract with the club for another season.

Joining Atlético Goianiense

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

Vágner Love's International Career

Vágner Love was first called up to the Brazil national football team for the 2004 Copa América. He made his debut as a substitute in a 4–1 win against Costa Rica. This was his only game as Brazil went on to win the competition.

He was not chosen for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. After the tournament, Vágner Love was picked for the national team by the new manager, Dunga. He scored his first goal for Brazil that same year against Wales.

In 2007, he was part of Brazil's team for the 2007 Copa América. On July 7, 2007, he scored the final goal in a 6–1 win against Chile in the quarter-finals. He played his last game for the national team that year against Uruguay. In total, he played 20 games for Brazil and scored 4 goals.

Vágner Love's Career Stats

Club Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			State league		National cup		Continental		Other		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
	2003	Série B	29	19	2	0	1	2	–		1	1	33	22
	2004	Série A	11	8	12	12	7	6	–		–		30	26
	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
	2005		21	7	–		7	0	14	7	1	0	43	14
	2006		23	9	–		7	4	7	2	1	0	38	15
	2007		23	13	–		1	0	3	3	1	1	28	17
	2008		26	20	–		1	1	6	8	–		33	29
	2009		13	3	–		3	1	4	3	1	0	21	7
	2010		15	9	–		0	0	5	2	0	0	20	11
	2011–12		25	9	–		5	1	9	1	1	0	40	11
	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		5	4	14	15	—		10	4	—		29	23
Flamengo	2012		36	13	10	9	—		5	2	—		51	24
CSKA Moscow	2012–13	Russian Premier League	9	5	–		3	1	0	0	–		12	6
	2013–14	Russian Premier League	2	1	–		0	0	0	0	1	0	3	1
	Total		11	6	–		3	1	0	0	1	0	15	7
Shandong Luneng Taishan	2013	Chinese Super League	10	6	–		0	0	–		–		10	6
	2014	Chinese Super League	21	13	–		7	4	5	5	–		33	22
	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
	2017–18	Süper Lig	14	10	–		2	1	–		–		16	11
	Total		42	33	–		2	1	–		–		44	34
Beşiktaş	2017–18	Süper Lig	10	3	–		1	0	2	1	–		13	4
	2018–19	Süper Lig	8	3	–		0	0	8	4	–		16	7
	Total		18	6	–		1	0	10	5	–		29	11
Corinthians	2019	Série A	28	5	15	1	8	1	10	4	–		59	11
	2020	Série A	0	0	6	1	–		1	0	–		7	1
	Total		28	5	21	2	8	1	11	4	–		62	12
Kairat	2020	Kazakhstan Premier League	14	7	—		0	0	2	3	—		16	10
	2021	Kazakhstan Premier League	22	7	—		6	5	12	5	2	0	42	17
	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
	2023	Série B	33	11	12	5	3	2	—		11	5	59	23
	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
	2025	Série B	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		2	0
	Total		24	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		26	3
Career total			551	252	102	51	67	29	120	60	15	6	855	398

International Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Brazil	2004	1	0
	2005	0	0
	2006	3	1
	2007	16	3
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