Paolo Mauricio Lemos Merladett (born 28 December 1995) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. He also represents the Uruguay national team.
![]() Lemos in 2020 | ||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Paolo Mauricio Lemos Merladett | |||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1995-12-28) 28 December 1995 (age 26) | |||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Rivera, Uruguay | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Centre-back | |||||||||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||||||||
Current team | Fenerbahçe | |||||||||||||||
Number | 29 | |||||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
0000–2013 | Defensor Sporting | |||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
2013–2015 | Defensor Sporting | 9 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2015–2016 | Rubin Kazan | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2016–2020 | Las Palmas | 75 | (6) | |||||||||||||
2018–2019 | → Sassuolo (loan) | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||
2020– | Fenerbahçe | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2021–2022 | → Beerschot (loan) | 15 | (1) | |||||||||||||
National team | ||||||||||||||||
2014–2015 | Uruguay U20 | 22 | (2) | |||||||||||||
2015 | Uruguay U22 | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2017–2018 | Uruguay | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 August 2022 |
Born in Rivera, Lemos was a Defensor Sporting youth graduate. On 6 January 2014, aged 18, he was promoted to the main squad.
Lemos made his professional debut on 11 May 2014, starting in a 2–1 home loss against Montevideo Wanderers.[1] After appearing in only two matches during his debut campaign, he was more regularly used in his second; however, his appearances were limited due to an apendicitis and call-ups to the under-20 national team.[2]
On 3 July 2015, Lemos was loaned to Russian Premier League side FC Rubin Kazan, for one year.[3] He made his debut for the club on 3 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 away defeat to Spartak Moscow.
After appearing in eight matches for the club (four in the league), Lemos was bought outright.
On 28 January 2016, Lemos was loaned to La Liga side UD Las Palmas, with a buyout clause.[4] He made his debut in the competition on 20 February, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jonathan Viera in a 1–2 home loss against FC Barcelona.[5]
On 6 May 2016, after appearing in nine matches for the Amarillos, Lemos signed a permanent five-year deal with the club effective in July.[6] He scored his first goal in the main category of Spanish football the following 30 January, netting his team's second in a 3–1 home win against Valencia CF.
On 10 March 2017, Lemos scored a brace in a 4–3 away win against RCD Espanyol.
On 22 January 2018, Las Palmas announced they had reached an agreement with Italian club Sassuolo to sell him immediately.[7]
On 26 August 2020, Fenerbahçe announced Lemos signed a three-year contract.[8]
Lemos has represented Uruguay with the U23 team at 2015 Pan American Games, winning the gold medal.
He received maiden call-up to senior team in October 2017 and was included in the squad to play friendlies against Poland and Austria.[9] He made his debut on 10 November 2017, playing 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw against Poland.
Club | Season | League | Cup[lower-alpha 1] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Defensor | 2013–14 | Primera División | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | ||
2014–15 | 7 | 0 | – | – | – | 7 | 0 | |||||
Total | 9 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | ||||
Rubin Kazan | 2015–16 | Russian Premier League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 9 | 0 |
Las Palmas | 2015–16 | La Liga | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 0 | ||
2016–17 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 5 | ||||
2017–18 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 18 | 0 | ||||
2019–20 | Segunda División | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 1 | |||
Total | 75 | 6 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 81 | 6 | ||||
Sassuolo (loan) | 2017–18 | Serie A | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 1 | ||
2018–19 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
Total | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | |||
Fenerbahçe | 2020–21 | Süper Lig | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 0 | ||
2022–23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | |||
Total | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 15 | 0 | |||
Beerschot (loan) | 2021–22 | Belgian First Division | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 1 | ||
Career total | 124 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 143 | 8 |
Uruguay U23
Fenerbahçe S.K. – current squad | |
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