1. He was born in Bom Sucesso
Igor Julio was born in the superbly named Bom Sucesso, which translates as ‘Good Success’ in English, in the state of Minas Gerais in south-eastern Brazil.
He played for Atlético Mineiro and Portuguesa Santista as a schoolboy before joining São Paulo-based Red Bull Brasil at the age of 18 in 2016.
Igor moved to Europe the same year, when he joined Austrian Bundesliga side FC Red Bull Salzburg and was sent to the club’s second-tier farm team FC Liefering.
2. He is a UEFA Youth League winner
Igor spent three seasons in Austria between the ages of 18 and 21, appearing for four different clubs.
The then 18-year-old first established himself at senior level with Red Bull Salzburg’s farm club FC Liefering in 2016/17 - a season that also saw him play alongside a number of his Liefering teammates for Salzburg’s U19s in the UEFA Youth League.
Igor started as Salzburg defeated Vardar of Macedonia, Kairat of Kazakhstan, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid - against whom he scored in a 2-1 win - Barcelona and Benfica to win the prestigious trophy for the first time.
3. He spent two seasons in the Austrian Bundesliga
After making two appearances for Red Bull Salzburg, Igor was loaned to Austrian Bundesliga side Wolfsberger AC for the second half of the 2017/18 season and made 15 top-flight appearances at centre-back.
In 2018/19, he went on loan to Austria Vienna for the whole campaign and appeared 30 times as the club finished fourth in the Bundesliga and reached the Austrian Cup quarter-finals.
4. He reached two cup finals with Fiorentina
Igor transferred to Italian Serie A club SPAL, based in the city of Ferrara in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, in the summer of 2019.
The defender played 17 times in Serie A, registering an assist on his debut against Atalanta and scoring his first senior goal in a Coppa Italia win over Lecce in December 2019.
At the end of January 2020, he joined Fiorentina on loan. He would spent three-and-a-half seasons in Tuscany, playing 110 times in all competitions.
Igor featured 12 times as Fiorentina reached the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final, where he appeared as a late substitute against West Ham United. The Brazilian also helped Fiorentina reach the Coppa Italia semi-finals in 2022 and final in 2023.
5. He appeared in Europe for Brighton
Igor spent two seasons at Brighton & Hove Albion, playing 50 times in all competitions, including six appearances in the UEFA Europa League in 2023/24.
The 27-year-old helped the Seagulls to Europa League victories over Ajax, AEK Athens, Marseille and Roma, while he also played 37 matches in the Premier League.
