What's happened to Matheus Pereira after his electric West Brom spell | OneFootball

The 29-year-old has been continuing to impress in Brazil and Saudi Arabia

Matheus Pereira likely won't be called a West Brom legend due to the short amount of time he spent at the Hawthorns, but there's no doubt that the two seasons he spent there were nothing short of entertaining.

The now 29-year-old was the star of the Baggies side, who earned Premier League promotion in 2020 whilst he was on loan at the club from Sporting Lisbon.

After signing permanently in the summer of 2020, Pereira was unable to keep West Brom in the top flight the following season. However, he still managed 17 Premier League goal contributions for the club in the 2020/21 campaign.

That was the last time we saw Pereira in England, let alone West Brom, and many neutral fans have expressed their disappointment as such, especially the Baggies fans who only really got to see him live for around three-quarters of a season, due to Covid-19.

So, what has Pereira been up to since? Has his career taken a step forward? Football League World has taken a look to find out.

Matheus Pereira's career post-West Brom, including his international debut

Matheus Pereira's exit from West Brom was slightly messier than he likely would have wanted, with the Brazilian being left out of pre-season by then-manager Valerien Ismael as he believed he "wasn't committed" to the club.

In the end, Pereira departed to Saudi Professional League side Al-Hilal for an undisclosed fee.

The then-25-year-old was one of the first players from the traditional 'top five' European leagues to make the move to Saudi Arabia, with the deal being made a year and a half before Cristiano Ronaldo's January 2023 transfer to Al Nassr.

Pereira's first season for Al-Hilal saw him contribute 13 goals as his side won the Saudi Pro League, but after that, his time in the team, which would go on to buy the likes of Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly and Aleksandar Mitrovic, quickly dwindled.

A few loan moves to the UAE and back to his home country of Brazil followed, and the latter loan to Cruzeiro was where he began to get his career back on track after a slight derailment.

In the 2024 Brazilian Serie A season, he scored eight and assisted seven, and, as a result, he was called up to the Brazil squad to replace Lucas Paqueta ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifiers. He made his debut as a substitute in their 4-0 win over Peru.

Matheus Pereira's current career in Brazil

Pereira's successful loan spell with Cruzeiro saw the Brazilian side buy him permanently, with Brazilian media outlets referring to the former West Brom man as their "star player".

Despite finishing ninth last season, Pereria's Cruzeiro have begun the 2025 campaign well, and look on track to be one of the sides battling for the Serie A title come December.

The 29-year-old will likely have an outside hope of being one of the squad players in the upcoming 2026 World Cup after making his debut for Brazil last October, too.

He may be referred to as a 'streets won't forget' player in England in five or so years after his one Premier League season with West Brom, but right now, he's looking to help his current side to a first Serie A title since 2014.