Brazil Jardel played first for
Vasco da Gama, but moved in 1995 to
Grêmio, where he played a major role in the squad that won the
1995 Copa Libertadores, scoring 12 goals to be crowned the tournament's top goal scorer, including a hat-trick in the quarter-finals against
Roberto Carlos'
Palmeiras, and a goal in the final against
Atlético Nacional.
Porto In 1996, Jardel was linked to several teams, and after failing to transfer to
Benfica and
Rangers (due to the strict British rules involving non-EU players), he signed with Portuguese side
Porto, where with help from players such as
Zlatko Zahovič,
Sérgio Conceição and
Ljubinko Drulović, he was the top goalscorer in Europe for three years (1998–99, 1999–00, 2001–02), with a goal average of slightly over one goal
per match (129 goals in 125 matches for an average of 1.03
per match). Although he was top scorer three times, due to the use of
coefficients based on each European league's standards, he only won twice, the 1998–99 and 2001–02
European Golden Boots. He lost out to
Kevin Phillips in 1999–2000 despite Phillips having scored six fewer goals than Jardel. In a 2014 interview, Jardel revealed that, during his spell at Porto, he consumed cocaine with the knowledge of both the club's doctor and physiotherapist.
Galatasaray Mário Jardel joined
Galatasaray S.K. in July 2000 from
FC Porto for a reported fee of €17 million, brought in to replace legendary striker
Hakan Şükür, who had transferred to
Inter Milan that same summer. Expectations were high, and Jardel quickly lived up to them with a prolific scoring record during his lone season at the club. He made his official debut for Galatasaray on 19 August 2000, in a
Süper Lig home match against
Erzurumspor. Jardel delivered a stunning performance, scoring five goals in a 7–0 victory. Just six days later, on 25 August 2000, he starred in the
2000 UEFA Super Cup against
Real Madrid, scoring twice—including the golden goal in extra time—to lead Galatasaray to a historic 2–1 victory and the club’s first UEFA Super Cup title. Over the course of the 2000–01 season, Jardel scored 34 goals in 43 appearances across all competitions. In the Süper Lig, he netted 22 goals in 24 matches, finishing as one of the league’s top scorers and helping Galatasaray secure a second-place finish. Jardel also impressed in European competition. He scored 11 goals in 17 appearances during Galatasaray’s
UEFA Champions League campaign, including a key goal in the 3–2 comeback win against Real Madrid in the quarter-final first leg on 3 April 2001. Despite his success, Jardel left the club after just one season, transferring to Portuguese club
Sporting CP in July 2001, where he continued his prolific scoring career in
Portugal.
Sporting CP In
2001–02, Jardel returned to Portugal;
Sporting CP signed him on the last day of transfer window and offered a contract worth €11 million over three seasons. Sporting transferred Galatasaray three players:
Mbo Mpenza,
Robert Spehar and
Pavel Horváth (valued €3.4 million), as well as US$5 million in cash. The
2001–02 season proved hugely successful for Jardel, as he scored 42 goals in 30 matches (17 via penalties) as Sporting CP won both the
Primeira Liga and the
Taça de Portugal. He also won
Portuguese Footballer of the Year by
Record newspaper, the first foreign player to achieve this.
Decline While the 2001–02 season was arguably the best of Jardel's career, the following
2002–03 season proved to be the beginning of the end. Again omitted from the
Brazil national team squad, this time for the
2002 FIFA World Cup (despite his tremendous goal-scoring abilities he was rarely called up), and unfit at the start of the season, he spent the year on the injury list. During the Christmas break, Jardel returned to his native Fortaleza, where he injured his knee in a swimming pool fall. He scored only nine goals that season. He was granted, alongside
Deco, Portuguese citizenship in February 2003. In August 2003, Jardel moved to English club
Bolton Wanderers, with Sporting CP to receive a transfer fee up to €1.5 million based on his performances in the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons. However, Jardel failed to score a single league goal for the club, though he scored three goals in the
League Cup, where Bolton were eventually losing finalists. These goals came in matches against
Walsall, where Jardel scored twice, and
Liverpool at
Anfield.
Sam Allardyce, Bolton's head coach that season, named Jardel the worst player he had ever managed due to his lack of dedication. During the winter break, Jardel went on loan to Italian side
Ancona, but could not convince the staff of his physical capabilities. Ancona supporters called him "
lardel" (a pun on the Italian "lardo", meaning
lard) due to him being
overweight. Regarding his debut against Milan, an Italian journalist also said, "We stretch a veil of silence in respect of what he has been." In August 2004, Jardel signed a contract with Argentine club
Newell's Old Boys, for which Bolton did not receive any transfer fee. In September 2005, Jardel signed a contract with Brazilian first-division side
Goiás until 31 December 2006. Jardel returned to Portugal to sign for
Beira Mar for the
2006–07 season, for an undisclosed fee. Despite arriving at the club overweight, he worked hard and trained specifically to lose weight and gain physical form and scored one goal on his debut for Beira-Mar in a 2–2 draw against
Desportivo das Aves. In the winter transfer season, Jardel signed for the Cypriot team
Anorthosis Famagusta. On 14 July 2007, Jardel played for
Scottish Premier League club
St Mirren, as a trialist in a 3–0 win over first division side
Stirling Albion.
Newcastle Jets On 14 August 2007, Australian
A-League side
Newcastle United Jets officially announced at a press conference in
Newcastle they had signed Jardel on a one-year contract as their
marquee player. Jardel was rumoured to join the club for weeks before the official announcement was made. He arrived in Australia on 12 August 2007 and traveled to Newcastle on 13 August. Jardel worked hard on his fitness before arriving in Newcastle. He was unable to play for the Jets in the first three rounds as he was in Australia on a tourist visa. He eventually had his sport visa approved before the start of Round 4. He made his debut as a substitute in the 70th minute at
EnergyAustralia Stadium against
Adelaide United in Round 4. Newcastle won the match 1–0 with a strike from
Mark Bridge in the 81st minute. After joining the Jets, Jardel saw little game time, usually making an appearance as a late substitute. The owner of Newcastle Jets,
Con Constantine, who brought Jardel to Newcastle, expressed his desire for Jardel to stay on the field for longer. However, Newcastle head coach
Gary van Egmond was reluctant to give the Brazilian a larger role. On 3 November 2007, Jardel played nearly 20 minutes against
Sydney FC. He showed some positive signs, nearly equalising for Newcastle with a trademark header from a
Joel Griffiths corner kick. Sydney goalkeeper
Clint Bolton saved the initial header before Jardel's follow-up was cleared off the line. However, after showing glimpses of class, manager van Egmond perceived Jardel to be surplus to requirements and was told he could leave the club halfway through the season. He was reportedly being paid $3,000
per week by club owner Con Constantine. He left the club on 24 January 2008 to be with his sick mother in Brazil. The Jets went on to win the
2008 A-League Grand Final.
Brazil lower divisions (2008–10) On 29 June 2008, Jardel joined Campeonato Brasileiro Série B club
Criciúma. Jardel joined to
Ferroviário on 4 February 2009. On 11 March 2009, Jardel made his Ferroviário debut with a very classy goal, a reminder of his past years of glory as one of the best finishers ever to play on the Portuguese Liga. In August 2009 he signed a 6-month contract with
América de Fortaleza, but released on 30 October 2009. On 20 January 2010, Jardel signed a contract until the end of 2010
Campeonato Piauiense with
Esporte Clube Flamengo. He became a free agent on 10 June 2010.
Cherno More On 27 June 2010, Jardel arrived in
Varna, Bulgaria in order to negotiate terms with
Bulgarian club
Cherno More Varna. A day later, on 28 June 2010, Jardel signed a one-year contract with the Sailors and was officially presented as a new signing of the club. Jardel was welcomed by 300 fans at his presentation at the
Ticha Stadium. He made his new club debut on 17 July, in a friendly match against Romanian side
Victoria Brăneşti, with the match ending in a 2–2 draw. Jardel made his competitive debut for the Sailors during the 2010–11 season on 7 August 2010 in a 0–2 away loss against
Lokomotiv Plovdiv, coming on as a substitute for compatriot
Marco Tiago. In the next round of
A PFG Mário played 26 minutes as a substitute for a 1–0 home win against
Akademik Sofia. On 31 October 2010, he scored his first goal for the Bulgarian team, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 victory over
Lokomotiv Sofia. On 28 November 2010, it was reported that Jardel had left
Cherno More, in part due to concerns pertaining to the cold weather conditions in Bulgaria.
Atlético Rio Negro Clube On 21 December 2010, it was reported that Jardel signed a one-year deal with
Atlético Rio Negro Clube from
Manaus,
Amazonas. ==International career==