Early career Born in
Cuiabá,
Mato Grosso, Natanael made his senior debuts with
Operário de Várzea Grande in 2009. In 2011, he joined hometown's
Cuiabá, after a short stint at de Tangará.
Atlético Paranaense On 19 December 2013, after his contract with Cuiabá expired, Natanael signed a one-year deal with
Série A club
Atlético Paranaense. He made his debut in the competition on 20 April, starting in a 1–0 home win against
Grêmio. On 3 July 2014, Natanael signed a new three-year deal with
Furacão. He finished
the campaign with 31 appearances (all starts), also appearing regularly during
the year's
Copa Libertadores. On 22 March 2015, Natanael scored his first goal for
Atlético Paranaense in a 7–0 home win over
Nacional in the
Campeonato Paranaense.
Ludogorets Razgrad In July 2015, Natanael signed for Bulgarian champions
PFC Ludogorets Razgrad for an undisclosed fee. On 8 August, he played 55 minutes for
Ludogorets II in a
B Group match against
Vereya. Natanael made his first-team debut on 16 August, playing the full 90 minutes as Ludogorets beat
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 1–0 at
Ludogorets Arena. The Brazilian quickly established himself as a first choice in the main squad, helping Ludogorets to win their fifth championship in the
2015–16 season. Natanael then played in all 6 qualifying matches of the
2016–17 UEFA Champions League, with his team managing to enter the group stage of the tournament. On 28 September 2016, he opened the scoring in the home match against
Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage, netting from a free kick, but the Razgrad team went on to concede three goals and lost the match. ==Statistics==