Rwan Cruz

Rwan Philipe Rodrigues de Souza Cruz (born 20 May 2001), known as Rwan Seco, Rwan Cruz or just Rwan, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake, on loan from Botafogo.

Rwan Cruz

Rwan with Santos in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Rwan Philipe Rodrigues de Souza Cruz
Date of birth	(2001-05-20) 20 May 2001 (age 24)
Place of birth	Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Brazil
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Real Salt Lake
Number	N/A
Youth career
2014	Náutico
2015–2018	Sport Recife
2019	Figueirense
2020–2021	Flamengo-SP
2020–2021	→ Santos (loan)
2022	Santos
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2022–2023	Santos	28	(3)
2023	→ Vasco da Gama (loan)	2	(0)
2023	→ Ludogorets Razgrad (loan)	17	(5)
2024–2025	Ludogorets Razgrad	33	(19)
2025–	Botafogo	14	(2)
2025	→ Real Salt Lake (loan)	0	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 06:23, 25 July 2025 (UTC)

Career

Early career

Born in Cajueiro Seco, a small neighborhood in Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Pernambuco,^[2] Rwan began his career at a local footballing school named Garoto do Futuro before joining Náutico's youth categories. One year later, he joined Sport Recife as they offered a small funding assistance.^[3]

Rwan left Sport in the end of 2018 and subsequently signed for Figueirense, but spent nine months without playing at his new side due to a registration problem.^[2] He subsequently moved to Flamengo-SP, but returned to his hometown in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and helped his father as a bricklayer.^[2][4]

Santos

In June 2020, Rwan agreed to join Santos on loan from Flamengo, being initially assigned to the under-20s.^[5] However, due to the club's transfer ban, he was registered only in the following May.^[6]

Rwan spent the 2021 season playing for Santos' under-20 and under-23 sides, and signed a permanent three-year deal on 16 December of that year.^[7] He made his professional debut on 20 February 2022, coming on as a second-half substitute for Lucas Braga in a 3–0 Campeonato Paulista home loss against São Paulo.^[8]

Rwan scored his first senior goal on 23 February 2022, netting his team's third in a 3–0 away win over Salgueiro, for the year's Copa do Brasil.^[9]

Loan to Vasco da Gama

On 31 March 2023, Rwan was loaned to fellow top tier side Vasco da Gama until the end of the year, with a buyout clause.^[10]

Ludogorets Razgrad

On 22 July 2023, Rwan was announced at Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad on loan for one year, with a buyout option.^[11] In January 2024, he signed a permanent contract with the club, with Nonato moving in the opposite direction.

Botafogo

On 7 February 2025, Botafogo announced the signing of Rwan on a four-year contract.^[12]

Career statistics

As of 10 February 2025^[13]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			State League		Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Santos	2021	Série A	0	0	—		—		—		4[a]	0	4	0
	2022		17	2	4	0	3	1	6[b]	1	—		30	4
	2023		0	0	7	1	0	0	0	0	—		7	1
	Total		17	2	11	1	3	1	6	1	4	0	41	5
Vasco da Gama (loan)	2023	Série A	2	0	—		0	0	—		—		2	0
Ludogorets Razgrad (loan)	2023–24	Bulgarian First League	17	5	—		2	2	10[c]	2	0	0	29	9
Ludogorets Razgrad	2023–24	Bulgarian First League	15	9	—		3	1	2[d]	0	1[e]	0	21	10
	2024–25		18	10	—		1	0	15[f]	1	0	0	34	10
	Total		50	24	0	0	6	4	27	3	2	0	81	29
Botafogo	2025	Série A	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career total			69	25	11	1	9	4	33	4	5	0	127	34

1. Appearance(s) in Copa Paulista
2. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
3. Four appearances in UEFA Europa League, four appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa Conference League
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearances in Bulgarian Supercup
6. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, ten appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League