The man who won the Puskás
Every football fan on earth has seen Guilherme Madruga play football. Almost none of them know his name. In 2023, the Brazilian midfielder scored a bicycle kick from outside the box for Botafogo-SP in a Série B match, and that goal won the FIFA Puskás Award, the goal of the year on the entire planet. He then faded from the European highlights reel, because his career took the road that ends in Jinan, not Turin: he now plays his football for Shandong Luneng in the Chinese Super League.
The skouted.ai model has been through his file this week, and the numbers say the market has completely lost track of a genuinely productive central midfielder.
The steal, in numbers
Madruga sits on the Top Steals board with a deal score of 84, a UV score of 99 out of 100, and a market value band of €490K to €800K for a 75 OVR midfielder who is 25 years old and entering the final three months of his contract.
The model’s own read on the file:
UV score of 99 signals significant undervaluation. Contract expiring in 3 months, available at a discount.
| Metric | Value | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| OVR | 75 | Solid top-flight central midfielder |
| UV Score | 99 | Maximum undervaluation signal |
| Deal Score | 84 | Top of the steals board |
| Contract | 2026 | 3 months left, pre-contract window live |
Why he costs less than a prospect
The China discount is the entire story. A 75 OVR Brazilian midfielder with a Puskás on the shelf would cost €15m to €20m if he played in Portugal or the Netherlands. In the Chinese Super League, where salaries are high but exit fees are soft and scout traffic is near zero, the model prices him under €1m. He is not there for footballing failure: he has been a regular in a Shandong side that contends at the top of the CSL, a box-to-box profile with genuine technical quality in tight spaces, which the Puskás goal did not create, it merely advertised.
Who should be calling
The profile fits three markets perfectly. A mid-table Portuguese or Dutch side that wants a ready-made starter for under €1m. A Brazilian Serie A club rebuilding a midfield on a budget, where he would arrive as a hero of the domestic league. Or a MLS side with an open international slot and a playoff push. With three months left on his deal, every one of them can open pre-contract talks now and sign him for nothing in the new year.
AI Verdict: Strong Buy
A 99 UV score is the strongest undervaluation signal the model can produce, on a player with a global trophy in his highlight reel and a contract running into its final quarter. The risk is a one-in-a-thousand market quirk, not the footballer.
View full profile and AI-powered transfer intelligence at skouted.ai