The 29-year-old has been rewarded for an excellent season with Villarreal by winning a call-up into the World Cup squad for this summer's tournament. Born in Brazil, he was recently granted Spanish citizenship after spending the last three seasons with the Yellow Submarines. Earlier in his career he played for Rio Branco, America, Corinthians, Juventude and Sao Caetano in Brazil. He played a key role in helping Villarreal reach the semi-finals of this summer's Champions League where they lost narrowly to Arsenal.