Happy Birthday, Maxwell!
44 years old today, the four-time Ligue 1 McDonald's champion was a paragon of quiet excellence during his time at Paris Saint-Germain -- learn more about his story in our latest profile.
An early move to Europe
Maxwell, born Maxwell Scherrer Cabelino Andrade, retired as a player in 2017 after parts of six seasons in Paris, winning the title in all but the first and last of these. In his career, he would win 11 league titles in total, as well as the UEFA Champions League while playing with Barça in 2011. Never the flashiest player, his success at club level wasn't reflected in similar fashion with his country, but he nevertheless offered a reliable and technically sound presence. Now PSG's assistant sporting director, he served as a reliable lynchpin in a Lusophone defence alongside David Luiz, Marquinhos and Alex, helping the capital side build in impressive fashion.
Before joining the capital side, he had decamped to Europe at a young age, leaving his first club Cruzeiro to join Ajax. While his time there was eventually cut short by injury, he was a resounding success, winning a pair of league titles and even being named the Dutch footballer of the year in his last full season. He also became good friends with a certain Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a relationship that would continue at several clubs in the pair's future.
🎂🇧🇷 Happy birthday Maxwell! ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/FdPqT45dLy
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 27, 2025
Six seasons (and plenty of trophies) in Ligue 1
After further spells with Inter Milan and Barcelona -- winning five more league titles in the process -- he joined Paris Saint-Germain in January of 2012. While the capital side were unsuccessful in winning the title that first season, the arrivals the following summer of Ibrahimovic, Marco Verratti, Thiago Silva and Thiago Motta greatly strengthened the team, and they romped to the first of what would be four straight Ligue 1 titles, a streak only broken by an upstart AS Monaco in 2016/17.
In addition to this quartet of league titles, Maxwell also helped with the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue several times each, and was named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Season in each of his first three full seasons in France. While never a regular with his country, he nevertheless earned ten caps and was a part of the squad for the 2014 World Cup on home soil. Retiring in 2017 following the arrival of Yuri Berchiche, he has remained with the club professionally, working with then-Sporting Directot Antero Henrique
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