Willian Borges da Silva (born 9 August 1988), known mononymously as Willian, is a Brazilian professional footballer. Primarily a winger throughout his career, he can also operate as an attacking midfielder or wide midfielder.
Willian began his career at Corinthians before joining Shakhtar Donetsk in August 2007 for a fee of €14 million. During his six years at the club, he won several honours, including four Ukrainian Premier League titles and the UEFA Cup in 2009. In 2013, he briefly signed with Anzhi Makhachkala before moving to Chelsea for £30 million, winning the Premier League and the League Cup in his second season in England. He signed for Arsenal in August 2020 before re-signing for boyhood club Corinthians the following year.
Willian made his debut for Brazil in 2011 and had since represented his country at the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2015 Copa América, the Copa América Centenario, and the 2019 Copa América, a tournament Brazil won on home soil.
Willian started playing futsal at six years old in his hometown of Ribeirão Pires. In 1998, he joined the Corinthians youth system. In 2005, at the age of 17, he was already part of the squad that won the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior. He was also among the Corinthians loanees who briefly played for Grêmio Mauaense in the 2005 Campeonato Paulista Série A3.
In 2007, Willian began playing for the Corinthians first team. He made five league appearances during his first season with the senior side as Corinthians finished mid-table. His breakthrough came with Corinthians in the following campaign, featuring in 11 league matches, scoring twice, and making 29 appearances in all competitions for the club. Although they were 13th when Willian was sold, they ended up finishing 17th in the Série A and were relegated for the first time in the club's history.
On 23 August 2007, Willian signed a five-year contract with Shakhtar Donetsk for a transfer fee of €14 million. His debut for the club came on 15 September in a 2–1 league victory over Chornomorets Odesa, where he came on as a 57th-minute substitute, replacing fellow Brazilian Jádson. Willian scored his first goal for the club on 31 October in a 4–1 victory over Arsenal Kyiv in the Ukrainian Cup. He made his European debut on 6 November in a 3–0 Champions League defeat to A.C. Milan, coming on as a 73rd-minute replacement for Răzvan Raț.
Willian ended his first season with Shakhtar with 31 total appearances, 28 of which came in the league, scoring three league goals. He helped Shakhtar to a Vyshcha Liha and Ukrainian Cup double, as they won the league by three points over Dynamo Kyiv and defeated them 2–0 in the 2008 Ukrainian Cup final.
He played in the Super Cup penalty shootout victory over Dynamo Kyiv on 15 July, being replaced by Brandão after 46 minutes. On 27 August, he scored a goal in a 3–1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. On 1 November, he scored his first league goal for Shakhtar in a 3–1 win against Zorya Luhansk. On 16 November, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv. He scored the decisive goal in a 1–0 victory against Chornomorets Odesa on 25 April.
Willian played in Shakhtar's UEFA Cup Final 2–1 extra time victory against Werder Bremen, helping Shakhtar lift the last UEFA Cup title before it was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League. He made 52 appearances in the 2008–09 season, scoring eight goals. He appeared in all but one league match, scoring five goals, and also netted a goal in a Ukrainian Cup round of 16 tie against Zakarpattia Uzhhorod, which Shakhtar won 4–1.
Willian's first goal of the season came in a 6–1 Ukrainian Cup round of 32 victory against Dniester Ovidiopol on 15 August. He made an appearance in Shakhtar's 1–0 extra time defeat to Spanish side Barcelona in the UEFA Super Cup on 28 August, being replaced by Julius Aghahowa in the 90th minute of the match. On 17 September, he netted the second goal in a 4–1 win against Belgian side Club Brugge in a group stage match in the Europa League. He ended the season with seven goals in 39 appearances, including 22 appearances and five goals in the league. He helped Shakhtar to victory in the Ukrainian Premier League. They finished the league with 77 points, six ahead of nearest rivals Dynamo Kyiv.
Willian started the season with a goal in Shakhtar's emphatic 7–1 victory against Tavriya Simferopol in the Super Cup on 4 July. He followed that up on 10 July with the second goal in the first league match of the season, a 2–0 victory over Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih. On 15 August, he netted the only goal in a 1–0 victory against Karpaty Lviv, scoring in first-half stoppage time. He also scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Illichivets Mariupol on 29 August. On 8 March, he scored two goals in a Champions League last 16 tie against Roma, with Shakhtar winning 3–0 on the night and progressing to the quarter-final after winning 6–2 on aggregate. He played in the 2–0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv in the Ukrainian Cup Final on 25 May, being replaced by Alex Teixeira after 77 minutes. He ended the season with eight goals from 43 appearances, including 23 league appearances and three league goals. Shakhtar retained their league title with a score of 72 points, seven points ahead of second-placed team Dynamo Kyiv. They added the Ukrainian Cup and Super Cup titles to clinch a domestic treble.
The following season, Willian played the full 90 minutes in the Super Cup match against Dynamo Kyiv on 5 July; however, Shakhtar lost the match 3–1. On 19 October, he scored the opening goal in a 2–2 draw with Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Champions League. He scored the second goal in a 2–1 win over Illichivets Mariupol on 10 March. On 6 May, he played the full match in a 2–1 extra-time victory against Metalurh Donetsk in the Ukrainian Cup Final. He finished the season with six goals—five in the league—from 37 appearances, 27 of which came in the league. Shakhtar secured the Ukrainian Premier League title for the third year in a row and the Ukrainian Cup title for a second consecutive season.
Shakhtar opened the season with a 2–0 win against Metalurh Donetsk in the Super Cup; however, Willian did not make the squad for the match. He had to wait until the fourth league match of the season, on 6 August, to make his first appearance, in a 4–0 win against Volyn Lutsk. He replaced goalscorer Alex Teixeira after 46 minutes. On 19 August, he scored his first goal of the season and provided two assists in a comprehensive 5–1 victory against Chornomorets Odesa. Willian scored both of Shakhtar's goals in their 3–2 loss to reigning European champions Chelsea in the Champions League group stage on 7 November.
On 31 January 2013, Willian moved to Anzhi Makhachkala for a fee thought to be in the region of €35 million. He originally chose to wear the number 10; however, due to UEFA restrictions stating that a player must wear a number used in the Champions League for the remainder of the season, he was forced to wear the number 88, which he had chosen at Shakhtar. After moving to Russia, Willian said he was happy to join Anzhi and wished Shakhtar Donetsk great success in the future. On his debut, Willian sustained an injury against Newcastle United in a Europa League match. He scored his only goal for Anzhi on 14 April 2013 in a 3–0 victory against Volga Nizhny Novgorod.
In August 2013, following financial restructuring, Anzhi chose to transfer their entire squad, including recent signing Willian.
On 25 August 2013, English Premier League club Chelsea agreed to a deal to sign Willian for a fee of £30 million, subject to a work permit hearing on 28 August 2013. The deal was made official on 28 August 2013, and Willian signed a five-year contract, receiving the number 22 shirt. Although regulations usually state that non-EU players must be regular internationals, Willian was given a work permit despite only having two caps at the time, as an FA panel deemed that if he were not Brazilian, he would have been a regular international and therefore would have had more caps.