Born in the northern neighbourhood of Vila Cristina in
São José dos Campos, Yuri Alberto joined
Santos' youth setup in 2013 at the age of twelve.[1] On 28 July 2017, he signed his first professional contract after agreeing to a three-year deal.[2]
On 1 November 2017, Yuri Alberto was promoted to the main squad by interim manager
Elano.[3] He made his first team – and
Série A – debut fifteen days later, coming on as a
substitute for
Renato in a 3–1 away loss against
Bahia.[4]
Yuri Alberto scored his first goal for the club on 7 March 2018, netting the equalizer in a 2–1
Campeonato Paulista away loss against
Grêmio Novorizontino; aged 16 years, 11 months and 20 days, he became the sixth youngest to score for Peixe in their history.[5] He made his
Copa Libertadores debut on 24 May, replacing
Vitor Bueno in a 0–0 home draw against
Real Garcilaso.[6]
After featuring sparingly during the
2018 campaign, Yuri Alberto only managed to appear twice under
Jorge Sampaoli in
2019. In March 2020, he returned to the first team under new manager
Jesualdo Ferreira, but still rejected a contract renewal from the club and opted to leave in July.[7]
Internacional
On 16 July 2020, it was announced that Yuri Alberto agreed to a five-year contract with fellow top-tier side
Internacional, effective as of 1 August. This led to a conflict with Santos, as the club claimed a clause in Yuri Alberto's contract granted them priority for the renewal.[8] Shortly after the announcement in the media, Internacional released an official statement regretting the "leak" of the offer.[9]
On 3 August 2020, after releasing a note two days earlier stating that the club "wished him success on his career playing for Santos",[10] Internacional announced the signing of Yuri Alberto on a five-year deal.[11] The following 20 January, he scored a second-half
hat-trick and made an assist in a 5–1 away routing of
São Paulo, taking his tally up to ten league goals in only 16 matches.[12] On 8 August 2021, he scored his second hat-trick for Internacional in a 4–0 away win over the
Flamengo, reaching his fourth goal in the Série A season.[13]
On 29 June 2022, Zenit announced an agreement with
Corinthians under which Yuri Alberto would move to Corinthians on loan, and
Ivan and
Gustavo Mantuan would move on loan in the opposite direction.[15]
In January 2023, he signed a permanent five year deal with the Brazilian club, the transfer seeing
Robert Renan and
Du Queiroz moving in the opposite direction.[16]
On 7 March 2018, Yuri Alberto and Santos teammate
Rodrygo were called up to the
under-20s,[20] but both were cut from the squad six days later after a request from his club's president.[21]
Alberto made his senior international debut on 25 March 2023 in a friendly game against
Morocco. He replaced
Lucas Paquetá in the 85th minute as Brazil lost 2-1 at the
Venue Grand Stade de Tanger in
Tanger.[22][23]
^"Nota oficial: Yuri Alberto" [Official note: Yuri Alberto]. internacional.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Sport Club Internacional. 16 July 2020.
Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
^"Nota oficial – Yuri Alberto" [Official note – Yuri Alberto]. internacional.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Sport Club Internacional. 1 August 2020.
Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
^"Inter contrata atacante Yuri Alberto" [Inter sign forward Yuri Alberto]. internacional.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Sport Club Internacional. 3 August 2020.
Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2020.