Alex Sandro Lobo Silva was born on 26 January 1991 in Catanduva, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. He came through the youth setup of Atlético Paranaense and made his senior debut for the club in 2009 before being snapped up by Santos in 2011, where he played alongside Neymar in the side that won the 2011 Copa Libertadores.
In summer 2011 Porto signed him, and over four seasons in Portugal he won two Primeira Liga titles and established himself as one of Europe's most reliable attacking left-backs. In August 2015 Juventus paid around €26 million to bring him to Turin, where he became a fixture of one of the most successful periods in the club's modern history.
At Juventus across eight seasons he won five Serie A titles, four Coppa Italia trophies and reached the 2017 UEFA Champions League final, accumulating more than 300 appearances and becoming Brazil's joint-most-decorated player by Serie A titles. After his Juventus contract expired in summer 2023 he joined Flamengo on a free transfer, returning to Brazil to lead a senior defensive group in his home country.
For Brazil he debuted in 2011 alongside Neymar and has been a long-standing senior international, appearing at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the 2016 Copa América Centenario. Now in his mid-thirties he remains a squad option as one of the country's most experienced left-sided defenders.
Standing 1.81 m, Alex Sandro is a left-footed full-back whose blend of overlapping athleticism, defensive positioning and crossing accuracy made him one of the prototype modern left-backs of the 2010s. His longevity, two-footedness and reading of the game have drawn comparisons to a more attacking Roberto Carlos.