Adriano Correia Claro (born 26 October 1984), simply Adriano, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for FC Barcelona in La Liga. One of few players in professional football who is genuinely ambidextrous, he is capable of playing as a defender or midfielder, on both sides of the pitch.

Sevilla

Born in Curitiba, Paraná, Adriano started professionally for his hometown club, Coritiba Foot Ball Club, making his first team debuts at not yet 18. In January 2005 he joined Sevilla FC in a four 1/2-year deal.

In the following seasons, Adriano continued to feature in several positions for Sevilla with equal success, as it won back-to-back UEFA Cups, with the player contributing with 25 games and four goals in both editions combined. In the final of the latter edition, he opened the score against RCD Espanyol in an eventual penalty shootout win; previously, in late September 2006, he had added a further five years to his link.

After three years residing in the country, Adriano was granted Spanish citizenship. He struggled with some injuries during the 2009–10 season, but still contributed with 27 matches (no goals) as Sevilla finished fourth and returned to the UEFA Champions League.

Barcelona

On 16 July 2010 Adriano signed a 4+1 deal with Barcelona, for €9.5 million plus a conditional fee of €4 million; it also included a buyout clause of €90 million. He was awarded the No. 21 shirt vacated by Ukrainian Dmytro Chygrynskiy who departed after just one season, and made his debut in a pre-season friendly against Vålerenga Fotball, coming on as a second-half substitute; on 14 August he first appeared officially, in the first leg of the season's Supercopa de España, a 1–3 loss at former side Sevilla.

Adriano spent the vast majority of his first season with Barça as a substitute. On 2 February 2011, in a rare start, he scored his first goal for the Catalans, netting in a 3–0 semi-final win at UD Almería for the season's Copa del Rey (8–0 on aggregate); due to the illness of first-choice left-back Éric Abidal, he became a regular starter from March onwards, although the Frenchman recovered in time to start in the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final.

In 2011–12, Adriano was again mostly a reserve for the Pep Guardiola-led side. On 15 December 2011, however, in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, he scored the first two goals in a 4–0 semi-final win against Sadd Sports Club, the first coming after a mistake by the Qatari team's defense to open the score in the 25th minute.

Early into the 2012–13 season, Adriano played the role of hero and villain in a matter of days: in the Spanish Supercup second leg, he was sent off midway through the first half of an eventual 1–2 away loss against Real Madrid (4–4 aggregate defeat on the away goals rule), for bringing down Cristiano Ronaldo as the last man; On 2 September 2012, however, he scored the game's only goal at home against Valencia CF, through a spectacular right-foot curl.

International career

Shortly after helping the U-20s win the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, Adriano made his full squad debuts also in that year. In 2004 he was part of the squad that won the Copa América, in Peru.