Emerson Leal, the former Grêmio defensive midfielder, died on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at the age of 46. He had been in intensive care at Hospital São Camilo in Esteio, near Porto Alegre, since suffering a heart attack during a recreational football match a week earlier.
Friends said he collapsed about 20 minutes into the game. A doctor who was playing gave him CPR until an ambulance arrived, and he suffered another cardiac arrest after reaching hospital. Days earlier he had complained of chest pain during another match and rested in the dressing room, thinking it was a spike in blood pressure.
A Grêmio academy graduate
Emerson da Silva Leal joined Grêmio’s youth system in 1999 and reached the first team two years later. He was part of the squad that won the Copa do Brasil and the Campeonato Gaúcho in 2001, and the following season he played in the club’s runs to the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores and the Brazilian championship.
“Émerson da Silva Leal began his journey in Grêmio’s youth ranks in 1999, reaching the professional squad two years later,” the club said in a statement. “Grêmio stands with his family and friends in this moment of pain.”
Heart condition and comeback
In November 2004, after a loan spell at Sport, medical tests found a heart abnormality and he was withdrawn from football. He spent three years out of the game before returning to Grêmio’s squad in 2007, staying until 2008. In all he played 113 matches for the club and scored five goals.
He went on to play for Juventude, Madureira, América de Natal, Novo Hamburgo and Canoas, where he retired in 2011 at the age of 30.