Brazilian footballers Jair Cunha and Matheus Cunha have attracted growing attention in English football, leaving some supporters wondering whether the two Premier League players are related.
Both come from Brazil, share the surname Cunha and have developed careers that brought them to England’s top division.
However, available biographical records and family interviews provide no evidence that Jair Cunha and Matheus Cunha are brothers or members of the same immediate family.
Jair, a defender for Nottingham Forest, was born in Orlândia in the Brazilian state of São Paulo in March 2005.
Matheus, an attacking player for Manchester United, was born in João Pessoa, ParaÃba, in May 1999.
Their full names and documented family backgrounds are different, and neither player’s publicly established family history identifies the other as a relative.
The confusion appears to arise from their shared surname, Brazilian nationality and increasing visibility in Premier League football.
Is Jair Cunha Related to Matheus Cunha?
There is no publicly documented family relationship between Jair Cunha and Matheus Cunha.
Both players are Brazilian professionals competing in English football, but that does not establish a connection through birth or ancestry.
Jair’s full name is Jair Paula da Cunha Filho.
Matheus’s full name is Matheus Santos Carneiro da Cunha.
Those names reflect different family backgrounds.
Reporting by Brazilian sports publication ge.globo has identified Jair’s father as Jair Paula da Cunha, a former amateur footballer who encouraged his son’s interest in the sport.
Matheus has separately discussed his own family and upbringing, and reporting identifies his father as Carmelo.
No reliable source reviewed identifies the footballers as brothers, cousins or close relatives.
While it is difficult to rule out every possible distant ancestral connection, the available evidence does not establish a family relationship.
Who Is Jair Cunha?
Jair Paula da Cunha Filho, commonly known as Jair Cunha, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Nottingham Forest.
He was born on March 7, 2005, in Orlândia, São Paulo, Brazil.
Jair developed through the youth system of Santos, one of Brazil’s most respected football clubs.
His development required significant sacrifices from his family, who supported his move away from his hometown at a young age.
After progressing through Santos’ academy, he made his senior breakthrough and attracted attention for his physical presence, defensive awareness and ability to play with either foot.
He later moved to Botafogo before completing a transfer to Nottingham Forest in July 2025.
By 2026, he had also earned recognition at international level after representing Brazil’s under-20 team and receiving a senior national team call-up.
His rapid development has made him one of the Brazilian defenders attracting attention in English football.
Jair Cunha’s Family Background
Jair’s family played an important role in his development as a footballer.
Brazilian reporting identifies his father as Jair Paula da Cunha, who played amateur football and introduced his son to the sport.
Growing up in Orlândia, Jair watched his father play and developed an early passion for football.
His parents later made significant personal and financial sacrifices to support his career.
At approximately 11 years old, Jair moved to Santos to join the club’s youth academy.
His family could not immediately relocate with him.
He spent part of his early development living away from his parents, including a period staying with the family of fellow Santos prospect Gabriel Bontempo.
The experience became part of Jair’s story as he progressed toward professional football.
In October 2026, Brazilian sports reporting revisited the sacrifices his parents made and the pride they experienced when he reached the national team.
This family history is separate from the documented background of Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha.
Who Is Matheus Cunha?
Matheus Santos Carneiro da Cunha is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays in attacking positions for Manchester United.
He was born on May 27, 1999, in João Pessoa, ParaÃba, Brazil.
Unlike Jair, who developed primarily as a central defender, Matheus built his reputation through attacking movement, technical ability and goalscoring.
He began developing his skills in Brazilian youth football before moving to Europe.
His early European career included FC Sion in Switzerland and RB Leipzig in Germany.
He later represented Hertha Berlin and Atlético Madrid before moving to Wolverhampton Wanderers in England.
At Wolves, Matheus became an important attacking player and attracted attention from larger Premier League clubs.
He joined Manchester United in 2025, continuing his career at one of the world’s most recognizable football institutions.
His international experience includes representing Brazil at the Tokyo Olympic Games, where the national team won the men’s football gold medal.
Matheus Cunha’s Parents and Family
Matheus Cunha grew up in João Pessoa, the capital of ParaÃba in northeastern Brazil.
His family supported his interest in football from an early age.
Reporting about his upbringing identifies his father as Carmelo, a chemistry teacher.
Matheus has discussed the influence of his parents, particularly the importance they placed on education and maintaining family relationships.
As a child, he moved away from João Pessoa to pursue football opportunities in Recife.
The experience required him to adapt to life away from his immediate family while developing his football skills.
His eventual journey to Europe took him through several countries before he became an established Premier League player.
Available public reporting also identifies an older brother named Lucas Cunha.
It does not identify Jair Cunha as one of Matheus’s siblings.
These biographical details help explain why the suggestion that Jair and Matheus are brothers is unsupported.
Comparing Jair Cunha and Matheus Cunha
Although they share a surname, the two footballers have notably different backgrounds and professional roles.
Jair is a younger player who developed through Santos before moving to Botafogo and Nottingham Forest.
Matheus is an established attacking international whose career has taken him through Switzerland, Germany, Spain and England.
Their ages are also different.
As of October 2026, Jair is 21 years old, while Matheus is 27.
Jair was born in São Paulo state, while Matheus was born in ParaÃba.
Their football positions provide another distinction.
Jair operates in central defense, where his main responsibilities include preventing goals and supporting the team’s defensive structure.
Matheus contributes primarily in attacking areas, creating chances, linking play and attempting to score.
These differences explain why their careers developed along separate paths.
Why Do Both Players Have the Surname Cunha?
Cunha is a Portuguese-language family name found in Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking communities.
Brazil’s naming traditions often include multiple family names, commonly inherited from different parts of a person’s family.
Footballers frequently use shortened professional names rather than their full legal names.
Jair Paula da Cunha Filho is commonly called Jair Cunha or simply Jair.
Matheus Santos Carneiro da Cunha is professionally known as Matheus Cunha.
Because both players use Cunha, supporters may assume a family connection.
However, sharing a surname does not automatically mean two individuals are closely related.
The same principle applies to many footballers who share surnames such as Silva, Santos, Pereira or Oliveira.
Without a verified family connection, it would be misleading to identify Jair and Matheus as brothers.
Jair Cunha’s Journey From Santos to Nottingham Forest
Jair began his development at Santos, a club with a long reputation for producing talented Brazilian footballers.
The academy has developed internationally recognized players, including Pelé, Neymar and Rodrygo.
Jair’s early training helped him develop the defensive skills necessary to move into senior football.
After making his professional breakthrough, he transferred to Botafogo.
His performances with the Rio de Janeiro club brought additional attention from European teams.
In July 2025, Nottingham Forest completed his signing on a long-term contract.
The move introduced him to the physical and tactical demands of the Premier League.
Forest had already developed a reputation for recruiting Brazilian talent, and Jair joined a squad that included other Brazilian players.
His move to England represented a major milestone for someone whose family had made significant sacrifices during his youth.
Matheus Cunha’s Rise Through European Football
Matheus followed a different professional route.
After developing his football skills in Brazil, he moved to Europe as a teenager.
He joined FC Sion in Switzerland, where his performances attracted attention from German clubs.
A transfer to RB Leipzig introduced him to the Bundesliga.
He later played for Hertha Berlin, developing his reputation as a versatile attacking footballer.
His next major move took him to Atlético Madrid in Spain.
He subsequently joined Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he became an influential player in the Premier League.
His performances at Wolves helped earn him a transfer to Manchester United in 2025.
By that point, he had already accumulated years of experience across several European leagues.
His career was shaped by attacking creativity and versatility rather than the defensive specialization associated with Jair.
Do Jair Cunha and Matheus Cunha Play for Brazil?
Both players have represented Brazil at different levels.
Matheus Cunha has substantial international experience, including winning gold with Brazil at the Tokyo Olympics.
He has also appeared for the senior national team.
Jair Cunha represented Brazil at under-20 level and was part of the squad that won the 2025 South American Under-20 Championship.
In September 2026, Jair received his first senior national team call-up under coach Carlo Ancelotti.
That selection represented another important milestone in his development.
Their shared involvement with Brazilian national teams is one reason the two names may appear together in football coverage.
However, a national team connection is professional rather than familial.
Brazil selects players from different regions and backgrounds, and sharing a national team does not indicate that two players are related.
The Significance of Jair Cunha’s 2026 Brazil Call-Up
Jair’s senior national team selection in September 2026 attracted attention in Brazilian media.
He had progressed from a young prospect in Santos’ academy to a Premier League defender and international candidate.
For his family, the recognition represented the outcome of years of commitment.
His father spoke publicly about the sacrifices involved in supporting Jair’s football career.
The story emphasized the practical difficulties of moving a young player away from home and maintaining support during his development.
Jair also reflected on the challenges he had overcome before receiving the opportunity to represent his country.
The attention surrounding his call-up increased his visibility among fans who already knew Matheus Cunha.
That overlap may have contributed to questions about whether the players are connected.
Are Jair and Matheus Cunha Brothers or Cousins?
There is no verified evidence that Jair Cunha and Matheus Cunha are brothers.
Their publicly documented fathers have different names, and their biographies describe separate family backgrounds.
Nor was a credible announcement found identifying them as cousins.
Although two people with the same surname could theoretically share distant ancestry, that possibility cannot be presented as a confirmed family relationship.
Sports reporting should rely on direct statements, documented family records or other reliable sources before identifying players as relatives.
In this case, the available evidence supports treating Jair and Matheus as unrelated professional footballers.
Two Brazilian Players With Different Career Paths
Jair Cunha and Matheus Cunha reflect the range of talent Brazil continues to produce.
Jair represents a younger generation of defenders developing through the country’s academy system before moving abroad.
Matheus represents an established generation of attacking players who have developed their careers across Europe’s major leagues.
Both have reached the Premier League and attracted the attention of Brazilian football supporters.
Their journeys have involved personal sacrifices, international moves and support from their families.
However, those similarities do not amount to evidence of a shared family background.
The two players should be recognized for their individual achievements and professional identities.
Conclusion: Is Jair Cunha Related to Matheus Cunha?
There is no documented evidence that Jair Cunha of Nottingham Forest is related to Matheus Cunha of Manchester United.
Jair’s full name is Jair Paula da Cunha Filho, and he was born in Orlândia, São Paulo, in 2005.
Matheus’s full name is Matheus Santos Carneiro da Cunha, and he was born in João Pessoa, ParaÃba, in 1999.
Available reporting identifies different parental backgrounds and separate childhood experiences.
Neither player has been reliably identified as the other’s brother or cousin.
The confusion appears to arise from their shared surname, Brazilian nationality and careers in English football.
Until reliable evidence establishes otherwise, the correct answer is that no family relationship between the two footballers has been documented.
Editorial Disclaimer
This article is based on documented player biographies, interviews with the footballers and their families, Brazilian sports reporting and established football news coverage reviewed in October 2026. No reliable public evidence establishes that Jair Cunha and Matheus Cunha are brothers or cousins. The absence of a documented relationship does not definitively exclude every possible distant ancestral connection. No undocumented family relationships have been presented as fact.