Renato de Araújo Chaves Júnior (born 4 May 1990), known as Renato Chaves or simply Renato, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a central defender.
Born in São Paulo, Renato joined Corinthians' youth setup in 2001, aged 11. In February 2008, after impressing in the previous years' Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, he was promoted to the main squad.
Renato made his first team â and Série A â debut on 10 May 2009, starting in a 0âÂÂ1 home loss against Internacional. He scored his first goal as a professional late in the month, but in a 1âÂÂ3 away loss against Santos.
On 16 August 2010 Renato was loaned to Bahia until the end of the year. After failing to adapt, he returned to his parent club only months later and moved to Figueirense in a one-year loan deal on 29 December.
On 2 June 2011, after being rarely used, Renato moved to Série B side Portuguesa also in a temporary deal. He was signed permanently by Lusa in December 2011, after achieving promotion to the top level.
In July 2012, Renato joined Atlético Paranaense, back to the second tier. He was only a backup option for his new side, and struggled to even make the bench.
In February 2014, Renato refused to play with the under-23s in the year's Campeonato Paranaense, alleging he should be included in the first team squad; due to that, he was even more ostracized.
In July 2014, after making only four appearances, Renato joined Náutico in the second tier, on loan until the end of the year.
After being regularly used, Renato joined Ponte Preta in December 2014, after his contract with Furacão expired. On 20 October 2015, after being a starter in the year's Brasileirão, he extended his contract for a further two years.
On 13 January 2016, Renato signed a three-year contract with Fluminense also in the top tier. In his first year, he was mainly used as a backup option to Gum and Henrique.
On 4 August 2018, Renato moved abroad for the first time in his career, and joined a host of compatriots at Al-Wehda. He immediately became a starter at his new side.
On 5 October 2020, Renato signed for fellow Saudi Professional League side Al-Batin on a two-year deal.
On 28 July 2022, Renato joined Juventude on a free transfer.