Atlético-MG v Palmeiras: Dudu meets old club after stormy exit | OneFootball

Atlético-MG forward Dudu will reunite with Palmeiras, the club he played for over a long period, this Wednesday. The teams face off in a rescheduled match from the 34th round of the Brazilian Championship. The ball kicks off at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time), at Arena MRV, in Belo Horizonte (MG).

This reunion could have happened earlier. Atlético-MG and Palmeiras played each other in the 15th round of the Brasileirão, at Allianz Parque. However, the forward was suspended by order of the STJD due to an offensive post against Verdão president Leila Pereira.

Controversial Departure from Palmeiras

Dudu left Palmeiras at the end of 2024. His departure was a turbulent one. With one year left on his contract, the club and the player reached an agreement in December and ended the contract early. He had returned to the pitch almost a year after being sidelined by a right knee ligament injury suffered in August 2023.

During this period, he was involved in a controversial negotiation with Cruzeiro in June 2024, which strained the relationship between the player and the club. At the time, the Minas Gerais team even announced a pre-contract with the player on social media. He remained at Verdão for almost six more months and, in December, officially signed with Cruzeiro.

More Controversy: From Cruzeiro to Atlético-MG

However, his stint at Raposa was not the best. There, he played only 17 matches and lost his place under coach Leonardo Jardim. The breaking point for his departure was a public complaint about the coach’s decision to leave him on the bench. In May, he terminated his contract with the team and signed with Atlético-MG, their biggest rival.

Dudu’s Time at Palmeiras

Despite the strained relationship, Dudu left Palmeiras as an idol and a key figure in the club’s rebuilding over the last ten years. In fact, the former number 7 was one of the highlights of the 2015 Copa do Brasil victory, which marked its tenth anniversary last Tuesday.

Dudu was signed by Palmeiras in 2015, where he stayed until 2020, when he transferred to Al-Duhail. The following year, he returned to Verdão and continued his story at the club.

In two spells at Verdão, Dudu played 462 matches and scored 88 goals. Moreover, he is one of the club’s most decorated champions, with 12 titles: one Copa do Brasil (2015), four Brazilian Championships (2016, 2018, 2022, and 2023), two Libertadores (2020 and 2021), three Paulista Championships (2020, 2022, and 2023), one Recopa Sudamericana (2022), and one Supercopa do Brasil (2023).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.