Amid exit speculation, Corinthians forward signals change of agent | OneFootball

Corinthians faced Peñarol-URU on the night of last Thursday (21) at Estádio Campeón Del Siglo, in a match valid for the fifth round of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores group stage, and ended up with a 1-1 draw. Already guaranteed a place in the round of 16, the result also secured Alvinegro the top spot in Group E with 11 points.

Right after the match, striker Yuri Alberto gave an interview to ESPN Brasil and was asked about his recent remarks indicating a desire to move to European football after the World Cup. In his response, the No. 9 preferred to avoid controversy and hinted that agent André Cury is no longer his representative.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

“No, together with my staff, my father, who is my representative now, we prefer to keep to ourselves and keep doing my job so as not to create more controversy,” he said.

He later highlighted the support he has been receiving from coach Fernando Diniz so that the center-forward can find the back of the net more often again. In 2026, Yuri is the team’s top scorer with six goals, but he recently went nine matches without scoring.

“He (Diniz) gives me a lot of confidence, which is what a player and a striker at a big club like Corinthians needs. So I think that’s the way: keep working, keep creating great chances for Corinthians, and we’ll start getting back on that path to goals that Yuri knows so well,” he added.

Against Peñarol-URU, Yuri Alberto came on in the 31st minute of the second half, replacing Pedro Raul, and earned a 7.0 rating on the sports statistics app SofaScore. The striker delivered an active performance, contributing to the build-up of counterattacks, but ended up missing at least two clear chances to score.

Yuri Alberto joined Corinthians in mid-2022 from Russia’s Zenit, initially on loan, before being signed permanently at the beginning of the following year in a deal involving five players.

Overall, he has scored 82 goals and provided 23 assists in 233 matches wearing the Corinthians shirt (199 as a starter). He is among the 25 top scorers in the club’s history and is the team’s leading scorer in the 21st century.

At Neo Química Arena, opened in 2014, he is the stadium’s all-time top scorer with 51 goals. In 2024, he scored 31 goals and finished as the top scorer in Brazilian football. Fifteen of those came in the Brazilian Championship, where he played a key role in the team’s climb from the relegation zone to the Libertadores qualifying stage. In addition, he has won three titles with Timão: the Campeonato Paulista (2025), the Copa do Brasil (2025), and the Supercopa do Brasil (2026) — he scored in all three finals.

Now, after facing Peñarol-URU away from home, Corinthians turns its focus back to the Brazilian Championship. That’s because next Sunday (24), at 6:30 p.m. Brasília time, Alvinegro will host Atlético-MG at Neo Química Arena for the 17th round of the national competition. Timão is currently in 17th place with 18 points — four wins, six draws, and six losses — with 14 goals scored and 18 conceded.

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