Árias joins Palmeiras, shares open letter on social media | OneFootball

One step away from being announced by Palmeiras, Jhon Árias published an "open letter" on his Instagram.

Without mentioning any club, the Colombian midfielder explained that football is "dynamic" and that he had to make a decision based on what "was possible".

The agreement between Palmeiras and Wolverhampton, for 25 million euros, and with the player, who accepted the four-year contract offer made by Alviverde, outraged Fluminense fans, the club where he made his name in Brazil.

In his farewell to Tricolor – about six months ago – the 28-year-old player even stated that, in Brazil, he would "only play for Fluminense".

Árias was transferred to Wolverhampton right after the Club World Cup in 2025, in an agreement he had with Fluminense's management, which was supposed to facilitate his departure in case of an offer from Europe that pleased him.

At the time, the attacking midfielder turned down offers considered good by Flu, such as those from Zenit and Galatasaray, because he wanted to play in a major European league.

Flu then, fulfilling the player's wish, accepted Wolverhampton's offer of 12 million euros in installments, plus 5 million in bonuses.

The player justified the deal with Wolves, even though he was earning a lower salary than he did at Flu, because it was a "dream" to play in the Premier League.

But things did not go well for the player in England and, six months later, the attacking midfielder is returning to Brazilian football. 

Struggling to adapt, Árias never established himself at Wolverhampton and also saw his team move closer and closer to relegation.

Fearing he would lose his spot on the Colombian national team, Árias then chose to return to Brazil to play regularly again.

Trying to bring their idol back, Tricolor offered 20 million euros to Wolverhampton, which promptly rejected the offer, as they already had a 25 million euro offer from Palmeiras on the table.

Flamengo also made an offer, but Árias, out of gratitude to Flu, refused to join the Rubro-Negro.

Palmeiras then found itself free to close the deal with the player, who should be announced soon.

Remember Árias' farewell to Fluminense:

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

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