Bracks on Hulk’s Atlético future: Decision after season together

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·31 October 2025

Bracks on Hulk’s Atlético future: Decision after season together

The future of Hulk at Atlético remains uncertain, but any decision will be made "with everyone at the table." This was assured by the club's CSO, Paulo Bracks, in an interview last Thursday (30) with Rádio Itatiaia. The executive stated that the club's management plans to meet with the forward and the coaching staff at the end of the season to discuss the next steps in the relationship between the idol and Galo.

The information that Atlético would sit down and evaluate Hulk's stay at the club at the end of the season was first reported by influencer Lucas Tanaka from Canal do Tanaka.

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"We plan to sit down at the end of the season, evaluate with the coaching staff and with Hulk himself what our path is for 2026. But 2026 is still far away, we are in 2025, on the eve of a final. Hulk was decisive in the semifinal. We have a lot to discuss, a lot of history to make together still. Any different step that is taken will be made with everyone at the table," stated Bracks.

With a contract until December 2026, Hulk is experiencing a different phase since joining Atlético in 2021. For the first time, the number 7 has lost his place and started games on the bench — something unprecedented in his journey at the club. Still, Hulk remains the team's top scorer with 17 goals and the player most involved in goals for the club this season (goals + assists), with 22.

Bracks admitted that the situation is new for the management as well, which seeks to handle the moment respectfully and transparently:

Until mid-year, this question didn't exist. It's new for us to face this new reality, which is him not playing all the games, playing the full 90 minutes. He is getting less playing time than he did in the first half of the year. So it's a new conversation! We will discuss this matter with him, but with him at the table. It's a bilateral issue that cannot be addressed without Hulk at the table.

In recent days, Hulk's name has been the subject of rumors about a possible contract termination with Atlético. The information, released by ESPN, mentioned that the club would evaluate the player's performance at the end of the season before making any decision. Bracks, however, denied any negotiations in this regard and criticized the dissemination of the news.

"We were very upset, sad, and worried that on the eve of an important game (first leg of the Copa Sudamericana semifinal), a false news came out that we would be terminating the contract with the player. This is a lie! We rejected it very effectively and harshly. We do not treat any player like this, especially an idol, who needs to be treated much better," he stated.

Finally, Bracks reinforced Atlético's respect for Hulk's history and guaranteed that the forward remains a player of the club.

Today he is a player of Atlético, he has not retired and is not in another club. We are not dealing with just any player; he is a player who has history here, and Atlético respects its idols.

An idol of the fans and a protagonist in the club's recent major achievements — such as the Brasileirão and Copa do Brasil in 2021 — Hulk remains an important piece in the squad, even in a new phase of his career. The number 7 was decisive in Galo's qualification for the unprecedented final of the Copa Sudamericana.

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