Corinthians chief on internal reaction to Memphis Depay's new clip | OneFootball

Corinthians football executive Marcelo Paz gave an interview to Metrópoles and commented on the internal reaction to the release of Memphis Depay’s new music video – Don’t Panic. In the lyrics, Timão’s number 10 mentions Alvinegro’s institutional problems and, at the end, there is a scene showing Parque São Jorge in flames.

The new song prompted a response from club vice president Armando Mendonça, even though he was not mentioned by name in the storyline. In addition, the club also chose to fine the player by docking his salary. In his response on the matter, Marcelo Paz said the player acknowledged his mistake and that publishing the material did not happen at an appropriate time.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Corinthians Agency

“In this recent episode, he acknowledged that he should not have included that issue in the video at that moment. He had the humility to apologize quickly. I think we have to look inward and try to solve things. Memphis is a great player. Diniz wanted him to stay, we all wanted that. And fortunately he stayed. He is a player who, in two matches, has already shown what he can add. And the tendency is for him to improve even more; he is still not at 100% in terms of physical condition and match rhythm. We’re going to take very good care of that at the training center,” he began.

Last Tuesday (18), the club from Parque São Jorge officially announced the player’s contract renewal through July 2028 after lengthy negotiations. On the 11th, Corinthians had even announced that it would not renew the Dutchman’s contract for “financial health” reasons, which ended up causing a negative reaction among the fans. However, shortly afterward, president Osmar Stabile backtracked and resumed talks with the player’s representatives.

“Memphis’ relationship with the president is excellent. They hug, greet each other, smile at one another. The president was in Curitiba, and they hugged beforehand, they talked. I’ll stick to what I see, to what we can control, which is the atmosphere at the training center. There, he is a player who has to follow the rules, has to be on time, and is under our internal control in that little box. And he came back hugging everyone, doing his best for the club and for everyone. We are not going to have problems. What happens outside the gate is not for us to manage. If we deliver results on the field with Memphis’ help, the fans will be happy. That is the best way to contribute to Corinthians, by joining forces and focusing on football,” he continued.

Finally, the Corinthians executive detailed how the squad reacted to the forward’s return to activities with his teammates. Memphis Depay returned to the field for Corinthians last Thursday (20), in the second leg of the Conmebol Libertadores round of 16 against Rosario Central-ARG at Neo Química Arena. The forward came on in the closing stages of the match to replace Pedro Raul and provided the assist for Breno Bidon to score the only goal of the game. In the quarterfinals, Alvinegro will face Argentina’s Estudiantes in the week of September 8 and 15.

“This group is very ambitious, it wants to win and make history at the club. You can see that we don’t even talk anymore about what we have already won. Whoever wants to achieve something new wants the best players, and Memphis is a great player, who already knows the work routine, already knows what the club is, he’s not an unknown, he’s someone who can and will contribute a lot. So the players were pleased with this return. It was a lost situation, because when we traveled to Rosario, he really was not staying. There was a positive turnaround and he returned to the training center, where he was very well received. He trained separately on Tuesday, which was the day of the ‘ok.’ On Wednesday, he trained with the team, and on Thursday, he played and took part in the decisive move,” he concluded.

Corinthians returns to training this Wednesday (26) at CT Dr. Joaquim Grava after receiving two days off following the defeat against Coritiba last Sunday (23) at Couto Pereira Stadium, in the 24th round of the Brazilian Championship. This Sunday (30), at 4 p.m. (Brasília time), Timão will play again in the national competition and host Santos at Neo Química Arena for the 25th round of the tournament.

Memphis Depay’s numbers for Corinthians

Signed in September 2024 after not having his contract renewed by Atlético de Madrid of Spain, Memphis Depay arrived at Corinthians and immediately played a key role in the team’s surge in the previous Brazilian Championship edition (from the relegation zone to the Libertadores qualifying stage), scoring seven goals and providing one assist in 11 matches in the national tournament.

Last season and at the start of this one, he was decisive in the team’s Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026) title wins, totaling two assists in those finals and playing an important role in the earlier knockout rounds. Wearing the Corinthians shirt, he has 20 goals and 15 assists in 81 matches — 41 wins, 18 draws, and 22 losses — a 58% success rate.

Before playing for Atlético de Madrid of Spain and Corinthians, he had spells at PSV in the Netherlands — where he came through the youth ranks — Manchester United (England), Lyon (France), and Barcelona (Spain). He is the fifth-highest scorer in the club’s history: Romero (67), Paolo Guerrero (54), Tevez and Herrera (22).

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