Corinthians confirm departure of duo not in Under-20 plans

In partnership with

Central do Timão

·28 February 2026

Corinthians confirm departure of duo not in Under-20 plans

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Team

At the beginning of last Friday afternoon (27), Corinthians registered, in the CBF’s Daily Information Bulletin (BID), the departure of two players from the Under-20 category. They are center-back Ruan Vitor, 18 years old, and left-back/midfielder Robert Lopes, 19 years old, born in 2007 and 2006, respectively. Both were brought to the club in 2024, still under the management of the ousted president Augusto Melo, and were registered to compete in the 2026 São Paulo Cup.

According to Rádio TMC, the Alvinegro did not retain any share of the economic rights of the two players. After the early elimination in the second phase of the 2026 Copinha, following a 2-1 loss to Guarani, Corinthians began a restructuring of the Under-20 category, where 29 players started training separately from the squad.

OneFootball Videos

Photo: Rodrigo Gazzanel/Agência Corinthians

Montage: Central do Timão

One of them was left-back Robert Lopes. The center-back, on the other hand, was not on the list, but had been little used by coach William Batista. It is worth noting that, recently, the club from Parque São Jorge, in addition to a midfielder, secured the arrival of three center-backs for the Under-20: Zé Antônio, Iago Melo, and Levy Dias. The first arrives on loan from Santa Cruz, and the last two were signed from Flamengo.

In 2025, Ruan Vitor and Robert Lopes were also part of the squad that finished as runners-up in the São Paulo Cup – losing to São Paulo 3-2, after a comeback, at Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu. In the competition, however, they ended up having few minutes on the field, at the time under the command of Orlando Ribeiro. Still in the previous year, they had few opportunities in the category’s Brasileirão, in which Timãozinho fought against relegation.

Both started to have more opportunities right after the arrival of William Batista, in the final stretch of August last year. The two were starters in the knockout stage of the Under-20 Paulista Championship, against XV de Piracicaba and Santos, in the third phase and round of 16, respectively – Filhos do Terrão were eliminated 3-1 on aggregate over the two matches.

Ruan Vitor, as mentioned, arrived at Corinthians in 2024 and played only 15 matches wearing the Corinthians shirt – eight for the Under-20 and seven for the Under-17. His contract was set to expire at the end of 2027. Previously, he played for SSA, from Bahia. On the other hand, left-back Robert Lopes, originally a midfielder, started playing further back under William Batista and, in the Under-20, scored two goals in 18 matches.