Corinthians earn R$5–6 for every R$1 bonus paid to Memphis

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Central do Timão

·22 December 2025

Corinthians earn R$5–6 for every R$1 bonus paid to Memphis

By Daniel Keppler / Central do Timão Editorial Team

On the night of this Sunday (21), Corinthians won their fourth Copa do Brasil title after defeating Vasco 2-1, in front of 67,000 fans at Maracanã. The winning goal for the Alvinegro was scored by striker Memphis in the second half, bringing his 2025 season tally to 12 goals, along with ten assists, totaling 22 goal contributions.

With this, the Dutchman, who arrived at Parque São Jorge in September 2024, already has a total of 19 goals and 14 assists, or 33 goal contributions, in the 65 matches played wearing the People’s Team jersey. This performance allowed him to activate several clauses in his contract that grant him bonuses for individual achievements. Some were earned before the end of the cycle that closed on July 31 of this year, others came after this date.

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Photo: Reproduction/Corinthians

Seven targets were reached in the cycle that ended in July. Three were related to goal contributions (15, 20, and 25), and another three to appearances on the field (50%, 60%, and 70% of Corinthians' matches), earning the player a total of R$ 11,206,407. In the cycle that started afterwards, so far, no such targets have been met.

To this amount, bonuses for titles won are added, with each trophy earning R$ 4,725,603 for the number 10. Thus, the Campeonato Paulista in March and the Copa do Brasil, won this Sunday, add up to a prize of R$ 9,451,206 for Memphis, who has already secured a total of R$ 20,657,613 in bonuses to be paid by the Alvinegro.

Throughout the year, this topic generated frequent discussions among fans on social media and also in the media. Some argue that the contract signed between Corinthians and Memphis was financially more beneficial to the player and suggest that the signing would have a poor cost-benefit for the club. But do the number 10’s stats on the field justify these assumptions?

With this in mind, Central do Timão gathered Memphis’ performance data for Timão since his arrival in September 2024, analyzing the contexts of his goal contributions and how much they weighed in Corinthians achieving their results. Now, with the season’s end, the data has been duly updated for a new publication. Check it out:

2024 Brazilian Championship

Memphis took part in 11 of the 13 matches played by Corinthians in the last Brasileirão after his arrival. And his performance was decisive: besides helping the so-called GYM trio rise, alongside Rodrigo Garro and Yuri Alberto, he personally contributed eight goal involvements, totaling seven goals and one assist—most of them crucial for Timão to earn points in the final stretch of the tournament.

He provided the assist for one of the Alvinegro’s goals in the 2-2 draw against Internacional and scored goals that secured Corinthians’ victories over Cuiabá (1-0), Vitória (2-1), and Cruzeiro (also 2-1). In addition, it was Memphis who restored Timão’s lead in the match against Athletico-PR after the team conceded the equalizer, culminating in a 5-2 rout, and he also scored the opening goal against Bahia, in a match that ended 3-0 for the People’s Team.

Thus, it is possible to consider that Memphis’ goal contributions for Corinthians in the 2024 Brasileirão helped the team earn between seven and 11 points. Without these points, the club would have finished with between 45 and 49 points, dropping from seventh place in the standings to somewhere between 11th and 15th. This would have direct financial repercussions for the club’s coffers.

This is because part of the Brazilian Championship prize money is proportional to the final ranking. For seventh place in 2024, Corinthians received R$ 33.7 million. If they had finished 11th, the club would have received R$ 20.7 million, and if the final position was 15th, the amount paid would be only R$ 16.8 million. Therefore, it is possible to consider that Memphis’ goals and assists in the tournament earned the club an extra R$ 13 million to R$ 16.9 million in prize money.

2024 Copa Sudamericana

Memphis played in three of the four matches Corinthians played in the continental tournament last year. Against Fortaleza, he assisted the third goal in the 3-0 win that secured the team’s place in the semifinals. In this stage, he added two more assists against Racing-ARG, one in each game—however, the team failed to qualify for the final, and thus the Dutchman’s performance was not enough to generate more revenue for the club.

2024 Copa do Brasil

Memphis could not be registered in the national competition, as his arrival at Corinthians occurred after the regulatory deadline for him to play for the team. Thus, the player had no participation in the campaign, which reached the semifinals before being eliminated by Flamengo.

2025 Campeonato Paulista

Already wearing the number 10, Memphis also stood out in this year’s Paulistão. After a period of inconsistency in the first games, the striker began contributing to goals in February, almost always decisively: his assists helped Corinthians secure a 1-1 draw against Palmeiras and a 2-1 win over Santos, helping the team achieve the best campaign in the group stage of the tournament.

In the knockout stage, the striker’s importance increased. In the quarterfinals, Memphis scored a goal and provided an assist in the 2-0 win over Mirassol, qualifying the Alvinegro for the semifinals. In this stage, another decisive assist against Santos, in the goal that opened the scoring for the 2-1 victory. And in the grand final, once again an assist from the player opened the scoring, this time to secure a 1-0 win over Palmeiras away from home—a crucial result for winning the title.

Winning the title earned Corinthians R$ 5 million in prize money. Considering that Memphis was decisive in the team’s qualification for the semifinals and final, it is possible to consider that, without his interventions, the team could have finished the tournament in fifth place overall, receiving only R$ 500,000. The extra prize difference, therefore, reaches R$ 4.5 million in the Paulistão.

2025 Copa Libertadores

Corinthians’ participation in this year’s Libertadores saw Memphis play an important role in the second preliminary phase. There, the number 10 provided an assist in each match against Universidad Central-VEN, helping secure a 1-1 draw away and a 3-2 win at Neo Química Arena, being fundamental for Timão’s qualification to the next phase. In this stage, however, lackluster performances from both the Dutchman and the rest of the team led to Corinthians being eliminated by Barcelona-EQU.

Reaching the third phase of the so-called Pre-Libertadores, however, generated revenue for the club, which had already secured US$ 500,000 (about R$ 2.8 million) for being in the second phase and added US$ 600,000 (about R$ 3.4 million) by overcoming the Venezuelans. It can be considered, therefore, that Memphis was decisive for the club to pocket this extra amount.

2025 Copa Sudamericana

Memphis had a subdued performance in this year’s Sudamericana. Missing two games, both due to injury, he scored only one goal in the four matches played. The performance contributed to Corinthians’ inconsistent campaign in Group C, culminating in the team’s early elimination before the knockout stage.

2025 Brazilian Championship

Suffering from injuries and absences due to call-ups to the Netherlands national team, Memphis played for Corinthians in only 23 of the 38 Brasileirão matches this year, contributing to nine team goals (six goals and three assists), many of which helped the team earn points in the tournament.

In the 3-0 win over Vasco in the second round, for example, he set up Yuri Alberto for the opening goal and scored the second himself. Against Sport, in the fifth round, he scored twice to equalize and turn the game around, which Timão won 2-1. In the seventh round, he again assisted Yuri Alberto for the opening goal, this time against Internacional, a match the Alvinegro won 4-2.

In the following match, his assist to Cacá did not prevent the 2-1 defeat to Mirassol. In the 17th round, however, his goal against Botafogo secured a 1-1 draw for Corinthians. In the second half of the season, Memphis scored the second goal in the 2-0 win over Grêmio in the 31st round, a goal that was not decisive for the result, and finally put the team ahead again by scoring the second against São Paulo, in a match played in the 34th round and won 3-1 in Itaquera.

Thus, Memphis’ goal contributions helped Corinthians earn between six and eight points in this year’s Brasileirão. Without these points, the team would have finished with between 41 and 43 points on the table, ending up between 16th and 18th place, and could even have been relegated to Serie B. And since part of the Brazilian Championship prize money is proportional to the final ranking, this points difference would have financial repercussions.

For 13th place this year, Corinthians received R$ 17.8 million. If they had finished 16th, the club would have received R$ 16.3 million, and if the final position was 17th or 18th, the amount paid would be zero, as relegated clubs do not receive prize money. Therefore, it is possible to consider that Memphis’ goals and assists in the tournament earned the club an extra R$ 1.3 million to R$ 17.8 million in prize money.

2025 Copa do Brasil

After not playing for Corinthians in the third round matches against Novorizontino due to injury, Memphis was a constant presence in the team in the subsequent rounds, with few goal contributions. However, whenever he contributed to the scoreline in Alvinegro’s matches, the number 10 was decisive.

In the round of 16, for example, he scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Palmeiras in the first leg, which gave Timão the advantage of drawing in the return leg (they ended up winning 2-0). In the quarterfinals, against Athletico-PR, the striker did not score. But in the semifinals, against Cruzeiro, Memphis reappeared, once again scoring the winning goal in a 1-0 victory, this time away from home in the first leg.

The 2-1 defeat in Itaquera in the return leg highlighted the importance of that goal, which allowed Timão to go to a penalty shootout, where they qualified for the final. Finally, in the final, it was the number 10 who scored the title-winning goal for the Alvinegro, receiving a cross from Yuri Alberto in the second half.

Altogether, the fourth Copa do Brasil title earned Corinthians R$ 97,791,750, adding up all stages of the tournament. If in the clash against Palmeiras the team did not depend on the first-leg win to qualify, in the matches against Cruzeiro and Vasco, Memphis’ goals were decisive for the final result. Thus, he directly contributed to securing the prize equivalent to the tournament title, or R$ 77,175,000.

Sum of the values

Considering, therefore, the weight of Memphis’ goals and assists in the tournaments played by Corinthians since his arrival, we can consider that they allowed the club to receive between R$ 99.375 million and R$ 119.775 million extra in prize money, distributed as follows:

2024 Brazilian Championship: between R$ 13 million and R$ 16.9 million2024 Copa Sudamericana: zero2024 Copa do Brasil: zero2025 Campeonato Paulista: R$ 4.5 million2025 Copa Libertadores: R$ 3.4 million2025 Copa Sudamericana: zero2025 Brazilian Championship: between R$ 1.3 million and R$ 17.8 million2025 Copa do Brasil: R$ 77.175 million

This total is five to six times greater than the entire amount committed by Corinthians in bonuses and individual targets for Memphis. Even after deducting the R$ 20,657,613 owed to the player, the club would still have between R$ 78,717,387 and R$ 99,117,387 left. This difference would be enough, for example, for the Alvinegro to settle its debts with Santos Laguna-MEX (for the signing of Félix Torres) and with midfielder Matías Rojas, which resulted in sanctions for the club at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

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